Description
Loire Valley
Loire Valley is an Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC, or controlled designation of origin) wine region that stretches nearly 300 km west-east through the Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire administrative regions in central France. Few wine regions in France can match the Loire for its combination of sheer natural beauty, fine châteaux and pristine wines of terroir. It is here that Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc reach their apogee in the appellations of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Vouvray.
Sancerre’s hilltop exposition lies on the famous Kimmeridgian limestone clay and Pouilly-Fumé lies on the flatter, river-side soils on a mix of alluvial deposits along with Portlandian and Kimmeridgian limestone. Flinty, fresh and energetic, the Sauvignon Blanc from the two regions remains a world benchmark. Vouvray also lies over limestone, but with a higher content of iron and magnesium, and its wines are renowned for their purity and longevity in the cellar.
Climate
Throughout the Lower and Middle Loire Valley the weather is described as Maritime, with defined seasons, while the Upper Loire Valley is semi-Continental, with a wide diurnal range in temperature.
Soil
Volcanic soils with top soils of granite-like rock in the Lower Loire Valley, a mixture of many soil types in Middle Loire Valley, and three distinct soil types in the Upper Loire Valley (Terre Blanche, Caillotes and Silex.
Key Varietals
Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Fran
