After having had a break from Thanksgiving, the first regional class we had was on the Loire Valley, one of the areas which our instructor for the week is most passionate about. The Loire is one of the northernmost regions for winemaking in France – and despite what amazing wines come out of the region, it remains the awkward child of France, with Bordeaux and Burgundy persisting as the king and queen, despite the fact that the Loire is the 3rd largest producer of AOC wines in France. It’s interesting that I read about how the Loire is still finding its identity like a young adult, to the point where many of its appellations allow small but substantial maximums of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon into their whites and reds, respectively.… read more
Day: October 22, 2014
Liquid tarte tatin: 2005 Château de la Roulerie Coteaux du Layon Chaume
[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]
The last wine of the evening was a beautiful deep gold, and you just absolutely knew this was going to be some luscious sweet thing that you’d just pretend to spit. What’s fantastic about Chenin Blanc is that it has this piercing acidity that’s present in many of the wines it produces – so even for a sweet and full-bodied wine like this, there’s still this cleansing quality that stabs through the syrup to keep it youthful and crisp, even for a 9-year-old wine. Such a fantastic balance between the acid, sugar, and fruit, along with a lingering finish. This was revealed as $30 at 500mL and one classmate started giggling in disbelief.… read more