Loire 2022: First Impressions
It is always difficult to generalise about a Loire Valley vintage at such an early stage. First, because generalisations rarely if ever apply themselves well to this region, with its great diversity of grape varieties, soil types, climates, viticultural practices and oenological philosophies. Secondly, because this soon after the harvest, tasting opportunities are few and far between.
Nevertheless a few tentative generalisations can be made, before I being this report to a close.
First up, without a doubt the 2022 vintage is what the vignerons term ‘solar’ in style, the characteristics found within the wines reflecting the warm and sunny conditions of the vintage rather than the cooler-vintage profiles seen in years such as 2014 or 2012. This is most evident when on the hunt for acidity; most vignerons I have spoken to readily confess that this is a vintage with low acidity. Technical analyses put the figures in the same ball park as 2020 or 2018, in many cases lower.
Happily, however, many vignerons found that they were not dealing with runaway alcohol levels, as some had to do in these other warmer vintages.
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