Loire reds offer a different taste of France

Australians drink a lot of Champagne. Wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux are popular with aficionados, while the Rhone also has its fans and wines from the Languedoc sell well through major chains.

The Loire Valley, however, is often overlooked. 

The Loire wine region stretches across western France from the Muscadet vineyards near the city of Nantes on the Atlantic coast to the Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé vines that lay just south-east of the city of Orleans in central France.

Among the leading wine producing regions are Anjou, Saumur, Bourgueil, Chinin and Vouvray with grape varieties ranging from whites made from chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc and melon de Bourgogne to reds crafted from cabernet franc, pinot noir and gamay.

These are generally stylish, lighter-bodied and layered wines that are very food friendly.

With Crémant-style production throughout the Loire, it is the second-largest sparkling wine producer in France.

The Loire has a long history of winemaking dating all the way back to the 1st century.

The region is currently promoting its wares in Australia, with a focus on reds showcasing cabernet franc, pinot noir, and gamay).

The Val de Loire PGI spans 14 departments with 30 grape varieties with 50% of all cabernet franc in France grown in the Loire.

Pinot noir and gamay are often enjoyed lightly chilled. They are found largely in Touraine and Saumur.

There is a focus on sustainability in the region with 85% of vineyard areas either organic or certified under environmental programs.

Among the red Loire offerings available in Australia are: 

• ‘Les Rouillères’, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, Cabernet Franc, Frédéric

Mabileau $37.10

• ‘Confidences’, Chinon, Cabernet Franc, Famille Bougrier $19.99

• ‘Les Terres Rouges’, Saumur-Champigny, 2021, Arnaud Lambert $44.99

• ‘La Chapelle’, Anjou, Cabernet Franc, Château de Fesles $52

• 'Cote 50', Bourgueil, Cabernet Franc, Yannick Amirault $39.99

• Touraine, Gamay, Thierry Delaunay $21.99  

For more details see https://www.vinsdeloire.fr/en

Yalumba offers rare back vintages for wine lovers

 

Yalumba has just revealed its second museum release celebration for lovers of mature wines.

Following the success of last year’s inaugural museum release, the family-owned winery has announced the second release launching May 1.

The release showcases rare and fine wine wines from the 2010, 2013 and 2015 vintages, each carefully cellared since being bottled.

Building on Yalumba’s 175-year legacy, the selection includes limited parcels of The Caley Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz, The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon, and The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz.

This year’s collection also includes The Tri-Centenary Grenache, made from ancestor vines spanning three centuries.

“For generations, we have been setting aside our finest wines from great vintages, allowing them to mature in the ideal cellaring conditions of the Yalumba Museum,” said fifth-generation proprietor Robert Hill-Smith.

“The 2025 museum release reflects our unwavering commitment to crafting wines of exceptional pedigree and ageing potential. Each bottle tells a story of time, place, and dedication.”

Hill-Smith says the collection "offers wine collectors and connoisseurs the opportunity to experience the complexity, depth, and refined elegance that comes with carefully aged wines".

The wines are available in limited quantities through the Yalumba Wine Room and website, select fine wine retailers, and leading restaurants worldwide.

The wines are:
2013 Yalumba The Caley Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Museum Release $550
2015 Yalumba The Caley Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Museum Release $520
2015 Yalumba The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz Museum Release $234
2010 Yalumba The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz Museum Release $252
2015 Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Museum Release $100
2010 Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Museum Release $110
2015 Yalumba The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon Museum Release $85.00
2010 Yalumba The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon Museum Release $95.00
2015 Yalumba The Tri-Centenary Grenache $100

See Yalumba.com

A taste of Italy that won't break the bank

Well-made Italian wines that are age worthy, but ready to drink now?

If that is your desire, then the wines under the Astrale label - imported into Australia by Single Vineyard Sellers - are well worth a look.

Unlike many Italian producers, Astrale does not have a pedigree dating back centuries.

The business was founded in 2011 as a negociant-style operation, making wines using fruit from several different regions.

Winemaker Peppe Randazzo (below) is originally from Avola in Sicily and has 20+ years of experience. 

He and his team travelled across different Italian wine regions to meet with local grape growers, sourcing fruit from the best vintages, while maintaining a Tuscan focus from a base in Castellina in Chianti.

Currently available in Australia are three red wines where I found it difficult to find a definitive favourite.

The 2022 Astrale Chianti DOCG is a smooth, food-friendly wine with classic sangiovese red fruit characters to the fore, and a steal at $20.

The unusual NV Astrale Rosso ($40) - a blend of primitivo, sangiovese, montepulciano and Nero d’Avola across several regions - is more savoury and herbal but has plenty of depth and freshness and would pair well with dishes like rabbit ragu.

Probably the pick, though, is the 2019 Astrale Chianti Riserva ($40), with its layers of darker sangiovese fruit flavours, earthiness, well-integrated oak and soft tannins. Lovely stuff. 

The appeal of Randazzo's wines to an Australia audience should not be as surprise. His CV includes vintage stints at Leasingham and Chalk Hill, as well as at Nobilo in New Zealand 

French producers turn to gluggable chilled red wines

French winemakers and merchants are turning to chilled red wines - unusual in France - as a way to increase revenues. 

Despite many French drinkers being very traditional in their approach, a new wave of French reds is designed to be enjoyed as young and at the same temperature as rosés, wine industry newsletter Vitisphere reported this week. 

New ways of presenting wines can result in new customers, says Jerome Busato, who served his red wine served at 10°C in a bucket filled with ice at Inter Rhône wine bar in Avignon. 

"It's the wine that I sold the most during this evening when I presented my range of Côtes du Rhône wines," says the owner of organic producer Château Cohola in the delightful village of Sablet. 

This cuvée is called Fruit and is vinified to be drunk chilled.

“In summer, tourists are more likely to choose rosés and whites than reds, which nevertheless constitute the heart of our production," says Busato. 

"So, two years ago, with my wife, we decided to offer them a cuvée to drink during their holidays. It was a real success. 

"Customers who buy a bottle come back to take a box. The return rate is truly amazing!"

And at €11 a bottle there is money to be made in chilled reds. 

Maison Laurent Brotte in Châteauneuf-du-Pape has just launched its Rouge Frigo, a Côtes-du-Rhône rouge with an alcohol content of 12.5°, designed to be drunk chilled as its name proclaims. See www.rougefrigo.com/ 

“We want to find the moments of consumption such as the aperitif, the grills, the unstructured meals”, says winery commercial director Thibault Brotte. 

Rouge Frigo sells for €5.95. 

"We have never had so much interest in a product launch," says Brotte. 

In Bordeaux, too, the machine is in motion. 

The Larraqué Vins International group has created a red called Hors-Piste (off the track), a cabernet franc with an alcohol content of 12.5°. 

“Rosés are doing well and now almost all year round,” says observes Grégoire Delangre, the company's communications manager. "We think there's a place for fresh drinking reds." 

Main [hoto by Marie Dashkova on Scopio