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A compact, authoritative, enticing introduction to the wines of the Loire
Wines of the Loire Valley Beverley Blanning MW
Published by the Académie du Vin Library; 364 pages; $44.95 / £35 Reviewed by David Schildknecht
J
acqueline Friedrich published her lovely Wine and Food Guide to the Loire back in 1998, a planned successor getting only as far as a 2011 volume devoted to “The Kingdom of Sauvignon,” so detailed and tasting note-dependent that full Loire coverage in that format would have run to many rapidly dated volumes. For detail, human interest, historical background, and on-site intelligence, those who already love the Loire have for a quarter century been consulting the vast entries of Chris Kissack’s
thewinedoctor.com. But a compact and authoritative, not to mention enticing introduction to the wines of the Loire, has long been needed. Beverley Blanning MW and the Académie du Vin Library have now supplied one.
Not a moment too soon? If it’s long past time for such a guide to appear, it’s also ideal timing, since, as Blanning writes: “The Loire Valley is enjoying a renaissance in interest that some would argue is [itself] long overdue.” Come to think of it, perhaps it’s lucky this book did not appear significantly sooner. The Loire is undergoing a rapid renaissance in more than just consumer interest. Consider, for instance, 14 formidable estates founded or reborn just between 2018 and 2021 (all but two among some six score profiled in Blanning’s book). They have emerged from the pandemic crucible flourishing, many finding themselves forced to allocate, a few already approaching cult status. In Anjou alone, Ivan Massonnat created Domaine Belargus from former Jo Pithon holdings; Vanessa Cherruau revived dormant, hitherto unnoticed Château de Plaisance; Cédric Bourez created Le Clos Galerne; veterans but never-before estate-owners Alice and
50 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025
Antoine Pouponneau established Grange Saint-Sauveur; Domaine Delesvaux passed to Nils and Ombretta Drost; and Terra Vita Vinum emerged from former Domaine Richou. In Saumur, Caroline Meurée and Hervé Maligne established Domaine des Sables Verts and Théo Blet his eponymous estate. In the “Kingdom of Sauvignon,” Antoine Gouffier returned home to purchase ’til-then obscure Domaine du Bouchet, Jean-Philippe Agisson founded Domaine Agisson, Valentin Desloges created Domaine des Quatre Piliers, and a formerly less-than-noteworthy estate became Riandri Viser and Clément Jolivet’s Domaine les Ormousseaux. The Auvergne witnessed the birth of Clos de Breuilly under William Taÿ-Pamart- Ambroise Demonceaux partnership, and then-24-year-old Florent Thinon’s debut. And this is not to mention family-owned establishments that underwent consequential generational hand-offs during the same four-year period. Coverage at an earlier date might also have missed or insufficiently emphasized important trends affecting the future of appellation contrôlée, such as a now imminent AOC for dry wines from vineyards authorized to produce Coteaux du Layon Chaume, attendant agitation for recognition of dry Anjou “crus,” or the realization dawning on overachieving growers of Saumur-Champigny that the legacy and destiny of their best sites is to excel with Chenin Blanc. These and other important ongoing developments receive adept coverage, augmented by detailed site descriptions and maps. Blanning tracks the increasingly many, often prestigious growers who have abandoned AOC and now bottle their wines as Vins de France, as well as those certified organic or biodynamic (via tiny icons where certification is pending or spurned).
An essential toolbox Blanning’s guide is slightly unorthodox for its genre in that all three introductory chapters occupy a mere 37 of 352 pages. Historical, geophysical, climatic, and viticultural details—all of which abound— are largely found in the five chapters and 280 pages covering Loire sub-regions and incorporating her estate profiles. Understandably, Blanning notes that her choices there are “personal.” But since she also lists for each sub-region “other producers to try,” it’s fair to question conspicuous omissions. Many of these likely reflect her professed proclivity to go hard on oxidative or bacterially-induced consequences of minimal or no SO2
. But
snubbing Mark Angeli, Olivier Cousin, Richard Leroy, and the Mosses leaves readers in the dark concerning some of the most talked-about and widely-revered Angevin wine growers, who have profoundly influenced public perceptions of the Loire. Similarly glaring omissions: the Bretons, Stéphane Guion, Sebastian David; and while rightly lauding the late Jacky Blot’s Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups, its Bourgueil sister Domaine de la Butte is inexplicably ignored. From the Coteaux du Loir and Jasnières, only Domaine Bellivière is profiled and one other estate even listed—a shame given the distinctive deliciousness of (no-“e”) Loir wines and the considerable number of estates with international availability yet too little recognition, notably those of perfectionists Sébastien Cornille (Domaine de la Roche Bleue) and Christine de Mianville, but also of Ludovic Gigou (Domaine de la Charrière) and Pascal Janvier. Just three estates in Cheverny are mentioned, none profiled, and while a cool attitude toward “natural” wines would explain the absence of Clos du Tue-Boeuf and Domaine Pierre- Olivier Bonhomme, surely Philippe Tessier is as close as Cheverny comes to a consensus leader.
One gleans a further clue to Blanning’s choices from her having profiled no fewer than ten estates in the Auvergne with especially generous texts and photos. (By comparison, none in either Quincy or
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