A few weeks ago 11 bottles of 2010 Loire Sauvignon Blanc arrived. Sent by SOPEXA UK these are some of the 28 Loire Sauvignon Blanc Ambassadors chosen from the latest vintage. This project is funded and organised by Interloire, the promotional body for the appellations from the Pays Nantais through to Touraine, and by the Syndicat des Vins de Pays du Val de Loire. They employ Sam Harrop MW as their consultant.

Up to now I haven't had a chance to taste any of the wines. However, I have now made a start with the 2010 Ante Vinum, AC Touraine from Château de Quinçay in Meunes – the same small town on the south side of the Cher as Jacky Preys.

Ante Vinum comes from vines of over 40 years old and has mellow gooseberry aromas allied with some fruit weight offset by the crisp acidity associated with the 2010 vintage. Attractive to drink now it may take on further weight and complex with another year or two's bottle age.

The domaine, which has been passed down through the generations, is now run by Frédéric and Philippe Cadart.

New Zealander Sam Harrop MW

Sam Harrop MW

A personal view from Project consultant Sam Harrop MW

Last night, in search of inspiration for this piece, I opened a bottle of 2008 Bourgueil (one of those selected as a 2009 Ambassador) and it was mind-blowingly good. What a wine. What a vintage. What a bargain!

I won’t mention the producer for fear of courting claims of bias, but what I will say is: why anyone would want to look beyond the Loire for Cabernet Franc is beyond me. Bottom-line - hand-crafted wines from small estates in the Loire sell for a fraction of the cost of most Cabernet Francs from newer, less interesting (in my opinion) wine producing regions. The best of the vintage 2008s will undoubtedly improve with age for the next two decades but they can also be enjoyed today.

How many wine regions can honestly claim this? The obsession with alcohol, oak and oxygen that prevails in too many wineries around the world today means that while the wines they produce might be soft and sweet in the first couple of years, there’s a good chance they will end up flat and flabby well before their pre-destined use-by date. The Loire is an exception and if its recognition at top international wine competitions over the last few years (and for lesser vintages than 2008, I might add) is anything to go by, the reputation of the region and its noble red variety is finally on the ascent. With a broader selection of 2008s from top producers hitting the show circuit next year it will be intriguing to see how they are received in 2010. If they are anything like the one I quaffed last night, it could be time to buy up large, so watch this space!

Looking to the future, things continue to look rosy for the Loire with favourable reports on the 2009 growing season so far. August was very, very dry - in fact the driest August in the Loire for 48 years! With grapes still on the vine it’s hardly time to start making comparisons with vintages like 1961, but it’s difficult not to get a little excited! Indeed all looks set for a great vintage in 2009, like in other great years such as 1989, 1999 – maybe it’s a nine thing?

Up until the end of August summer temperatures were very closely aligned to the impressive vintages of 1995 and 1999. The first half of September saw some showers, but the second half was dry and settled, and with the better wineries looking to start harvesting in the second week of October things are at a critical stage. At the time this piece went to print, fruit condition throughout the region was looking stunning. The analysis was looking great as well.

Samples were taken on the 1st October from 14 parcels from around Chinon, Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de- Bourgueil and the average sugars recorded were forecasting alcohol levels of 12.2 percent. The better sites in the region will be beyond 13 percent, so ripeness won’t be a problem this year. Overall pH levels seem to be a little higher than last year (but still in check and healthy) and acids a little lower, but this will help the texture of the wines and allow for the wines to be drinking better in their youth. Fingers crossed the rain stays away for the next couple of weeks, for if so we could be in for a cracker!

The temptation for winemakers to intervene is ever-present, even when the fruit is free from disease and with near perfect analysis. Assuming the conditions are right for another great vintage this year, in the case of the Loire, the measure of the Project’s effectiveness will be in producers doing less rather than more. For the Loire, continuity is crucial to winning the confidence of buyers, many of whom hold the view that Loire Cabernet Franc is inconsistent. Such inconsistency is not good for business and it’s understandable that UK buyers have historically seen wines from the sunny south of Europe as a safer bet.

