Salon des Vins de Loire
Posted by Ray O'Connor | Filed under Out and about
A very fleeting visit to the Loire Valley has me worn out but the quality of producers at the fair was well worth it. Audrey and I managed to reach all of the producers at the fair to tell them about our collection service for samples to go to the U.K. It would be great to see more quality producers from the Loire participate. It appears that the size of these producers restricts them from approaching the UK market ,which they then believe should deter them from entering the competition. “Au Contraire Madam!” I said to the nice man behind the Bourgeuil stand, ” this is a chance to get your name and medal out there and around the world.” 
On a wine writing note, the Wine Blog Trophy awards from the Salon took place that afternoon. Aurelia Fillion won best desgin and best best blog for her site: http://busurleweb.com/
That evening Langlois Chateau hosted a large group of Germans and a smaller representation from the UK at their winery in Saumur. Elizabeth Fergusson from Mentzendorff invited myself and a few other folk from the UK wine trade to dinner there. We were introduced to their vin clairs (base wines for sparkling wine) in their amazing 5km long cellars before tasting their Quadrelle 2002 sparkling wine. This is a delicious piece of wine making only produced in good years. As the name suggests, it’s a blend of 4 grapes: Cav Sav. Cab Franc, Chenin and Chardonnay. The nose is beautifully aromatic with an complex autolytic touch. Similar complexity on the palate but then the Chenin kicks in to give a crisp green edge to the wine keeping it nicely perked. This wine is almost 8 years old and I reckon it would need at least this amount of time before drinking. We then had a lovely meal to finish off the seriously long day.
Gyropalletes underground at Langlois Chateau.
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bathmate...