Loire Tasting Snippets, 2017
Regular readers will know I recently bought a house in the Loire Valley, and the buying process means that during the last six or seven months I have visited the region more frequently than is usual. I was there back in July 2016, a house-hunting trip. It was when I first clapped eyes upon my little farmhouse. I was back again in September 2016 to sign the compromis de vente, a semi-binding agreement (it is binding on the vendor, but not usually the buyer). My recent trip in January 2017 was to pick up the keys and take possession, followed by a week of cleaning and repairing.
Such activities require a little lubrication of course. The joy of having a base in the Loire Valley is the easy access it gives me to interesting wine (I am sure this is true of other wine regions). Not only are there a myriad vignerons on your doorstep, even the most basic supermarkets carry wines of note. I popped into an Intermarché not far from Chinon only a week ago and as well as a decent selection of wines from local names in Chinon and Bourgueil on the shelves (some familiar, some less so) there was also a moelleux Vouvray from the 2010 vintage, a Bonnezeaux and a ten-year old Savennières, all from respectable domaines. It is easy to drink well, and to explore, with options such as these.
Below is a ragtag collection of notes from these three trips, along with one or two notes on wines from my cellar in the UK. (21/1/17)