The problem is all too often these warmer and drier regions tend towards over-ripe red wines that lack freshness, definition and personality. With climate change, things are going from bad to worse for many of these warmer regions, and savvy wine buyers are already on the lookout for wines to fill this imminent gap. Assuming the Loire and its Cabernet Franc continue to raise their game (as they have over the last few years), the traditional claims of inconsistency will become a thing of the past, and buyers need look no further than the Loire for a plethora of great value reds with an abundance of personality.

2009 Cabernet Franc in Chinon: 8th October 2009

(From the autumn 2009 issue of the newsletter: Loire – Project Cabernet Franc)

This morning the latest update from the Project Cabernet Franc plopped into my mailbox. It includes an assessment of the 2008 Cabernets from Sam Harrop MW:

April 2009 Sam in Paris for the Ambassadors' tasting

A personal view from Project consultant Sam Harrop MW
(www.loirecabernetfranc.co.uk/ENewsLetter/May2009/Story3.htm)

‘The goal of encouraging producers in the same region to work together might seem fairly rudimentary, but when it comes to the Loire – a region so rich in history, tradition and vignerons with great independence and pride – it is no mean feat! However, the unarguable progress made in guiding vignerons towards a more balanced and, arguably, more export-friendly approach, has been well worth the effort. Having just returned from the 2009 Ambassadors Selection, where I judged with a rigorous panel including Jim Budd, Jane Masters MW, Emily O’Hare, it is clear that the better examples from vintage 2008 are well above average, if not exceptional. In a year when vignerons could have been forgiven for leeching every last tannin molecule out of the seeds and skins, restraint was the rule not the exception! It seems that having freed themselves from the shackles of Bordeaux, the Loire is forging a new identify, championed by a host of fresh, dynamic winemakers.

They say most great years follow a challenging growing season, and 2008 in the Loire is a year that supports such an assertion. After a frosty, wet and cool start to the season and a very late veraison (oh and did I mention there was a hail storm early on as well); in mid September things were looking a tad hairy. Towards late September/ early October however, with the winter weather staying away, things had started to look a little brighter. For the most part the dry conditions allowed growers to leave fruit on vines in an extremely good condition well into October. This hang-time enabled flavours and phenolics to reach adequate maturity, and with the smaller crops and berries - a hallmark of the 2008 Cabernet Franc vintage - concentration was on target to impress. And impress it did!

Of the 86 wines tasted at the Ambassadors Selection (29 were 2007’s, 57 were 2008’s); 24 Ambassadors were selected. The turn-out of 2008 wines was a little disappointing, as was the fact that a number of them had to be rejected due to less than optimum condition (e.g. still in tank). On the upside however, with elevage and polishing before bottling, some of these wines showed the characteristics of real longevity. If resubmitted next year, I’d be willing to gamble that many will be a shoo-in for the 2010 Selection. But let’s wait and see. Of the 24 wines selected, six were 2007 (21 percent of total 2007 wines entered) and 18 were 2008 (32 percent of total 2008 wines entered). It is widely known that 2007 was a lighter vintage, and while there were some stand-out wines set to improve with age, in general terms 2007 wines should be enjoyed in their youth.

In my view, to date, 2008 has been the best vintage of the decade. Only time will tell if it has what it takes to be an all time classic, but the early signs look positive. The better examples (from producers who left fruit on the vine until mid October, and did not over-extract in the winery) have the typical freshness and typicity of the Loire, but without the green, sappy herbaceous notes that so often stain Cabernet Franc’s good name. These wines have the concentration, weight, supple tannic profile and moderate acid levels to not only help balance the wines, but to enable them age with grace. There is a harmony to many of the wines already and while they will unquestionably get better with age, most will be ready for drinking not long after bottling. The enigmatic, perfumed qualities, dark red fruits and wonderful definition that make Cabernet Franc so special, are present in abundance in the 2008 vintage. Be sure to stock up your cellars!’

