Wine for sale: Loire Valley 2003

Loire Valley | 2003 vintage

A rich, warm vintage in which Loire wines took on the soft shades of the southern palette. Early harvests, high alcohol contents and low acidity - very different from the region's normal style. From the month of March, temperatures rose higher than average, resulting in a heatwave at the end of the summer. Harvests therefore began 24 days earlier than in a normal year, with the happy result of excellent vine health for all grape varieties, except perhaps for the Sauvignon and Gamay, which were hit harder than most. The Cabernet emerged as the clear winner of this vintage, featuring some stunning cuvées. Generally speaking, 2003 was evocative of the 1989 and 1990 vintages, which had managed even lower acidity levels.