Reuilly is profiled.) If reading those evocative Auvergne profiles does not leave readers thirsting to explore the wines as well as countryside of an innovative, neglected corner of La France Viticole, then it’s hard to know what would. And that is surely the point of Blanning’s generosity. Indeed, inspiring thirst for Loire wines generally and an urge to explore them in situ are goals admirably fulfilled by her enthusiastic, insightful, and readily read text, including her many recommendations for places to dine and lodge when visiting. Is there jargon and wine speak? Yes: “Linearity,” “verticality,” “vertical structure,” “vertical acidity,” “mineral acidity,” “mineral fruit” and more. But less than in most writers’ tasting notes. (Even “minerality” was spotted a mere seven times!) On the whole, Blanning’s prose is as clear and refreshing as a youthful Muscadet. If associations of underlying rock types with organoleptic features are no more convincing or consistent than in most books on wine, the making of claims is for the most part wisely left to her profiled winegrowers. Myriad topics are tackled in side-boxes,


most stuffed with useful insights (though an entire page covers breeding of fungus- resistant crossings, only one of which can claim even limited use in a sole Loire sector). Boxes also succinctly and perspicuously delineate every applicable appellation (including “Dénominations Géographiques Complémentaires”), accompanied by valuable statistics. One two-page “box” is devoted to treatment of a single domaine—Nicolas Joly’s—thereby tactfully managing his omission as a profiled “notable producer.” A rare weakness is the partially box-formatted pages devoted to “natural wine,” which focus almost entirely on SO2


, with nothing


about yeasts; repeated reference to the risk of oxidation but none to reduction; and a mere two-word mention of filtration. Most terms with which her readers might be unfamiliar, though, are thoroughly yet succinctly covered in a glossary, to which Blanning’s text ought more conspicuously and repeatedly have drawn attention. And readers led by repeated frustration to ignore a book’s index can make an exception here: Blanning’s is a clear, comprehensive model of utility. Wines of the Loire Valley is not without contentions that could be contested or matters that might merit correction in a (well-deserved) subsequent edition.


That “[t]here are no significant plantings of Melon anywhere else in the world” would certainly be disputed by increasingly many California and Oregon growers enamored of this grape variety (which for much of the 20th century was quite widely planted in California, albeit deceptively marketed as “Pinot Blanc”). It’s misleadingly averred that at Domaine Didier Dagueneau “all [wines] are ... fermented in barriques,” when in fact Dagueneau has long been known both for trademark elongated, proprietary 265-liter “cigar” barrels, and for experimentation with other alternative vessels, such as among the first, if not the first, wooden egg-shaped fermentor. A detailed litany of Jean and Florent Baumard’s “radical new ideas ... with little attention paid to convention unless it suited Jean’s ideas” inexcusably omits the Baumards’ long-standing, rancorously contended (and for Quarts de Chaume ultimately outlawed) practice of cryo- extraction. It’s averred that today’s Coulée de Serrant wines reflect “adherence” to “time-honored fashion,” when in fact, they don’t even represent continuity with the wines Nicolas Joly was bottling into the late-1980s, the best of which are still poised, fresh-fruited, and florally effusive—a far cry from the botrytis- induced, high-alcohol, and oxidative overlay that has characterized his wines since the outgoing 20th century. This volume’s insightful and quote- studded producer profiles often squeeze in descriptions of virtually every wine a proprietor bottles; yet there are a few instances of inexplicable and unfortunate


incompleteness. Domaine de la Pepière’s crus are justifiably praised, but neither their Briords nor Gras Moutons bottlings—estate flagships long preceding the advent of crus communaux—gets mentioned. Coverage of Baudry cites only one of that estate’s many estimable, terroir-specific bottlings. Only two of Domaine Pinon’s myriad offerings receive mention (nor does François Pinon’s pioneering of no-till). Domaine Bellivière’s impressively age-worthy Coteaux du Loir Hommage à Louis Derré is overlooked, even as some 150 words are expended on a liquoreux Pinot d’Aunis that this estate has only rendered three times in as many decades. After noting that the wines of Domaine Belargus “are mostly dry,” Blanning fails even to mention that estate’s half-dozen exceptions, three of them Appellation Quarts de Chaume. Blanning’s strong preference in addressing reds as well as whites is to emphasize vivacity, freshness, and immediate, youthful drinkability, as well as the extent to which today’s growers have themselves increasingly emphasized those virtues, for instance by favoring shorter fermentations with more passive extraction than prevailed in the late-20th century. But this emphasis downplays both the extent to which top practitioners are rendering red wines of depth and concentration that scarcely qualify as “fruit-forward,” and the extent to which youthful drinkability proves compatible with serious aging potential. In addressing “Loire Cabernet Franc: finding its identity,” too little if any room is implied between wines “raw and green” and ones “ripe, fruit-forward and refreshing.” Volumes in the Classic Wine Library series—revived, revised, and reissued since 2013—have been conspicuously short on production values. Weaknesses have included low-grade paper, poorly executed maps, and grainy black-and- white photos of limited relevance. The present volume, though, reflects the 2023 acquisition of the series by the Académie du Vin Library—and what a felicitous difference that has made! The extensive maps—some on a detailed scale—are precise, colorful, and maximally informative; the plentiful photos—color as well as black-and- white—sharp, succinctly captioned, and apposite. (Even the evocative front and back covers are captioned.) This book will be a joy as well as a boon to revisit. 


THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025 | 51


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