Early October 2008: Cabernet Franc@Souzay-Champigny

I’m not sure I’m yet prepared to go along with Sam’s assessment that ‘In my view, to date, 2008 has been the best vintage of the decade’. Certainly it is way better than one might have feared during the cool and drab days of August, although the Loire was fairly dry compared to other parts of France like Bordeaux. The 2008 vintage also benefited from cool temperatures during the sunny months of September and October giving long slow flavour maturation, while a blast of autumnal heat might well have raised the sugar levels too quickly and left the grapes not ripe.

But are the 2008 reds really better than 2005 and some 2006s? Still rather too early to say I think but I’m dubious. Although the final few weeks before the harvest are very important, a vintage is also the reflection of the whole of the growing season. I note that Jean-Pierre Chevallier (Château de Villeneuve) is unlikely to release his Grand Clos Saumur-Champigny in 2008. JP will not release the Grand Clos if it is not up to the high standard he and Florence have set for this cuvée. Certainly the miraculous 2008 will have a lot of charm but as good as 2005? I’d be surprised.

7 April 2009

Sam Harrop MW and his tasting cap

At the offices of Sopexa in Paris for the first of two days of tasting Cabernet Franc to select the 2009 Ambassadors from the 2007 and 2008 vintages. Led once again by Sam Harrop MW joined by Emily O’Hare, sommelier at the River Café in London, Jane Masters MW and myself. Joining us for the day was Patrick Schmitt, editor of The Drinks Business.

Emily O'Hare

Jane Masters MW

Patrick Schmitt

Emmanuelle Galdin, Sopexa UK

We have completed our initial selection and tomorrow (8th April) will make the final selection and should be posted on Jim's Loire tomorrow afternoon, although the names will have to wait until next week.

Last night we had a very good dinner at Les Comédiens, which started with a tasting of oysters. We found that the 2006 Menetou-Salon from Fournier was a better match with the oysters than the rather disappointing 2007 Petit Chablis from Bichot. During the dinner we had a small vertical of the Clos Roche Blanche Elevé-en-futs-Chêne 1995 and 1996, which is a blend of Gamay, Cabernet and Côt. The 1995 had soft sweet evolved fruit with notes of balsamic vinegar and still some tannins remaining from this tannic vintage. Although the 1995 showed pretty well it was eclipsed by the fresher, more youthful 1996 with its wonderful spicy nose. My fellow tasters were astonished by these two wines.

1 Rue de la Trinité
75009 Paris
Tel: 01 45 72 07 14

Ripe and beautifully clean Cabernet Franc October 2005

Next Tuesday I’m off to Paris for a couple of days to join the panel of tasters selecting the 2009 Cabernet Franc Ambassadors. Leading the panel will be Sam Harrop MW, the consultant to the project, Joanna Simon (for 22 years the Sunday Times wine correspondent), Emily O’Hara (sommelier) and myself. We will be tasting Loire Cab Francs from 2007 and 2008. Reports on Jim's Loire next week during the tasting.

Following the tasting in Tours on 19th and 20th February, here are the 29 Sauvignon Blanc Ambassadors for 2009. This is the first year of the Loire Sauvignon Blanc Project that involves both VDP Val de Loire and AOC Touraine.

Sam Harrop MW

59 producers entered 72 wines – 55 Appellation Touraine and 17 VDP Val de Loire. Of the 29 Ambassadors selected, 21 are from Touraine and 8 VDP Val de Loire. This is 40% success rate and Sam and the panel felt that this was very encouraging as this is the project's first year.

20 of the Ambassadors (both Touraine and VDP) come from the department of Loir et Cher showing the importance of the Cher Valley for Sauvignon Blanc.

