Loire Valley
Spanning from the Central Vineyards in the east to Nantes in the west, passing through Torraine and Anjou-Samur, the Loire Valley is a vast and varied wine region shaped by the river's influence. The region's diverse terroir is characterized by a continental climate in the east and a maritime climate in the west.
Renowned for its exceptional dry white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, the Loire Valley offers a captivating selection with crisp acidity, expressive fruit flavours, and mineral notes. Notable white wine appellations in the Loire Valley include Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Vouvray, and Savennières. Leading producers of white wine in the region include Domaine Vacheron, Domaine Huet, and Domaine Didier Dagueneau.
In addition to its white wines, the Loire Valley produces charming red wines made from Cabernet Franc. Ranging from light and fruity to more complex and age-worthy, these red wines are known for their vibrant acidity, subtle tannins, and bright red fruit flavours. Key appellations for red wines in the Loire Valley include Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur-Champigny. Notable producers of red wine in the region include Domaine Bernard Baudry, Catherine & Pierre Breton, and Domaine Charles Joguet.
The Loire Valley also produces excellent sweet wines and sparkling wines. Sweet wines are made from Chenin Blanc grapes affected by botrytis, a fungus that concentrates the sugars in the grapes, resulting in luscious sweetness, honeyed flavors, and vibrant acidity. The most famous sweet wine appellations in the Loire Valley include Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume. Sparkling wines, known as Crémant de Loire, are made using the traditional method and offer excellent value for money with finesse, delicate bubbles, and refreshing character.
Loire Valley
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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|
Loire | 1 | 94 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£238.84 |
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Vinous (94)Hailing from a sandy site planted in 2004, the 2019 Saumur Champigny Franc de Pied is the last wine that its maker Thierry Germain serves up. It's like a fondant potato melting in your mouth with its silken ease; it has breadth too, although with the seeming weight of air. This is a touch savory, and a hint of leather sits in the background, but it adds rather than detracts from the complexity. Scented, lengthy finish. |
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|
Loire | 1 | 93 (WS) |
Inc. VAT
£199.24 |
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Wine Spectator (93)Vivid, with a lovely beam of cassis and dark cherry puree racing through, flanked by hints of graphite and alder and scored by flashes of bay, olive and sweet tobacco through the finish. A Loire red lover's dream. Drink now through 2026. 42 cases imported. |
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|
Loire | 1 | 96 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£742.87 |
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Vinous (96)From vines planted in 1904 that sit on both flint and limestone, which is a rare combination in Saumur-Champigny, the 2019 Les Memoires is all purity of coulis-like fruit. It offers incredible concentration yet floats in the mouth like a weightless cloud. If there were a Cabernet Franc equivalent of Chambolle Musigny, this would be it. I love it. The finest of chalky tannins are just present on the finish, as if to remind you this is a red wine. |
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|
Loire | 1 | 96 (VN) |
Inc. VAT
£280.84 |
|||||
Vinous (96)From vines planted in 1904 that sit on both flint and limestone, which is a rare combination in Saumur-Champigny, the 2019 Les Memoires is all purity of coulis-like fruit. It offers incredible concentration yet floats in the mouth like a weightless cloud. If there were a Cabernet Franc equivalent of Chambolle Musigny, this would be it. I love it. The finest of chalky tannins are just present on the finish, as if to remind you this is a red wine. |
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|
Loire | 1 | 94 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£211.24 |
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Wine Advocate (94)From low-yielding Cabernet Franc vines that average 45 years of age and root in the silex clay soils of the côte, the 2019 Bourgueil Le Grand Clos opens with a pure, fine and intense, concentrated but also aromatic and fragrant bouquet of dark and red fruits and crushed stones along with refreshing lemony and spicy notes. Round and very elegant on the palate, this is a beautifully balanced Grand Clos with a concentrated finish with tight but fine tannins and a fresh acidity that gives a positive astringency. The aftertaste is long and intense but always in balance and underlines the remarkable finesse of this wine that aged for 12 to 18 months in 400-liter tonneaux. Tasted in June 2021. |
