Sommelier Wine Awards 2009: France

Loire & Sancerre

The 2007 vintage gave our tasters wines that were light, typical and food friendly. But, with a few exceptions, they were just lacking in star quality

Northern French Sauvignon has been something of a mixed bag in the Sommelier Wine Awards. Two years ago the category was absolutely slated, with the judges barely able to find anything even for the Shortlist. Last year it was a lot more positive with two Gold Listed and six Shortlisted wines, largely on the back of the excellent 2005 and 2006 vintages.

And this year? Well, somewhere between the two. It certainly wasn’t a bad performance, by any stretch – the tasters all found some wines about which to be positive – but those that made it onto the Gold List and Shortlists tended to be pretty obviously those that they wanted. Heated debate there was not.

This may have been a function of the vintage. Just about every wine sent in was from 2007, a year that could kindly be described as ‘better for freshness than fruit’, with decent aromatics and a fairly zingy style, but also issues with botrytis and thinness on the palate. It was not an easy year to add complexity to acidity, whatever you were charging, and many of the wines had substituted the word ‘mineral’ with the word ‘flat’.

All of which perhaps explains why the more modestly priced Touraine and Loire Sauvignons tended to do rather better than the pricier Sancerres, which kicked in after the £9 mark. Aromatically, most of the wines delivered; the problem was in finding wines that followed it through on the palate. At the lower price points, our tasters were less aggrieved if the wines fell away somewhat.

Still, having said that, they remained for the most part highly drinkable. Light, yes, but not hard and aggressive. ‘I could have sat down and drunk a bottle of most of these, which might not be the case with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc,’ said Angus McNab of Clos Maggiore.

We only put one cheap wine through because, apart from that one exception, I think we generally would get better value elsewhere. Igor Sotric, China Tang

GOLD LIST

Sancerre Blanc ‘Le Tournebride’ 2007, Vincent Gaudry
£9.36 @ Vintage Roots Ltd
Minerally, steely nose. Palate shows more depth, with flowers, green herbs and white fruit. Clean, dry and long, with an attractive body. ‘Subtle green aromatics, good minerality and zippy,’ said Toby Ellis.

SOMMELIER'S SHORTLIST

Levin Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Levin Wines Ltd, Loire
£5.50 @ Levin Wines Ltd
Grassy green fruit, with tomato leaf, lemon and herbs. Dry, crisp and fresh with a green-leaf finish. Excellent value.

Menetou Salon Morogues 2007, Domaine Henry Pelle, Loire
£8.22 @ Boutinot Ltd
Green fruits with the fresh-cut grass aromas supported by a beguiling minerality.

Sancerre Blanc 2007, Domaine Tissier, Ac Sancerre Blanc
£10.01 @ Corney & Barrow
Good citrus fruits, nice minerality and great flinty concentration. ‘The most complete Sancerre we tried,’ said an approving Angus McNab.

Levin Gamay 2007, Levin Wines Ltd, Loire
£5.50 @ Levin Wines Ltd
Delicate, pretty wine with a good carbonic maceration. Cherry nose, subtle tannins and brisk acidity. Highly gluggable.

Key to colours: Green = white wine ; Red = red wine

Editorial feature from the Sommelier Wine Awards 2009.

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