During the tasting the successful wines were put into three taste categories. 21% were ripe and fruity moving towards exotic fruit flavours, 48% citric – grapefruit etc., and 31% crisp, vegetal quite austere style. 83% of the wines selected had a UK retail price of £5.99 or less with only five costing more than £5.99. This probably is an accurate reflection of the customary price of Loire Sauvignon Blanc, excluding those from the Central Vineyards – Sancerre etc. One of the ambitions for the project is to raise the average of price of these wines in the UK through increasing the quality and their profile.

Joe Wadsack

Of the wines rejected: 33% were too vegetal, 46% lacked zip, aroma and interest, 9% were reduced and 12% had other faults.

Sarah Ahmed

The wines were tasted by a small team led by Sam Harrap MW, who consultant to the project. He was joined by Sarah Ahmed (The Wine Detective), Henri Chapon (formerly wine buyer for the Hotel du Vin chain now back in his native, Montrichard), Joe Wadsack (formerly wine buyer for Waitrose and now media star) and myself. Notes on each Ambassador were written during the tasting have been compiled by Sam and appear in italics. Important to remember that most of these wines were cask samples and had not yet been bottled. Tasting notes should always be treated with caution – notes on unfinished wines doubly so.

Appellation Touraine

EARL Patricia and Bruno Denis, Domaine de la Renaudie, 41110 Mareuil Sur Cher: 2008 AOC Touraine
www.domainerenaudie.com/
Ripe fruity commercial thiol style with citrus notes at its core. Very suited to the UK palate. Nice acidity, with a touch of sugar.

Annie Girard, 41400 Thenay: 2008 Domaine de la Croix Bouquie, AOC Touraine

Canned fruit salad. Low SO2 and needs to be cleaned up before bottling, but ripe, intense, and clean. Lingers. Well made but adjust the SO2.

EARL Patrick Vauvy, 41140 Noyers-sur-Cher: 2008 AOC Touraine

Nose closed. Palate much better and impressive but lacking purity on nose. Needs sample preparation. Copper. A shame because the wine is clearly smart and with the correct handling pre-bottling it could turn out to be a very nice wine. Highlights need to get the sample procedures correct before entering into competitions or showing to the buyer. On retasting we have decided to give this the benefit of the doubt. But note the consumer doesn’t get 4 hours to retaste. Copper needed for sure.

SCA Roc de Châteauvieux, 41110 Châteauvieux 2008 AOC Touraine
www.pierrechainier.com/
Fruit salad, clean, hint of garden herbs, herbal notes dominate fruit salad. Complex primary style technical and well made. Lovely weight and super length.

Jacky Goumin, 41130 Châtillon-sur-Cher: 2008 Domaine des Souterrains, AOC Touraine

Ripe fruit salad; technical style. Intense bouquet that has a touch of sulphide but probably tank. Palate good attack and concentrated or a slightly less ripe wine. Impressive winemaking that should be encouraged. Encourage winemaker to carry out copper trials.

Ackerman-Rémy Pannier, 49260 Vaudelnay: 2008 AOC Touraine
www.ackerman-remypannier.com/
Modern with good green tom leaf. Herbal. Nice wine. Shows good purity and nice intensity. Slightly dilute on palate and elegant.

Joël Lecoffre, 41150 Rilly-sur-Loire: 2008 Fleur de Lys, AOC Touraine
www.vieuxpressoir.net/
Fax 02.54.20.99.66

Clean, bit reduced now, but behind it has good ripe apple fruit and crisp acidity ; sound. If tank sample be sure to do copper trials.

Xavier Frissant, 37530 Mosnes: 2008 Touraine Sauvignon, AOC Touraine
www.xavierfrissant.com/

Very sharp acidity, quite austere, mineral citrus quality. Nice flavours and good concentration. A tad closed and fruit lacking but good wine and worthy of ambassador.

Luc Poullain, Domaine des Echardières, 41110 Pouillé: 2008 AOC Touraine
www.domaine-echardieres.com/
Fax 02.54.71.46.66
Clean commercial some varietal character and certainly not the most concentrated wine in the lineup. Clean and well made some intensity - OK if commercial price....

