Loire Valley Wines and Seafood, A Beautiful Marriage

There’s a magic connection between the wines of northern France’s Loire River Valley and seafood that never fails to excite me. Although the Loire is probably France’s most versatile grape-growing region, producing sparklers, dry, semi-dry and richly sweet dessert whites, as well as interesting reds and roses along its 240 mile east-west stretch before emptying out into the Atlantic near the port city of Nantes, what unites the best of all these wines is their wondrous perfume, lively fruit flavor and thrilling soil-derived undertones of minerality. The best news is that even the region’s gems remain relatively affordable as many are among the world’s best kept wine secrets. (For a map go to: http://www.kobrandwine.com/maps/flash/021_loire.php)

 

On a recent trip to the Loire I revisited old classics, discovered some amazing new wine values, and was once again shocked and delighted to experience how even among the region’s modestly priced white wines there are those that can age beautifully, retaining freshness for decades. Why are they not better known? The elegant cool climate Loire Valley signature style has remained out of vogue for many years as influential journalists and their followers pursued richer, riper wines of intense concentration and maximum flavor impact. In my view, however, the cycle is turning, and today the subtlety and understatement that Loire wines offer appeal to an ever-widening circle.

 

There is a charm in the region that is reminiscent of an earlier pre-industrial age. It’s not only a question of the magnificent Chateaux and Cathedrals which line the River, or the dreamy pastoral hillside vineyards and antique villages layered among them, but at a time when large multinational beverage corporations control an increasingly greater percentage of production and distribution, the Loire remains essentially “a family affair” of small scale grape-growing artisans. Many run family domains that span several generations. The following notes highlight some of the most exciting wines and personalities I encountered tasting there with colleagues in February. Included are wines I have brought back to Legal Sea Foods for our month long April 14 to May 11 Loire Valley Wine and Food promotion, featuring daily menu specials, (inspirations of Chef Jeffrey Tenner who brought his amazing palate accompanying me on this trip) that we pair with wine as well as six gala dinners I will be conducting at various restaurants along the East Coast. (Click here to sign up for our wine dinners.)   This focus actually brings Legal Sea Foods full circle with its heritage, as restaurant founder George Berkowitz recently informed me. His original Inman Square restaurant wine list consisted of two wines: Muscadet and Vouvray, both Loire Valley classics and both as delightfully complementary to our fish in 2008 as they must have been in 1968.

Climate and geography explain a lot about the variations in grape variety and resulting flavor that you’ll encounter among the Loire’s diverse vineyards. Our tour begins in the chilly western end of the Valley at the River’s mouth, the Pays Nantais. Home of the region’s most widely produced wine, Muscadet, the vineyards are on rolling slopes and the lowland soils tend to be stony clays laced with silica crystals. Muscadet, in its most famous incarnation, as Muscadet de Sevre et Maine sur lies (referring to its origins along two tributaries of the Loire and the unique production technique of bottling the wine young, directly after extended contact with the fermentation yeasts) is the quintessentially fresh raw shellfish wine. But it can be something more than that as well: a low alcohol (12% and under) wine of bone dry, mineral laced apple-like purity that is so well balanced it can complement a whole range of buttery fish preparations as well as aging magnificently. The name of grower Michel Delhommeau’s signature blend, the “Cuvee Harmonie” needs no translation. It originates from a single parcel of vines among his 70 acre vineyard that in the 2006 vintage produced a gentle apple-accented wine featuring the region’s signature bite of lingering slightly salty, sea-infused flavors. Delhommeau is a second generation proprietor whose practices illustrate many of the trends I saw throughout the region: taking the risk to convert more of his vineyard to organic, or “biologique” grape-growing, harvesting later to achieve more developed flavor, handling the grapes in a delicate manner, bottling small sub-vineyard plots (including an interesting 40 year old parcel called Les Fiefs Seigneurs) separately to reflect subtleties of the local “terroir.” His several separately vinified wines all taste different, and each reflects its vintage as well, with the 2007’s more earthy and minerally than the 2006’s, and the 2005’s broader and riper.  Another great Muscadet I discovered was from grower Serge Saupin whose “Cuvee Prestige” Muscadet de Sevre et Maine sur lies, 2006 originates on a 38 acre estate marked more by schist and its south-west exposures than Delhommeau’s. This wine displayed its electrifying crisp, racy personality from the first whiff of salt air, to the finish of tingly green apple, lemon and lime-flavors. To me these characteristics illustrate perfectly what the French term “nervosite” means. Uncompromising and even a bit bracing in its tangy slightly bitter flavor profile, each taste of Saupin’s wine cried out more plaintively for fish. A horse of an entirely different color was the 1997 Louis Metaireau “Cuvee One,” Muscadet de Sevre et Maine sur lies: beautifully textured, still discernibly spritzy, soft and round, with blasts of pure citric, aromatic herb and apple flavors and a long mineral finish. Eleven year old Muscadet? Yes, in fact, I tasted a 1992 that provided even more amazement, from Domaine des Chausselieres, its brilliant youthful minerality, exotic apple and herb notes and finish of salt and soy offering a new revelation with each sip. This producer, unfortunately, does not even export to the US.

