Wines of the week: 10 bottles from the Loire region

The Loire, which runs from its source in the Massif Central in a long arc to Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast, is the longest river in France. One of the three great wine river-valleys of the country, it is popular with tourists for its scenery, ancient towns and fairytale chateaux – and many also discover the wines of the region.

But whereas the wines produced in and around the Gironde/Dordogne/Garonne areas, more generally known as Bordeaux, and the Rhone Valley are dominated by some of the greatest red wines ever made, the Loire is mostly all about white wines; the most well known of which are, of course, sancerre and pouilly-fume, the epicentre of French sauvignon blanc and almost smack in the centre of France.

But the wines of the Loire are much more varied than the other two river valleys, with a wide range of excellent, if less familiar whites, some superb sparkling wines and juicy, medium-bodied reds. These are not big, shouty, in your face wines but are reliably satisfying, demonstrating excellent value for money and quality.

I can’t do justice to all the varied wines from the region, so here are just a selection.

Moving east from the coast, the first major area is that of muscadet, where the melon de bourgogne grape produces brilliant whites for the shellfish, particularly oysters, from the Loire estuary. The better ones are named “sur lie” which denotes lees contact after fermentation, adding a richness and depth to the clean, refreshing orchard-fruit flavours. Try the Taste the Difference Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie 2018 (£8.00 sainsburys.co.uk) for a great example of the style and a surprisingly complex and rewarding bottle; made by Domaine Lieubeau, one of the region’s best producers, for the TtD range. And excellent value at the price.

Moving some way inland, the Touraine region is home to gorgeous, unusually unoaked, light and refreshing whites made from sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc, which suit all kinds of lighter fish dishes and salads and are perfect for autumnal drinking. The Champteloup Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2018 (£9.99 waitrose.com) has an appealing citrus grassy freshness, without the biting gooseberry acidity that can sometimes make New World sauvignons a bit acerbic. The specific Vouvray appellation within Touraine specialises in chenin blanc wines, such as the Vouvray Sec, Sylvain Gaudron 2016 (£17.95 greatwesternwine.co.uk) which has characteristic dry honeyed notes on top of clean, chalky minerality. Both would suit all kinds of fish and shellfish dishes.

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At the eastern extremity of Loire wines, almost in the geographical centre of France, there are several appellations worth seeking out that offer whites at excellent prices compared to the neighbouring big guns of sancerre and pouilly-fume. So, two very well made wines, ideal for dinner-party fish dishes: the Calvet Menetou-Salon Sauvignon Blanc (£14.99 waitrose,com) has all the zesty, citric, mineral freshness one could want from sauvignon blanc, with added green herbal notes to give more texture. Over in Reuilly, the most southern of the Loire appellations, the organic Les Fossiles Domain Denis Jamain (£14.99 virginwines.co.uk) is more intense and rounded, the name deriving from the fossil-rich limestone soils of the region that give these whites their lovely minerality. And made by an excellent winemaker – look out for his roses and light reds.

Unlike the other two regions, the Loire is also well known for being home to excellent sparkling wines, including those under the cremant appellation, which denotes Champagne-style production requirements and, therefore, a certain level of consistency and quality. The Domaine Des Hauts Perrays Cremant du Loire (£13.95 leaandsandeman.co.uk) comes from the Coteaux du Layon area of Anjou and is made from mainly chenin blanc grapes with small amounts of chardonnay and cabernet franc, with toasty flavours of apple and whiff of spice and honey. A more pure expression of chenin blanc can by found in the Chateau Moncontour Vouvray Brut NV (£15.80 vinvm.co.uk), which is just a fabulous and enlivening aperitif for autumn, with its golden colour and hints of hay and meadows on the nose and more toasty, honeyed, apple flavours on the palate.

Red wines in the Loire are made from gamay, cabernet franc and, mostly in the eastern Centre Loire region, pinot noir. If you like beaujolais villages reds, you will love the Gamay de Touraine, Domaine de Pierre, (£12.95 greatwesternwine.co.uk); chewy, supple, succulent, light to medium bodied, cherries and chocolate on the palate, a great wine for pizza and pasta dishes or charcuterie which benefits from a light chilling. Equally appealing, the Saumur Rouge Les Nivieres (£9.49 ocado.com) from the south bank of Loire near Saumur is made with cabernet franc and a bit meatier than the gamay; a lovely, juicy, spicy, medium-bodied wine, full of brambly fruits and the flavour of warm autumn days.

For my money, although there are lauded roses from Anjou, the best roses in the Loire come from the area most known for scintillating whites, Sancerre. Made from pinot noir grapes, the Domaine Michel Girard Sancerre Rose 2018 (£13.99 virginwines.co.uk) exudes class and elegance, with full-bodied, ripe red-fruits and clean, mineral acidity on the palate; ideal for crab, lobster and prawns. A fine rose for an Indian summer – so here’s hoping.