Popularised in the 12th century by Dutch burghers who exploited the natural waterway and later by the Parisian bars due to their proximity and value, the fortunes of the wines of the Loire have ebbed and flowed over the centuries. The wine styles are intrinsically linked to the river's long, winding course as it crosses various geological strata & climates. The Sauvignon Blancs of the centre, north of Nevers at Sancerre & Pouilly-sur-Loire are shaped by a continental climate & deep Kimmeridgean clay soils (similar to those found a hour's drive to the east at Chablis).

Didier Dagueneau thrills us with his taut Pouilly-Fume, while those of Dezat, Gaudry & Cailbourdin are more classical. Across the river Francois Cotat makes a Sancerre like no-other, full of breed & minerality.

Andre Dezat is one of the region's most consistent performers, along with David Sautereau. Further west towards Tours, overlooking the Cher tributary, are the Touraine vineyards of Mikael Bouges, where ancient glacial soils of limestone, gravel, clay & quartz combine with semi-continental weather patterns to produce wines rich in minerality & expression.

Meanwhile the 'tuffeau' chalk plateaux of Vouvray are home to the delicately floral yet intense Chenin Blancs of Bourillon-Dorleans & Gaston Huet. Reds also thrive on this limestone river bank terraces, the result of shifting sea levels: notably the elegant Cabernet Francs found in Bourgueil, such as those of Jacky Blot.

Angers signals a geological shift from limestone to older schistous granite, the effect of which is clearly manifested in the the Chenin Blancs of Savennieres & Domaine du Closel. The Layon tributary nearby throws up a similar terroir to that found in Sauternes, with rising mists encouraging noble rot, as exemplified by the Coteaux du Layon & Quarts de Chaume of Domaine des Forges, & by the Bonnezeaux of Domaine du Petit Val.