Laying down the Loire

But then something happened – Loire reds became mean and green. They lacked the exuberant fruit which was their most captivating character and became sullen, hard and frankly a touch too acidic for more modern palates. Sales fell and Loire reds spiralled down in quality.

But then a few years ago, in a surprising move, the region decided to recruit a consultant winemaker to help improve wine styles, and instead of using a local expert they appointed someone who knew all about their target market. Sam Harrop, winemaker and Master of Wine had just left Marks and Spencer after several years guiding the style of M&S wines and he was brought in to encourage growers to focus their winemaking skills on fruit and style. "Ripeness is vital in this region, so that the grapes can acquire their unique perfume and fresh red fruit flavours," said Sam when I met up with him to taste through a range of new wines which he calls his "Ambassadors".

With a range of 35 wines in front of me, from all the red appellations of the central portion of the Loire, I sniffed and swirled these new wines and they brought back the scent of summer holidays spent in honey-coloured stone gtes on the banks of the Loire. They were full of crushed raspberry notes, with soft, silky tannins and the clean refreshing clarity of fruit which makes these wines sing. This tasting showed that the red wines of the Loire are back, not through some clever winemaking techniques, but by the simple method of letting grapes hang on the vines long enough to ripen fully. Having tasted these wines I realised that I needed to go back to the Loire to find out what has changed in the region. The Loire is the longest river in France, rising in the hills of the Ardche and flowing north in a vast arc to emerge 600 miles later into the Atlantic at Nantes on the west coast. It is a languid, shallow river, creating the feeling of calm and tranquillity while along its banks there are dozens of chteaux, their turrets and towers giving a fairytale appearance to the countryside.

Between Tours and Angers there is a real concentration of red wines, as the limestone soil and local microclimate combine to create the right conditions for the Cabernet Franc grape. This grape is the parent which gave birth to a famous son. It is the original Cabernet, now eclipsed by its attention-seeking off-spring Cabernet Sauvignon, but it retains its perfume and finesse which clearly comes through in the wines.

I visited the family company of Couly-Dutheil in Chinon to find out how they had responded to the call for riper styles of wines. "We decided some years ago to improve the overall quality of our range and have dramatically cut back on production," said Jacques Couly, director of the company. "We now rely on our own 96 hectares of vineyards and just take grapes from a few growers we have known for years. Yields have been cut and often we pick grapes a full three weeks after our neighbours, just so the grapes have long enough on the vines."

Getting the harvest in can be a problem in this region. "We used to be able to get labour from the villages but the law has changed that." The law, which restricts French workers to a 35-hour week means that growers have to rely on itinerant workers, in this region there are Chinese students picking grapes, but even they won't turn out at weekends.

For those occasions, when the harvest must be brought in at the peak of ripeness, Couly-Dutheil use their mechanical harvester which they call Aubry II, after the Minister of Labour who thought up the absurd working regulations. Swift transfer of the grapes to the winery while they still have the chill of the morning on them ensures even better quality than hand picking in the afternoon sun.

From there a smart, high-tech winery, using gravity flow and stainless steel tanks which mimic the action of stomping feet to create soft-edged, ripe-fruit flavoured wines. They are aged in the chalk tunnels carved into the hillside directly behind the winery and emerge fragrant and lively.

Try Chinon Gravires 2007 from Couly-Dutheil which captures crunchy raspberry fruit with a soft, gentle texture. I teamed this with grilled duck breast in a light redcurrant sauce and it matched perfectly. It is available for 10.99 from The Halifax Wine Company (www.halifaxwinecompany.com) and Lewis and Cooper in Northallerton (01609 772880). Across the river, the vineyards of Bourgueil produce slightly more structured wines that need to age for a few years to round out their flavours and harmonise. Majestic has Bourgueil les Cents Boisseles 2003 (8.99 on multibuy) which you might think is too old, but I tasted it recently and it has just hit its stride with the scent of violets and deep, dark cherry fruit, a light structure of tannin with a long, elegant finish. It is a food wine, so team it with roast lamb, duck or game. Further downstream the town of Saumur is dominated by its chteau which perches on a rocky outcrop close to the river. Nearby are the vineyards of Saumur-Champigny which produce a wine that smells like a punnet of summer fruits. Waitrose has Domaine de la Croix de Chaintres 2008 (9.99) which can stand being chilled for an hour then served alongside cold roast beef or chicken. Majestic's Ch de Targ 2007 (8.99 on multibuy) has a light streak of herbs combined with the supple fruit. Also recommended is the French Connection Saumur Champigny 2008 which crops up in the Co-op and Morrisons. It is slightly challenged at its full price of 8.99 but frequently goes on offer when it really hits its price point. I'll let you know when it does.

YP MAG 7/8/10