Reds of the Loire Valley

What type of wine do you associate with the Loire Valley? Whites? Me too. Well red wines from The Loire Valley are making an impact now.

NY Times reports: The wines I’m talking about come from the village of Bourgueil, in the Loire Valley of France. But no, they are nothing like the cheap carafe wines that used to give Bourgueil and other Loire reds a bad name.

Now, a handful of producers in Bourgueil and its next-door neighbor, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, are making wines that belong on any short list of great reds, at least when value is taken into account. Plenty of delicious bottles are available for €10 or so, and few of these wines cost more than €20.

Quality has been driven forward by young vignerons who have opened up to the outside world of wine, learning from their peers in more famous regions while continuing to make wines that are true to their place of origin.

“There is a handful of us who are trying to go as far as possible to show that this can be a noble terroir, to let the terroir express itself,” said Frédéric Mabileau, one of the new stars of Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil.

Traveling in wine country, one often hears that ambition expressed. But the rise of Bourgueil and other nearby appellations is timely, because it coincides neatly with a change in consumer tastes.

The big, blustery reds that dominated wine lists a few years ago, winning high scores from critics and favor from consumers, are falling out of fashion. Now the search is on for lighter, more drinkable, less tiring wines, with modest levels of alcohol. The terroirs of the Loire are well-positioned to provide them.

Read More about these wines: Loire Valley Reds Come Into Their Own

As the NY Times observes it is another red that begins with "B" - along side Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, and Bierzo!

References:
Loire Valley Tourism
Loire Valley Properties

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