 

Crossing east into Anjou the climate softens a bit, with less oceanic influence, but the wines, while fuller and riper in style than Muscadet, still reflect the considerable mineral complexities of the soil. Although this is a more temperate climate, hospitable to a broader range of grape varieties, Anjou’s greatest glories are reserved for Chenin Blanc. This is an ancient venerable grape that gets little respect outside of the Loire, but is treated like the superstar it can be by many of the region’s growers, who painstakingly harvest in stages, or “tris,” culling out only the ripest grapes on each pass through the vines. Most often uncompromisingly dry, and still quite obscure in the US, Savennieres is a great, rare Loire Chenin that is among the region's best-kept secrets. Located just west of the city of Angers, this zone’s vineyards are planted behind cliffs that plunge precipitously to the Loire on rocky southeast-facing slopes, which restrict yields (generally 2 to 3 tons per acre), trap sunshine and radiate heat to advance ripening and achieve Chenin’s maximum potential. Grower Damien Laureau cultivates 12 acres in the district; his Savennieres “Cuvee des Genets”, 2004 made from 20-40 year old vines planted on schist and quartz, is ripely fruity, with intriguing whiffs of honey, pear, and earth, but totally bone dry. Beautifully balanced, with a round, soft texture but the most piercing intensity of mineral, peach pit and spice-accented citric flavor, it’s a fantastic accompaniment to a wide array of fish and seafood. No less amazing are the full range of wines made at Chateau de Fesles, in Bonnezeaux, including dry Chenins, roses, soft fruity reds, and the estate’s crown jewel, the richly sweet Bonnezeaux dessert nectar that is the product of 3 to 7 “tris” through the vineyard, selecting only the most perfectly ripened, sugar-concentrated grapes. The 2005 vintage was a gold-colored marvel of lush, honeyed, very buttery, sweet apple and apricot flavors, accented with leafy, earthy, toasted nut tones. It spent over 2 years in oak barrels, has a fair amount of “noble rot” influence and would be a brilliant match for one of the Loire’s signature goat cheeses, Crottin de Chavignol, a Blue Cheese, or a crème caramel. (CLICK TO VIEW PICTURE)

 

Many people consider Touraine, the hilly zone just inland from Anjou and about 120 miles off the Atlantic Coast, to be the heart of the Loire. The climate here is the region’s mildest, with several vineyard areas so sheltered from oceanic influence by forests and hills that, interestingly enough, even this far north they can ripen red grapes as well as the whites. Touraine is the center of the famed Tuffeau bedrock formation, a crumbly calcareous yellow-colored limestone that forms the vineyard subsoil in many places, has been quarried over the centuries to build the region’s Châteaux as well as more modest housing, and actually provides a perfect storage environment for the production and long aging of wines. Caves carved into the hillsides along the River are among the world’s most unique and interesting winery facilities.   

  

Another interesting aspect of Touraine’s wine mix, and one that makes it slightly easier to understand, is that many of the bottles carry “varietal” grape labels. Fourth generation artisan grower Jean-Francois Merieau, for instance, produces a lovely Sauvignon de Touraine “Arpent des Vaudons”, that is lemony and bright, with a clean mineral finish, as well as some wonderful old vine Malbec, named “Gueule de Boa” that is smokily scented, with ground black pepper and massive raspberry fruit flavors. The revelation for me was a charming 2006 Gamay de Touraine, “Le Bois Jacou,” from a manually harvested 25 acre vineyard that exuded Morello cherry flavors bursting from the glass, with undertones of milk chocolate, toast and vegetal spice but no discernible tannin. If ever there was a juicy “red wine for fish” this was it. Merieau also produces a 2005 “Boa le Rouge” Touraine Gamay “Vieilles Vignes” made from 60 to 70 year old vines and aged in small barriques that is extremely luscious and very sensual on the palate, with velvety black raspberry fruit, sweet herb essences, and a rich gritty minerality one rarely encounters with Gamay.

