Stone, Vine & Sun: Loire wines

2016 Sauvignon, IGP Val de Loire, 

Domaine des Forges £9.75

Today I went to the Stone, Vine & Sun autumn tasting at the Middle Temple, home of many barristers offices. There were 53 wines to taste and there was an impressively high hit rate – a lot of characterful wines and thankfully not at silly prices. 

The tasting started with three Sauvignon Blancs – two from the Loire and one from South Africa. Of the two from the Loire I much preferred the grassy, clean and fresh IGP example (£9.75) from Domaine des Forges. In contrast the Pouilly-Fumé (£14.95) had a light grapefruit character, was rather lean and dilute. Perhaps the Pouilly-Fumé will take on a little more weight in bottle but at present the IGP offers much better value.

2015 Les Pernets, Pouilly-Fumé, Francis Blanchet

2014 Savennières, Clos de Coulaine, Château Pierre-Bise

£17.95 

Although this 2014 Savennières has attractive power, concentration and considerable balance, it is quite tight in the finish at the moment. It may well come out of this stage in time. Alternatively if wanting to serve it now it would make sense to decant it a couple of hours in advance.   

2015 Coteaux du Layon 1er Cru Chaume, 

Les Onnis, Domaine des Forges £21.95

This is a very delicate Chaume with a touch of apricot and honey with good length. I think it would work best as an apéritif or with cheese but likely to difficult to pair with most desserts except for some summer red fruits. Although attractively delicate for a 1er Cru I might have expected a little more concentration.