Domaine Octavie, 41700 Oisly: 2008 Domaine Octavie, AOC Touraine
www.domaineoctavie.com/

Lovely perfumed tomato leaf style. Pure, vibrant, alive. Elegant wine not a show stopper and more intellectual than many and on the cusp of premium. Lovely palate weight and acid in balance that adds to length.

Vignerons des Coteaux Romanais, 41140 Saint-Romain-sur-Cher: 2008 Secrets de Chais par Nicolas Davias AOC Touraine
www.cavevignerons-romanais.fr/accueil.php
Borderline. Perhaps a little too green, but good intensity and purity. Clean and on the palate there is some reasonable concentration too. Ambassador but only just.

Vignerons des Coteaux Romanais, 41140 St Romain-sur-Cher: 2008 Tonnerre de Vigne, AOC Touraine
www.cavevignerons-romanais.fr/accueil.php
Green apples. Tomatoes leaf. Clean well made and should be encouraged. A few more days on the vine would have helped but good clean technical green style. Citrus notes as well.

SARL V B B L Export, 41110 Châteauvieux: 2008 Violine du Roy, AOC Touraine
www.vbblexport.com/

Fruit style citrus ripe thiol/pear drop ester notes and some nice herbal notes to balance flavour profile. Nice attack fruit weight, with super acidity. It is just a tad one dimensional for premium and lacking the final degree of concentration solid commercial Sauvignon Blanc.

Earl Domaine Joël Delaunay, 41110 Pouillé: 2008 Domaine Joël Delaunay, AOC Touraine
www.joeldelaunay.com/

Citrus, grapefruit, limey character, quite steely, touch thin, but well made and with enough intensity, purity and typicity for selection.

SCA Domaine Chainier, 37530 Chargé: 2008 Château de Pocé, AOC Touraine
www.pierrechainier.com/

Ripe citrus fruit salad; technical style. Intense bouquet. Palate good attack and concentrated for a slightly less ripe wine. Impressive winemaking that should be encouraged. Has some finesse, classy wine.

EARL Guy Mardon, 41700 Oisly: 2008 AOC Touraine
Touch reduced but crisp acidity and sound fruit if a little dull. Well made wine and technical but only just makes cut. Would be better with lower yields and more hang time.

SCEA Château de Fontenay, 37150 Bléré: 2008 Cuve N°9 AOC Touraine

Green apples. Tomato leaf. Clean well made and should be encouraged. A few more days on the vine would have helped but good clean technical citrus and herbal style. Lacking ripeness but a valid expression from the Loire. More intrinsic ripeness would be good next year. Makes the cut but only just.

SCEV Jean-François Merieau, 41400 Saint-Julien-de-Chedon: 2008 L'Arpent des Vaudons AOC Touraine

Clean, ripe apple character with tinned mandarins, quite crisp acidity, citrus with ripe and green notes as well.

GAEC Godet, 41700 Oisly: 2008 Domaine de Marcé AOC Touraine
Good typicity and varietal character, ripe thiols, clean, well-made wine for the U.K. palate.

EARL Domaine de Montigny, 41700 Sassay: 2008 AOC Touraine

Grassy style with underlying body of fruit, good weight and length. Orange grapefruit and citrus.

EARL de la Haute Clemencerie, 41400 Faverolles Sur Cher: 2008 AOC Touraine
www.domaine-haute-clemencerie.com/

Very sweaty, medicinal characters; Intense and extremely modern. Needs to be copper fined before bottling otherwise the wine will be stinky in bottle. Nice wine that divided the panel and caused great discussion but in the end we decided that while it isn’t a traditional style it is a valid style of Sauvignon Blanc that the UK market does like.

There is no doubt that of all the wines that we tasted this generated the most intense debate. Will be fascinating to taste the finished wine.