 

Of all the red varietals Touraine is best known for its highly scented Cabernet Francs, more specifically from the communes of Chinon and Bourgeuil, the best examples of which can age wonderfully. A visit to the cellars of Bernard Baudry, one of 300 wine makers practicing in the fortress town of Chinon, provided an object lesson in Cabernet Franc terroir expression as well as biodynamic grape growing. The Baudry estate produces five different Chinons, each from separate plots but all manually harvested, naturally fermented without adjustments for sugar, and vinified slowly at cool temperatures using uncrushed grapes. For some of the wines the grapes are trodden under foot. Each lot is then bottled, winemaker Mathieu Baudry explained, with minimal handling, most not being filtered or fined. During our visit I tasted domaine wines going back to the 1985 vintage at his cellars, but it was clear that the 2005 Baudry “La Croix Boisse” Chinon was something special; the limestone soil on which it is grown lends this cuvee an intriguing tealeaf and smoky raspberry like aroma, as well as a somewhat gritty but super-ripe concentrated peppery cocoa berry flavor. The same wine in the 2006 vintage showed a lovely perfume of cinnamon and root vegetable, with more vibrant acids, a bit more spice and a softer texture to complement the bing cherry fruit flavors. Baudry’s cuvees were all interesting and unique, with the object lesson being that the lightest wines, such as “Les Granges” (the 2007 of which, tasted out of tank, will be something special: floral, blueberry-like, gentle and very creamy in texture) tend to originate on the sandiest soils, and those like “Le Clos Guillot,” which are most rich and intense, are grown on more clay, gravel hillsides. The 2005 vintage Le Clos Guillot had violet scents and a beautifully balanced flavor with the most sophisticated cherry fruit of all. Soft in tannin but with a concentrated spicy finish, it struck me as a wine that would be adaptable to a wide range of chicken, meat and fish dishes, with grilled tuna coming to mind as the most appropriate match in the seafood world. In fact, Touraine Cabernet Franc, with its moderate tannins and slightly vegetal, spicy edgy red fruit flavors strikes me as no less an ideal although somehow unsung partner for some of the earthier, chewier fish than Pinot Noir. 

 

Vouvray, produced exclusively from Chenin Blanc just east of Tours and not far from the Cabernet Franc vineyards of Chinon (but in a much less sunny location), is among the best-known wines of the Loire, but also among its most miscellaneous in quality and diverse in style. Because of variability in sweetness it is rarely clear to consumers what kind of Vouvray they will be getting: bone dry, semi-dry, or fully sweet. Throw the large production of sparkling wine in this zone into the mix and the picture complicates further. I tasted several well-made Vouvrays at the local cooperative cellars, the Cave des Producteurs, representing 40 growers, the most amazing of which was from the glorious 1959 vintage (deep gold in color, with honey, beeswax, smoky floral scents and an amazing richness of nutty sweet fruit edged with lemon), but left feeling that the finest wines are still made at the private estates, such as Domaine du Viking, whose1990 “Cuvee Tendre” from chalk and silex soils is still youthful, fresh and delicious. Viking’s wines, tasted in the 2002 and 2004 vintage as well, are marvels of concentration, with honeyed apple and pear flavors and vigorous lemon, apricot and peach pit undertones. Interestingly they are aged in chestnut rather than oak, which the proprietor feels imparts too much harshness to balance the delicate personality of his wines. Vouvray is versatile and these wines are suited to a variety of fish dishes, including those that incorporate fruit and other sweet flavors in the preparation, those which display curried and other mildly spicy influences, as well as cheeses and fruit-based desserts.

