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.

Independent Wine Makers Fair

Twice a year the Independent Wine Makers Fair (Salon des Vignerons Indépendants) takes place in Paris.

It's quite an event, and the occasion for amateur wine connoisseurs like me to discover small estates that are hardly sold on the mainstream wine market.

I went there with a couple of friends to experience the frenzy of tasting wines from 9am to 5 pm in a gigantic garage-like hall that held approximately 1000 wine makers.

We started out spitting our wine, but by 2pm we had completely forgotten all about our spitting cups. So I'm not sure my judgment on the last wines we tasted is totally accurate...

In fact, I realized the following morning that I had bought 3 times as much wine past that time.

Unfortunately, I don't think this is because we got lucky and found the best estates towards the end.