VDP Val de Loire

SCEA Vignoble Rethore Davy, 49110 Saint-Rémy-en-Mauges: 2008 Loire Collection, VDP Val de Loire
www.vinsrethoredavy.com/
Kiwi-fruit, pea pod, herbal gooseberry, vibrant integrated acidity – very commercial, but well done. Nice fit for the UK market.

Eric Chevalier, 44310 Saint-Philbert-de-Grand: 2008 Fié Gris VDP Val de Loire
The Fié Gris is Sauvignon Rose/Sauvignon Gris.
www.chevalierledomaine.com/

Intense green fresh modern style, lovely purity, lacks riper notes and perhaps the greeness is too dominant; nice body for 11.7 alcohol. Should be commended perhaps even premium.

Ampelidae, 86380 Marigny-Brizay: 2008 Brochet Pointe de Doux VDP Val de Loire
www.ampelidae.com/

Fruit salad citrus ester thiol style. Winemaker's wine and has done a good job making this. It is pure and modern aromatically with good tropical fruit intensity. What worries us about this wine is an inherent lack of physiological ripeness as the palate is high acid and lacking weight. On the cusp.

SARL Joël Delaunay, 41110 Pouillé: 2008 TYDY VDP Val de Loire
www.joeldelaunay.com/

Grassy, touch dusty and a bit of reduction, but pleasant tomato leaf character, reasonable palate weight

Antoine Simoneau, 41400 Saint-Georges-sur-Cher: 2008 Domaine de la Rabelais, VDP Val de Loire
www.antoinesimoneau.com/
Tomato leaf, candied fruits, citrus. Elegant style. Well made.

EARL Paquereau, 44190 Clisson: 2008 VDP Val de Loire
Intense herbaceous gooseberry style. Not the panel's favourite wine but it is clean and well made. Sugar may be a little high. Commercial capsicum style and would stand out on a buyers' tasting table. Commercial and well constructed.

Ackerman-Remy Pannier, 49260 Vaudelnay: 2008 VDP Val de Loire
www.ackerman-remypannier.com/

Bouquet intense ripe pear drops and fresh primary fruit including apples and gooseberry. Very modern style aromatically. Palate is pure and linear with no hint of sulphide or reduction. Needs to see a touch of copper if a tank samples. Acidity high and perhaps lacks concentration to carry it, but it is hard to fault with lovely flavours. Food wine. Doesn’t have the concentration or complexity for premium. Strong commercial food Sauvignon Blanc.

SA Bougrier, 41400 Saint-Georges-sur-Cher: 2008 VDP Val de Loire
www.bougrier.fr/

Good intense ripe gooseberry, capsicum. Wonderful intensity and vivid and defined style. Pure. Commercial flavours with superb weight and acidity. Nice wine. Flavours don’t fit into either ripe or green as quite complex wine with some citrus notes.

Elodie Bessas of Interloire's technical service and the key organiser of the tastings

If any of the producers have websites I have missed – please let me know and send me the details. Sam's notes being added.

Signals@the Gare de Saint-Pierre-des-Corps

Early start tomorrow as heading back to the Loire – to Tours for the Sauvignon Blanc project tasting. As I get there earlier there are two visits in Montlouis set up for me – to Laurent Chatenay, whose wines I've tasted and enjoyed, and to Xavier Weisskopft (Le Rocher des Violettes), whose reputation I know of but whose wines I have not yet tasted. Should be a good afternoon. Then will be hooking up with Sam Harrop MW and Elodie Besseas, in charge of the technical aspects at InterLoire.

Sauvignon Blanc 2008

I’m off back to the Loire in the middle of next week for a tasting in Tours of the first fruits of the new Sauvignon Blanc project. I’ll be meeting up with Sam Harrop MW, who is the consultant on this project. Sam has been the external consultant for the earlier Cabernet Franc project. Also involved in the tasting is my frequent Loire companion, Sarah Ahmed (the wine detective) and the ebullient and inimitable Joe Wadsack. Originally Jamie Goode, who I tasted with in Paris on last year’s Cabernet Franc Ambassadors’ tasting, was due have been coming but presumably his busy schedule has made that impossible and Joe is coming instead.

