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Those who travel to the Loire Valley want to see châteaux. In this case, châteaux are real castles, magnificent buildings mainly from the time of the Renaissance. However, wine lovers have long since become accustomed to the double meaning of the word château, which can be not only a castle but also a winery. Nowhere in France do the two châteaux meet as frequently as on the Loire. Whereby the châteaux where wines are made attract far fewer people than the royal castles of Blois, Amboise, Chaumont-sur-Loire, Chambord and what they are all called.

Chambord% probably the most beautiful castle in the Valley of the Kings. (Photo: Züllig)

The wine region stretches some 350 kilometres along the Loire and its tributaries, almost from Orléans to the Atlantic. And yet, even on the "Route du Vin," you never feel like you're in a big wine region, like in the Languedoc, Burgundy, or the Rhône, where vineyard follows vineyard. In the Loire, you almost have to look for the vineyards, although more than 60,000 hectares are under vines. One encounters huge fields of sunflowers or corn, large forest and pasture areas, but rarely larger vineyards. The Loire Valley has a mild climate and is extremely fertile, even for vines. This was recognized by the Bretons, who brought Loire wines to England long before they focused on Aquitaine (Bordeaux). Wine trade along the Loire was also of great importance to the Dutch from the 12th to the 17th century. Little remains of this former fame and importance. The more southerly wine regions of Bordeaux and those to the northeast of Paris, Champagne, now share the wine world's far greater attention.

The castle of Amboise% high above the Loire. (Photo:Züllig)

High above the Loire in Amboise sits the castle, or what remains of the former magnificent building of Charles VIII. remains. Leonardo da Vinci is buried in the large grounds, today in the late Gothic chapel. In the castle garden, vines remind us that there are still many châteaux of a different kind on the Loire, namely wine estates, the majority of which are called "domaine" here. Everywhere, very close to the châteaux, there are also wine cellars, caves, which draw attention to the wine tradition on the Loire, encourage tourists to discover Loire wines and take a bottle or two home with them. It is only then that one really realizes how diverse and also different the Loire wine region is. Chenin Blanc (Pineau de la Loire), the oldest grape variety of the region, is mainly found in Anjou, in the more western part of the Loire. In fact, I should have gone for the independent white wines of the Loire, especially the Chenin Blanc. But - don't hold it against me - I prefer the reds. And especially the central wine region around Chinon and Bourgueil has a lot to offer.

Vines in the castle garden - a reminder of the importance of wine for the region. (Photo: Züllig)

Namely pure Cabernet Franc wines. That makes my heart beat faster. Breton, as Cabernet Franc is also called here, is the pride of the quality-conscious wineries on the Loire. Rightly so, I think. Even though I only came to a few Cabernet Franc wines - due to all the châteaux - and even though I was not able to find the very best ones, I got an impression of what the Loire can do with the reds, too. Beautiful drops, with floral aromas, plenty of elegance, but also power and almost slightly salty-bitter terroir notes. I feel far away from the one-size-fits-all Merlot-Cabernet blend, I think with each sip I also sense a landscape, earth, rock, chalk, gravel, sandstone. Aromas that I find at every turn in nature, just as well in the hewn refined stones with which the Renaissance castles were once built. A last piece of courtly life has been preserved in the best wines of the Loire.

The Loire is divided into five wine regions with different characters% in total there are 68 appellations. (Photo: Züllig)

And something else impressed me: wine cellars under the châteaux and castles. Where once the stones were cut out of the rock to build the stately, elegant or defiant châteaux, large caves have been created where wines are now stored. Such stone caves - which is typical, especially in Touraine - hide many a romantic wine cellar, where people are now invited to taste (and, of course, buy). In the Cave Plouzeau, directly under the ruins of Chinon Castle, where once Joan of Arc recognized and addressed the Dauphin, I tasted three wines from the Château de la Bonnellière, from the simple drop to the estate's top wine suitable for storage. It was not only the atmosphere that impressed and moved me, it was also the consistency with which the Cabernet Franc grape variety is vinified here, what is made out of this rather delicate variety: independent wines, with fine aromas, discreet wood and clear truffle notes.

Wine cellar in the rock under the castle ruins of Chinon. (Photo:Züllig)

Actually, I don't understand why Loire wines are so little known and hardly noticed in our country. In France, they enjoy a high acceptance, in every gourmet restaurant, they are on top of the wine list and are in great demand. But if you ask wine traders here, they usually shake their heads: Loire wines are slow sellers, difficult to sell. And I think I now know why: They are far outside the prevailing taste in wine, they are different, more personal, perhaps even more demanding, just as the grape variety itself is, namely difficult.

Cordially
Yours/Yours

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