 

Furthest east, the Central Loire vineyards produce the least volume of all, but probably the most prestigious wines internationally, particularly around the hilly towns of Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire, which face one another across the Loire. These vineyard zones are best known for their minerally Sauvignon Blanc despite the fact that until relatively recently red grapes dominated there. Sancerre may have the most complex story of all the Loire vineyards as there are four distinct soil types found there among the commune’s 6,000+ acres, each producing wines with slightly different characteristics. They all are chalky, well drained and stony with marine fossils lying close to the surface. The best vines are planted on south facing slopes, to capture maximum sun exposure. A visit to the biodynamically run vineyards and cellars of Domaine Vacheron, one of the region’s finest family estates, revealed some of the magic of the appellation. The youthful Jean Dominique Vacheron explained that his estate is particularly noted for its Pinot Noir, and is one of the largest producers of Sancerre Rouge, because it was a grape his grandfather admired and continued to cultivate at a time when other growers were replacing it with Sauvignon Blanc. Vacheron was also the first estate to emphasize lower yields and Burgundy-like production techniques (long, slow grape maceration without pumping the grapes) to make a darker colored, fuller Sancerre. The Domaine is one of only a few Sancerre wineries with equal parts of limestone, chalk and flint (or silex) in its vineyards. (CLICK TO VIEW PICTURES)  Limestone and chalk contribute to balanced but pronounced fruit acidity, while flint elevates the aroma and minerality. There is also clay marl present, which provides richness and body. Vacheron’s wines all have lovely textures and fine aromas, showing the significance of controlling yields. He makes some cuvees which are blends and some which are terroir-driven from particular sites. The 2006 Vacheron Sancerre Blanc showed signature aromas of grapefruit, earth and grass, with a mild silky texture and a nicely integrated spicy mineral finish. This is a quintessential seafood white, balanced so well that it can easily accommodate the lightest most delicate preparations, as well as meatier seafood steaks. The 2006 Vacheron Sancerre Rouge was quite perfumed with floral, leafy scents and a very round supple texture. Its medium tannins and creamy layered fruit, but low-key mineral-like cherry flavors suggest accompaniment to Salmon.

 

A visit to the nearby Pouilly-Fume cellar of Domaine Didier Dagueneau in Saint Andelain, regarded by many as the Loire’s finest if perhaps most eccentric winemaker, revealed another side of the intriguing Sauvignon Blanc terroir puzzle. Dagueneau’s son Benjamin guided me through a tasting of his cuvees in barrel as well as some recent vintages. The Dagueneau “Pur Sang” Pouilly-Fume has long been one of my favorite wines in the world, on another level from almost any Sauvignon Blanc I’ve ever had in terms of concentration, purity and complexity, but we tasted other Dagueneau cuvees that were equally intense and interesting, including the very rare 2004 “Cuvee Asteroide,” a creamy but laser-sharp wine of intricate minerality made in selected vintages from a tiny ten row parcel of ungrafted vines. The most interesting comparison to me was between the “Pur Sang” and the “Cuvee Silex,” originating exclusively from 35 to year old vines grown on clay flint soils; in each vintage the latter wine showed an amazingly pure grapefruit-like minerality and tight structure, while the former was rich and bold, with more ripeness and concentration. These are all wines that can develop over at least a decade in the bottle; a 2002 Pur Sang I had recently was still youthful. As with Vacheron in Sancerre the emphasis is on old vines, natural grape growing, severely restricting yields, manual harvesting (in this case on several passes through the vines), no chaptalization and fearless experimentation with mixes of natural and cultivated yeasts and varying dimensions and ages of barrels. Dagueneau in particular makes what I would call aspirational wines, those which point a direction of greatness for all Sauvignon Blanc producers to emulate. They are amazing with simply broiled lobster. 

 

In summary, our wine and food tasting odyssey proved that there is nothing more classic with fish and seafood than the crisp, aromatic, mineral-accented wines grown in the vicinity of the beautiful and historic Loire River. From the windswept district at its westernmost point, where the River empties into the Atlantic near the charming city of Nantes and produces the ideal bracingly dry Muscadet de Sevre et Maine sur lie, east to Anjou and Touraine’s chalky soils formed from shellfish fossils deposited in the area millions of years ago where the mouthwatering highly versatile Chenin Blanc and outstanding Cabernet Franc and Gamay hold sway, (both of the latter providing definitive proof that you CAN drink, and love, red wine with fish), further on to the vineyards of Sancerre and Pouilly, where the soil signatures change to silex and limestone and the textbook cool climate Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noirs are made, the diversity of seafood-compatible flavors and textures is unmatched.