Sam Harrop MW

The Sauvignon Blanc project started on 3rd June 2008 with an agreement between AOC Touraine and Vins de Pays du Val de Loire and will last through to 2011. It also involves InterLoire (the promotional and administrative organisation for the Loire’s appellation vineyards from the Pays Nantais through to Touraine, Anivit Val de Loire (regional organisation for Vins de Pays from Loire) and ANIVIT (national organisation for Vins de Pays). The project does not include the Central Vineyards area ie Sancerre, Pouilly etc.

The Loire has 7021 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc planted – fractionally ahead of Aquitaine with 6997ha. The project focuses on Sauvignon Blanc vineyards outside of the Centre region, which account for 3,293ha. Nearly 80% of AC Touraine white is Sauvignon Blanc. In 2007 Sauvignon Blanc production accounted for 102,000hl and represents 1,900 ha in terms of surface area. Exports of Sauvignon reached 30,000hl 929%) in 2007, of which 45% were to the UK.

Sarah Ahmed in Sancerre: August 2008

In the first instance, as with the Cabernet Franc project, the initial focus is on the UK market with the following aims:

• Match the market’s expectations in terms of product quality
• Increase the reputation of ‘Sauvignon Blanc de Loire’ on the export markets
• Increase the “Sauvignon Blanc de Loire” selling price to bring more value to the range
• Increase sales volumes on the export markets.

Certainly one of the big concerns has been the low price of Touraine Sauvignon particularly in relation to that of Sancerre and Pouilly. Some of the Sauvignon made in Touraine is the equal of much of that from the Central Vineyards but by no means all of it. Unfortunately the low price means that the producers are not able to make the investment in machinery and winery equipment that has become commonplace in the Central Vineyards.

Apparently there are now some 80 producers involved in the project, which as it involves both AC Touraine and VDP is a bigger project than the Cabernet Franc. The wines we will be tasting will all come from the 2008 vintage, will have to be approved as either Vins de Pays du Val de Loire or AC Touraine and have a minimum of 2000 bottles for sale.

The tasting will be on Thursday and Friday. As I get to Tours on Wednesday afternoon I’m hoping it will be possible to fix up some visits to see some of the emerging bright stars of Montlouis. Yes I know Montlouis is planted with Chenin Blanc but it is the closest appellation to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, Tours mainline station.

According to the press release issued at the end of the Salon, the 2009 edition attracted roughly the same number of visitors as last year – over 9000 spread across 585 exhibitors. Although it can be difficult to judge how busy the fair really is my impression was that it was quieter than usual particularly for much of Tuesday and that there were fewer buyers from the UK – in part due to the economic crisis but also because of the heavy snow on Monday in the UK disrupting transport and closing airports.

This was confirmed by Charles Sydney who said that he hadn't seen any buyers from ASDA, Sainsbury's, Tesco or Morrisons at the Salon this year. Normally all the major supermarkets are represented. What about the UK press you might ask? With the exception of Chris Kissack making his first visit to the Salon, it was the usual stalwarts – Sarah Ahmed, Neil Fairlamb, and myself as well Ray O'Connor who was mainly here on behalf of the International Wine Challenge.

I was pleased my initial favourable impression of 2008 was confirmed at the Salon, at the Renaissance des Appellations tasting and during visits I made before the start of the Salon. 2008 is a good to very good vintage, providing producers picked at the right moment – not too early when acidity levels were high. In the event the Loire was fortunately that the harvest was small as this allowed the fruit to ripen properly during September and October and to ripen slowly developing intense flavours. Qualitatively good news, although not for the bank manager!

