In contrast to the other American Wine Society chapters in the Northern Virginia area, the NoLoCo (Northern Loudoun County) chapter meets at the home of one of the members and the tasting is always followed by a pot-luck dinner.
The April 2024 tasting took place at our home in McLean, Virginia, and Annette was the presenter. In terms of the pot-luck dinner, Annette and I contributed an 12-pound American Salmon, which we bought at Wegman's in Tyson's Corner.
Annette poured 8 wines, 4 white and 4 red, with 3 of the wines from producers we will visit on the forthcoming Loire tour.
See: Announcement: Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours (Sunday, June 09 - Thursday June 20, 2024)
Announcement
Jennifer Crafts, NoLoCo Chapter Chair: Annette Schiller will present on the topic of Wines from the Loire Valley. As a leader of wine tours through the various wine regions of France, she is an expert on these wines. She and Christian will host at their house in McLean. Attendance will be capped at 22. If needed, I will keep a waitlist.
Annette Schiller - Loire Valley
Annette Schiller: The Loire belongs to France's Crown Jewels. For centuries, French kings have spent their summers on the banks of the lovely Loire River and drank the wonderful wines that grow in the region. Still today their magnificent Châteaux and the fantastic wines are attractions for every visitor.
The Loire Valley is a vast wine region stretching for about 600 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Auvergne mountains. There are five main, distinctively different wine regions, each with its own characteristic grapes, appellations, and wine style.T
The Loire Valley wine region is a complex region: there is no varietal or style to associate with, which makes it difficult to clearly put a mark on the region. That's why this incredibly beautiful region is so very interesting to discover and to explore. The Loire Valley wines also provide the best value in terms of drinking pleasure / price.
Christian and I travelled to the Loire Valley in February to tie last strings for the upcoming wine tour to the Loire in June. We were smitten with the quality of the wines across the board.
April Meeting Recap -Jennifer Crafts
Annette
Schiller showed us a map of the five general wine regions within the
very long Loire Valley of France, including Pays Nantais (Muscadet),
Anjou-Saumur, Touraine,
Centre (Sancerre), and Upper Loire. She described the varietals that
flourish within each region, due to the climate characteristics and the
geographic characteristics. Annette described the history of the Loire
Valley and its impact on past and current wine
trade and production.
Annette presented and discussed the following eight wines.
- 2021 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie, Château de Chasseloir, Domaine Chéreau-Carrė ($15)
- 2018 Savenniėres, Clos des Perrières, Château Soucherie ($42)
- 2022 Vouvray, Clos du Bourg, sec, Domanie Huët ($50)
- 2022 Pouilly Fumé ‘Genetin’ Domaine Tinel Blondelet ($32)
- 2020 Coteaux du Giennois, Rouge, Clément & Florian Berthier ($16)
- 2022 Côtes du Forez ‘Poycelan’, Domaine Verdier-Logel ($26)
-
2019 Chinon ‘Les Cornuelles’, Marc Plouzeau, Château de La Bonnelière ($25)
- 2017 Saumur-Champigny ‘Les Rogelins’, Domaine Clotilde Legrand ($50)
After tasting all eight, we voted for our favorite among the four whites and four reds. The favorite white was the Vouvray, followed closely by the Muscadet. The very clear favorite red was the Saumur-Champigny. Several pointed out that our votes favored the more expensive wines.
We thank Annette and Christian for hosting. We enjoyed the opportunity to be around one big table and to have socials and the potluck outside on the deck. And the whole salmon was a treat!
Presentation: Wines from the Loire Valley
The Wines
Dinner
American Salmon
Bye-bye
See: Announcement: Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours (Sunday, June 09 - Thursday June 20, 2024)
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