Chateau De Targe, Clos de Moulin, Cabernet Franc, 2017, Loire Valley, France
Tried at the 40th anniversary of the Colchester Cellar Club this is Chateau De Targe Clos de Moulin is a very grown up Cabernet Franc. There’s the usual red fruit, plum, with oak and vanilla but it’s all very smooth, dry and structurally tight. It’s very good but you need food to get the best out of it and at £35 a bottle it’s not cheap. The cuvee Ferry Cabernet Franc that they do is better for me.
Domaine De La Desoucherie, Cheverny, 2013, Loire Valley, France
This white wine from the Domaine De La Desoucherie in the Loire Valley is typical of the whites from the region.
Its subtle and easy drinking, there are aromas and flavours of citrus and its about Eur8 a bottle. We picked this up when visiting the Loire Valley and its a shame in many ways that we can’t get this in the UK. Its a great white for the summer to just drink in the sun.
Domaine Huet know how to make a great Loire Cremant. At £30 a bottle it should be great, is it?
Made with Chenin Blanc this has lots of small bubbles and subtle aromas of lemon and blossom with pear in there. These feed into the taste with hints of green apple and a bit pineapple in the background. Its classy i’ll give it that. £30 is a little steep though.
Domaine Huet, Vouvray Petillant, 2014, Loire Valley, France
Purchase on holiday when we visit the Loire Valley, this Sparkling wine is made with 100% Chenin and in the traditional method. Thats the plus points.
Its far more acidic and green than I remember it on holiday, lots of citrus and green apple in there but it was too much on its own, with a bit of smoked salmon it was better. Its not undrinkable but compared to the Luxembourg Sparkling we had first it was no where near that in quality.
At Eur6 a bottle its best left or make it the 3rd or 4th bottle to open at a party.
la Prevote, Touraine, Brut, Loire Valley, France
Desert Wine, this is a desert wine in a full size bottle, its christmas and all things seem good by the end of this bottle. I like desert wine very much, just sipping it, tasting all those rich flavours.
This has aromas of ripe pineapple, lychee and and heavy thick texture that helps those flavours which are added to by condensed citrus and honey.
This is a little lighter than you may get from a traditional desert wine buts its really rather good and at under £10 a bottle, great value.
Bouvet Ladubay, Coteaux Du Layon 2013, Loire Valley, France
A dry roses from Carrefour at €6. Is it any good well there are are a few aromas of faint red fruit, but on the the flavour front there are red currants and hints of strawberry and quite a lot of cream soda.
As long as you don’t expect to gold medal aromas and flavours this is actually really excellent value. It’s not Bouvet Ladubay sparkling but it’s good.
Plaisirs de loire Brut Rose, Saumur, Loire Valley, France
We had our first Loire Valley wine tasting trip in 2015 and this was one of the last vineyards to visit yet one of the best. Great tour and explanation of the various parcels of land and the different soils in each, the difference in the range of wines was astonishing.
This is their crement, sparkling wine and is one of the nearest to champagne crements I’ve tried. A dry sparkling with aromas of toast and yeast with light citrus notes. The flavours are very much towards that typical toasted bread under tone and dry, high acidity after taste you get with champagne yet stops just short of being to overpowering. £12 a bottle makes this a wonderful sparkling.
Domaine Richou – Loire Valley crement
This is a sparkling Chenin Blanc from Vouvray. It’s a Demi Sec sparkling with flavours of yellow apple, blossom, pear and a little honey and citrus. The aromas are lacking but it’s not a big issue, the flavours are integrated and complement the strawberries and cream and scones we had.
At about £10 a bottle it’s pretty good.
Vouvray Demi Sec from the Loire
Alban Foucher is the 3rd generation wine maker at Earl Goucher in Saumur. The La Seigneurie 2017 is a consumer wine. 40,000 bottles are produced and at Eur10 it’s a decent example of a Cab Franc drink now wine. You get the usual red fruit aroma and flavour but also a decent hit of tannins. It’s not a smooth, silky wine but with a lump of meat or tomato based pasta dish it’s pretty good. Personal I prefer less tannins.
La Seigneurie 2017 by Alban Foucher, Loire Valley
Clos Moleton 2015 from Saumur, Loire Valley, France is one of the better reds from the region. An organic vineyard that produces fine wine made from Cab Franc. There are aromas of red fruit with spice. Flavours of red fruit, black cherry, pepper and a slight flavour of vanilla make this a wonderful red. At about £20 it’s good value.
Clos Moleton from Saumur, Loire Valley, France