The lure of Loire 2014 – a great vintage

As joyfully trumpeted by Loire champion Charles Sydney last month, 2014 is reputed to be an outstanding vintage for the wines of the Loire Valley. From the evidence I recently tasted, those trumpets were not blown in vain. 

Standards appear to be very high for all the styles I encountered: Muscadet, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc (though I didn't taste any sweet examples) and Cabernet Franc. In particular, the baseline for quality is way above average, meaning that inexpensive, everyday examples of these wines have great fruit definition, fine balance and excellent typicality. They therefore deliver exactly what the Loire...