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|
Loire | 1 | 93+ (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£372.04 |
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Wine Advocate (93+)From vines averaging 45 years of age on the slopes of the Coteau and aged in oak barrels for 20 months, the 2018 Bourgueil Les Quartiers opens with a deep, intense and toasty bouquet of ripe, black berries and blackcurrants intermixed with spicy tones, cigar box and graphite. Silky, refined and fresh on the palate, this is an elegant, tight but vivacious, silky-textured Cabernet Franc with crystalline tannins and a long finish that is still oak-influenced in its flavors, but the structure, finesse and intensity and the very delicate raspberry flavor in the aftertaste indicate excellent aging potential. Personally, I prefer the crus that were partly aged in stoneware (amphorae) and also for a shorter period, whereas Les Quartiers represents the old Amirault style, before 2014. |
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Loire | 1 | 94 (VN) |
In Bond
£183.00 |
|||||
Vinous (94)Hailing from a sandy site planted in 2004, the 2019 Saumur Champigny Franc de Pied is the last wine that its maker Thierry Germain serves up. It's like a fondant potato melting in your mouth with its silken ease; it has breadth too, although with the seeming weight of air. This is a touch savory, and a hint of leather sits in the background, but it adds rather than detracts from the complexity. Scented, lengthy finish. |
|||||||||
|
Loire | 1 | 93 (WS) |
In Bond
£150.00 |
|||||
Wine Spectator (93)Vivid, with a lovely beam of cassis and dark cherry puree racing through, flanked by hints of graphite and alder and scored by flashes of bay, olive and sweet tobacco through the finish. A Loire red lover's dream. Drink now through 2026. 42 cases imported. |
|||||||||
|
Loire | 1 | 96 (VN) |
In Bond
£587.00 |
|||||
Vinous (96)From vines planted in 1904 that sit on both flint and limestone, which is a rare combination in Saumur-Champigny, the 2019 Les Memoires is all purity of coulis-like fruit. It offers incredible concentration yet floats in the mouth like a weightless cloud. If there were a Cabernet Franc equivalent of Chambolle Musigny, this would be it. I love it. The finest of chalky tannins are just present on the finish, as if to remind you this is a red wine. |
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|
Loire | 1 | 96 (VN) |
In Bond
£218.00 |
|||||
Vinous (96)From vines planted in 1904 that sit on both flint and limestone, which is a rare combination in Saumur-Champigny, the 2019 Les Memoires is all purity of coulis-like fruit. It offers incredible concentration yet floats in the mouth like a weightless cloud. If there were a Cabernet Franc equivalent of Chambolle Musigny, this would be it. I love it. The finest of chalky tannins are just present on the finish, as if to remind you this is a red wine. |
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|
Loire | 1 | 94 (WA) |
In Bond
£160.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (94)From low-yielding Cabernet Franc vines that average 45 years of age and root in the silex clay soils of the côte, the 2019 Bourgueil Le Grand Clos opens with a pure, fine and intense, concentrated but also aromatic and fragrant bouquet of dark and red fruits and crushed stones along with refreshing lemony and spicy notes. Round and very elegant on the palate, this is a beautifully balanced Grand Clos with a concentrated finish with tight but fine tannins and a fresh acidity that gives a positive astringency. The aftertaste is long and intense but always in balance and underlines the remarkable finesse of this wine that aged for 12 to 18 months in 400-liter tonneaux. Tasted in June 2021. |
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|
Loire | 1 | 93+ (WA) |
In Bond
£294.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (93+)From vines averaging 45 years of age on the slopes of the Coteau and aged in oak barrels for 20 months, the 2018 Bourgueil Les Quartiers opens with a deep, intense and toasty bouquet of ripe, black berries and blackcurrants intermixed with spicy tones, cigar box and graphite. Silky, refined and fresh on the palate, this is an elegant, tight but vivacious, silky-textured Cabernet Franc with crystalline tannins and a long finish that is still oak-influenced in its flavors, but the structure, finesse and intensity and the very delicate raspberry flavor in the aftertaste indicate excellent aging potential. Personally, I prefer the crus that were partly aged in stoneware (amphorae) and also for a shorter period, whereas Les Quartiers represents the old Amirault style, before 2014. |