1997 Loire

The third in a trio of excellent Loire vintages, with the botryised sweet wines being particularly impressive. The weather was challenging in the first half of the growing season with patches of frost in April and May, followed by the coldest and wettest June for 30 years. However, July and August were both hot and dry and the storms towards the end of August brought welcome respite to the heat stressed grapes. The harvest began in Muscadet at the end of August and continued through to late October, with the botrytised Chenin Blanc grapes (that are used in the production of Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume, being harvested at the end of October. Quality is high across the board, with the wines displaying marvellous intensity of fruit, buttressed by good levels of refreshing acidity. The sweet wines are amongst the finest produced in the 1990s and will continue improving for many years to come.