Epicure
Chambord
wines,” she says to me in her
lilting French accent, which her
Cuvee Concerto (100% Cabernet
Franc) shows.
Of course most of the wineries
here are family affairs, and
winemaker and son Matthieu Baudry
of Bernard Baudry (the dad) in
Chinon are crafting exceptional
wines of depth and character. The
family, post-WWII, was growing corn,
barley and some grapes, but demand
and production of grapes soared
after the war, so vineyards
increased. Matthieu pulls his grapes
from a variety of plots, some
hillside, some close to the river and
some of the drier flatlands, all of
which help to express the intricate
nuances his wines achieve. “I am not
the boss, my father is not the boss,”
he tells me, “it’s the climate and we
respect the geology.” What’s under
scrutiny throughout Loire is the use
of oak in Cabernet Franc; a method
typically and historically frowned
upon. Some decry that any barrel
program with overt new oak
pummels the Franc into a California
style Franc. However I found that
there are some producers who are
using French oak judiciously like
Domaine Olga Raffault, Domaine du
Colombier, and even Alliance Loire
to create wines for a public that
has diverse and evolving tastes.
Castles and Fortresses
In addition to stellar wines, the Loire
offers stunning castles from hilltop
creations to mammoth structures
to delicate Gothic buildings. Chinon
Castle perched above the town
of the same name is the most kid
friendly and Hollywood-esque of the
castles. Sound effects of swordplay
fill the air and cardboard cutouts of
faceless knights and damsels allow
you a selfie moment. In spite of the
kitsch, the history at Chinon is all
about Joan of Arc who came here in
1429 for several days to plead with
Charles VII to fight the English.
The Fortress at Angers is as
imposing as it is inspiring. Seventeen
round turrets of local troglodyte
stone found throughout Loire (which
is why the wines are so mineral
driven) allow you to walk nearly the
full length of the parapet, imagining
you’re keeping your enemies at bay
as they sailed up the Main River. This
rocky bluff has been inhabited since
the 9th Century, but it wasn’t until
the 1200s that a fortress began to
take shape as a formal installation.
It has been expanded upon ever
since. Inside the walls is the chapel
constructed somewhere about 1410,
as well as a royal residence for King
Rene in 1435 and other buildings
from as late as the 1700s. But
the fortress is also home to a
temperature-controlled room where
the Tapestry of the Apocalypse is
housed. Spiritual or not, these 71
hand woven tapestries from the
1370s depict the biblical End of
Days in stunning detail and color
and, if for no other reason, a visit
is a sublime experience in handiwork
rarely seen anymore. There were
originally 90 tapestries, but they
have been lost to time and this
darkened room reveals a stunning
re