For our first meeting we were lucky enough to sit outside in early evening summery heat …in May! Perfect time of day for sharing a range of styles of Middle Loire wine that Steve provided in his and Liz’s home in Middleton.
Carefully researched with plenty of background information we were certainly set for a splendid evening. Steve provided us with tasty paired nibbles to accompany the wines. Some wines were brought back from France and others available through vintners in the UK.
The Loire has a fair few grape varieties and a huge range of wines. The 1000k long river has tremendous variety of climate, rock and culture and in the Middle Loire, which was the focus, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc have long found their feet and are the ‘bees knees’
We tasted the following
1. Domaine Colin. Perles Grises - Petillant Brut 2023. Sparkling
2. Jean - Christophe Garnier, Bezigon 2023 White
3. Domaine Ogereau. Vent de Spilite 2023 White
4. Domaine des Echardières Rosé Touraine
Dry rose 2025
5. Chateau de la Chevalerie, Peu Muleau, Restigné, Bourgueil 2018 Red
6. Chateau de Plaisance. Sur La Butte 2022 Red
7a Domaine Cady. Pet Nat Bio.
Rosé Sparkling.
7b Domaine Cady Coteaux du Layon Saint Aubin 2022. Dessert wine.
We all highly rated the 100% Cabernet Franc red wine that is number 5 on the list however all the wines tasted were very much enjoyed.
So - off to a cracking start for this wine group. We had an extremely enjoyable and fun filled evening. Many thanks to our hosts, with an added bonus that Steve turned out to be a bit of a chef too by the way. Who knew!
Chapeau!!!!
Report by Jane Mardon