The dry whites should have enough weight to match the often higher levels of acidity. The reds have much more fruit and structure than the often light 2007 and some producers look to have made some very good wines that should keep well. Only the sweet wines were caught out by the weather with almost continuous rain during November dashing hopes of making some lovely sweet that had been raised during the good October weather. Generic cuvées made in the Layon and L’Aubance from grapes picked in late October will be light and charming for drinking young. 2007 is a much better sweet wine vintage than 2008.

It was good to meet Chris Kissack (the wine doctor has already posted a preliminary report) in Angers and I look forward to seeing him on the Loire panel at the Decanter World Wine Awards held in London in late April. Chris will be joined on the panel by two other Salon attendees: Sarah Ahmed (the wine detective) and Neil Irvine (HG Wines).

I will, however, be meeting up with Sarah along with Jamie Goode (the wine anorak) in Tours for the first tasting of the Loire’s important Sauvignon Blanc project that has Sam Harrop MW as consultant.

The 24th edition of the Salon des Vins de Loire will be on the 1st-3rd February 2010. My hotel room at the Hotel du Mail is already reserved.

I have just received the latest round up of news about the project. The plan is for the project to continue on into 2009 and to now start to look at other export markets apart from the UK. There will be a new Ambassadors' Selection made in 2009 – likely to be from the 2007 and 2008 vintages.

Sam Harrop MW

A personal view from Project consultant Sam Harrop MW

I have just returned from a whirlwind trip to the Loire where I was evaluating several 2008 winemaking trials. During the visit, I managed to taste a number of 2008 Cabernet Franc and I am delighted to report that quality looks impressive. Of course it's too early to say if 2008 is a great vintage, but early indications suggest it is well above average in quality.

Read on.....

The Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) tasting: 2nd October 2008
Standing up in front of your most highly qualified contemporaries and inviting criticism of your work takes a lot of backbone. But that is exactly what Harrop did at the IMW Cabernet Franc tasting on 2nd October 2008. His pizzazz paid off and the Project, the Ambassador wines and Cabernet Franc, were roundly praised.

‘I think this is a very good Project. The wines we tasted are wonderfully approachable. They have lost the old rusticity and are more refined. They demonstrate better wine making,’ said author, Rosemary George MW. Liz Robertson MW, consultant, agreed. ‘I was astonished and thrilled by the purity of the fruit in these wines. It proves that the herbaceous flavours do not have to be there.’

Read on....

Caught up with Sam late morning when he was visiting and tasting at Domaine Joël Delaunay in Pouillé (Cher Valley). Sam, who is the external wine consultant to Interloire for their varietal projects, was over here on a two-day flying visit, accompanied by Elodie Besseas, InterLoire's technical expert both to check up on progress on the initial Cabernet Franc project and to advise on picking times for the 2008 vintage. Sam is excited by the potential of the 2008 Cabernet Franc fruit but stresses it has to be picked at the right time.

“I think growers should be waiting until the week beginning 13 October as the tannins are strong this year and the acidity levels are still high. The potential is there but they should wait.” However, the tendency in Bourgueil and Chinon looks to be to start picking around 6 October.

Sam was also over here for the newer projects on Sauvignon Blanc and Côt. Sam’s initial advice on the Côt is for producers to cut down on maceration times because the tannins are rougher and more rustic than Cabernet Franc. He was also thinking that quite often Côt is picked before it is properly ripe giving the wines green notes that they would not have if growers waited until the fruit was ripe.

During the tasting with Joël and Thierry Delaunay, Sam was particularly impressed with their fragrant and minerally 2007 Touraine Sauvignon Blanc. He had also been very impressed with the dynamism of Florence Veilex at La Chapinière de Châteauvieux, whom he had visited early that morning.

La Chapinière de Châteauvieux, 4 Chemin de la Chapinère
41110 Châteauvieux
Tel: 02.54.75.43.00
Email: contact@lachapiniere.com
Web: www.lachapiniere.com

Domaine Joël Delaunay, 48 Rue de la Tesnière, 41110 Pouillé
Tel: 02.54.71.45.69
Email: contact@joeldelaunay.com
Web: www.joeldelaunay.com