FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

The Loire is a region that stretches from the Atlantic coast and the wines of Muscadet in the west to Sancerre and the city of Orleans, a medieval stonghold and family seat of the last King of France - Louis Philippe I. The region that has an aristocratic feel. The Loire river, sweeping, calmandmajestic, is dotted with Châteaux that were home to France’s great families, before 1789, of course! The Loire river connects the three regions of the Loire Valley, each quite different from the next. The Nantes region starts in the east, almost in view of the port town – St. Nazaire. Melon de Bourgogne is themain grape variety and the crisp, mineral-drivenwines of Muscadet make for perfect aperitifs and accompaniments to seafood. For those looking for a touchmore weight, the wines labelled ‘Sur lie’ are a perfect alternative, the extended ageing on the lees gives weight and body. The Central Region, the heart, or more fittingly Coeur, is home to the valley’s great reds. Cabernet Franc thrives in Saumur, Chinon & Bourgueil, with all three villages making very different wines. Borgueil has smokyminerality and floral fragrance, while Chinon is fuller, with deeper, richer fruit. Chenin Blanc is king in and around Breze; it thrives on the softer, more chalk driven soil. The upper Loire is the region’s most famous area, hosting Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, & the lesser-knownMenetou-Salon. Here the chalkmakes way for Kimmeridgian soil, so often associated with Chablis. Sauvignon Blanc thrives and gives the wines a steely edge. The Loire, with its proximity to Paris, has always produced reds &whites popular with Parisian bistro patrons. On the surface, the story of the Loire stops there. However, scrape through themore commercially driven wines, and there is a band of small family Domaines who havemade brilliantly individual fine wines for generations. Fantastic for cellaring; many a bottle of Chinon & Saumur has been forgotten inmy own cellar only The Loire

LOIRE

Saumur

Muscadet

Chinon

to be unearthed at over a decade old and produced a sensational bottle – what a wonderful surprise! Many growers in the Loire were early adopters of bio-dynamic winemaking, andmuch is, by default, organic. Indeed, the likes of Dominique Lafon &Olivier Zind-Humbrecht MW travelled to the Loire to better understand bio-dynamics from growers in the region. Another charming aspect of the region is the friendliness, a welcome change to Bordeaux’s closed gates. Driving around the region knocking on doors, I amalways amazed at what one can unearth. We are delighted for the first time to be listing the wines of Domaine Filliatreau , a family Domaine in Saumur making terroir-driven Loire wines since 1976. They are devilishly hard to find, and we are so pleased to be working with Frédrik & family for the first time. Elsewhere on the list is a beautiful Muscadet estate of Domaine Bouchaud , run by Pierre-Luc Bouchaud; his family has beenmaking wine since 1850. They produce alongside their simpleMuscadet a single vineyard wine called Le Perd Son Pain. It has

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WINE CATALOGUE