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.