The Loire's sweethearts

Most people don't really enjoy dessert wines.

They think they are too sweet, too heavy, too powerful. And a part from foie gras nobody really knows what to pair them with.

So they usually end up being stacked in a cellar, waiting for New Years Eve or at least for you to let go of your diet for one evening.

Yet I think this is a grave mistake.

Dessert wines in spite of their ridiculous name, should not only be kept for dessert. They can magnify a whole meal if you accept to let go of your cultural prejudices.

Dessert wines contain a high level of sugar and alcohol. This characteristic comes from the fact that they are made from mouldy grapes.

I know this does not sound very appetizing.

Yet in fact this mould is not just any mould: it is a noble mould, called Botrytis Cinerea, also dubbed "noble rot".

Wine makers can really be poets.

This idiosyncrasy is only possible when the weather is sufficiently moist during the autumn.

Therefore only a few regions in the world have the adequate climate to produce dessert wines.

In France, Sauternes, in the Bordeaux region is the most famous of them all. Just check out the price of a bottle of Château d'Yquem.

But there is also great noble rot wines in Alsace (some Gewürztraminer for example) or, as my main title suggests it, in the Loire Valley.

Chenin, (the Loire's main white grape) is the variety that produces these great dessert wines. There are 3 dessert wines in the Loire Valley:

- Coteaux-du-Layon

- Bonnezeaux

- Quart de Chaume

As they are much less known then their counterparts from Sauternes, these amazing wines also have the great advantage of being much cheaper.

But this is not their only asset! Also their general acidity (typical of Chenin) gives them the ability to age easily and provides them with an overall impression of aerial lightness which is a plus when you want to pair them with non dessert foods.

So you see these wines are magical with the appropriate pairing.

For instance, try to taste a Coteaux-du-Layon with a veal medallion and mushroom sauce.

Or dare and pair a Bonnezeaux with an Orange glazed duck.

Prunes or raisins go well with these wines too. Try it out, you'll be surprised.

Anything with a little honey, dried fruits or foie gras will do the trick.

It's not very complicated and I assure you having one of those at your table will make a huge difference.

Here is a Coteaux-du-Layon I tasted last week and paired with chicken stuffed with dried prunes. It was absolutely delicious.

Coteaux-du-Layon, Saint Lambert du Lattay, 2005

Michel Robineau

Selection grains nobles

Nose: very subtle, fresh peonies, apricot

Mouth: an explosion. Dried apricot, honey, a very well balanced acidity and a round attack. Very long lasting taste.

This wine is just a drop of gold diluted in your veins. It's powerful yet soft, fragrant yet delicate, sweet yet elegant. Overall you really feel there's something different about this wine, something noble and pure.

How to drink wine, recognize aromas ... and impress your friends !

It was a few years ago, in a fancy restaurant in Paris. The sommelier delicately poured a crimson colored wine in my glass. The moment was tantalizing. The beauty of terroir. I leaned forward to taste the wine and tell him it was great. Everyone was looking. Waiting. Expecting me to sigh with ecstasy. So I did, of course.


But it was corked.
And I thought it was just a very heavy smell of mushroom. Or someone's bad cologne. Or my nose. Hell, I didn't have a clue.

Now I'm pretty sure this could happen to anyone who doesn't have any experience in wine tasting. And it's ok. It happens. It would just be a shame for you to spend 200$ on cork juice for your wedding day.
That's why I decided to deliver my experience of and show you with a little "how to" post, precisely HOW TO drink wine, recognize aromas... and impress your friends !

1. The first and most important thing you need to do is train your nostrils.
Nowadays our noses have just about all their core functions. They are meant to smell, whiff, sniff, snivel, inhale, and mostly identify. But that last action takes practice. You need to learn what a food or flower smells like and memorize this scent. It should be a game really. Each time you go out in a garden or stand in your kitchen (or someone elses !) just try to deeply inhale and sniff everything you can get your hands on.
Ok so you may look a little dumb if your friend stumbles upon you with your nose stuck in a jar of mushroom.
But remember one thing, it is for the greater good: you may have lost your dignity, but next time you drink a 10 year-old Burgundy, you'll know there's truffle in there.


2. The second thing you should consider is, well, cheating.
Fumbling around your friends kitchen may be fun once or twice, but what will happen if people start thinking your a kleptomaniac, or a utensil fetishist? There must be another solution.
Well, there is my friends, and I, in my immense generosity, will promptly deliver it to you. It is a well kept secret. The secret to learning quickly how to recognize different scents without loosing all your friends.
Here is my secret weapon to shine in society and impress my friends with my super smelling skills (I know it sounds very sexy):
Le Nez du Vin, by Jean Lenoir.
A kit of 54 aromas captured in little flasks (the basic fragrances you can find in wine)so that you can train your nostrils until they die. I do not work for Mr Lenoir, nor do I have shares in his business, but I still really recommend anyone who wants to learn how to taste wine to buy it.






3. Drink and taste as much as you can.
But mostly don't just drink, take the time to reflect and think about what you are drinking. Why do you like it ? or not ? What aromas are predominant. Do you smell fruits, flowers ?



So next time you sit in a fancy restaurant, and the sommelier comes up to you and asks you to taste, don't be scared, if the wine is corked, you're allowed to say so. Just think about your little flask and try hard to remember if it corresponds to the same smell. Before you know it, it'll come naturally and you won't even have to think about your magic kit !