Focus on Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Vintages 2008 and 2007 presented growers at the eastern end of the Loire Valley with a series of challenges at crucial points in their growing seasons, both of which were to some extent mitigated by favorable late summers. Two thousand eight tends to have the edge on 2007 here by virtue of greater intensity. Neither vintage approaches most of the 2005s, especially, or the 2006s in terms of richness and depth. But both years offer wines with good concentration, clarity and precision, and healthy acidity. Obviously, a number of examples are simple, dilute or both; but ’08 and ’07 have also yielded standout examples, and these wines mostly come from the best sites and from producers who were willing to cross their fingers and wait for dry weather, which for the most part they got into October in both years.

While acidity levels in 2008 and 2007, which both featured cool summers, are similar, the 2008s typically possess an extra degree of concentration due to yields that were off by a quarter to a third of normal. Late June hailstorms passed across most of the vineyards that produce Pouilly-Fumé, as well as parts of Sancerre, and a significant portion of the crop was destroyed or had to be dropped. Fortunately, the end of the summer of 2008 was pleasant if not especially warm, with drying north winds during the second half of September keeping the grapes healthy, encouraging slow maturing of the grapes, and increasing concentration through dehydration.