Looking Around the Loire

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Looking Around the Loire

By Warren Rojas

2005 Chateau Moncontour Vouvray Demi-sec

An oft overlooked region, the Loire Valley may lack the name recognition of collectors’ favorites Bordeaux and Burgundy. But the so-called “Garden of France” does not want for interesting—and insanely affordable—wines.

2005 Domaine des Huards Cour-Cheverny

“Loire bottles are typically wallet-friendly,” Kelly Magyarics says of the down-to-earth price points. “And because some of the sub-appellations aren’t all that well known, off-the-beaten-path options also exist that are literally ripe for the picking.”

Hence the reason Magyarics remains smitten with romorantin—a “little white grape that could,” in her estimation—particularly as expressed by the 2005 Domaine des Huards Cour-Cheverny ($18). According to Magyarics, this wine tempers its bold acidity with “honey and steely notes” and “an almost waxy feel,” which she suggests makes it a solid contender to accompany citrus-splashed fish dishes or perhaps rosemary pork tenderloin.

Walter Martley, too, enjoys the Domaine Des Huards wares, though he singles out the 2006 Domaine Des Huards Cheverny “Le Pressoir” ($19) as a well-proportioned pinot noir/gamay blend ideal for pairing with everything from escargot to bacon-wrapped trout to blue cheese-crusted burgers. “It is an easy quaffer that you might find at the local bistro,” he says of the budget-friendly find.

For Loire whites, Martley tips his hat to a classic dry chenin blanc, touting the 2005 Chateau Moncontour Vouvray Demi-Sec ($16) as “a perfect wine to wean someone from white Zinfandel!”

Magyarics, meanwhile, favored a more complex red. She praises the gamay (“bright fruit”)/malbec (“spice and tannin”)/pinot noir (“a touch of earthiness”)/cabernet franc (“floral aromatics”) interplay captured in the 2006 Albane & Bertrand Minchin Le Clos Delorme Valençay ($20).

“Don’t be afraid to slightly chill it … as you would a gamay-based Beaujolais,” she counsels.