Loire red wines not always easy to distinguish

What I would term "authentic" red wines are those that best and most clearly express the specific flavors of the grape, the soil and the vintage from which they are made.

When tasting wines that are made from a single grape varietal, as opposed to blended wines (which can certainly be just as good), it is easier to identify specific varietal flavors.The same holds true for the vineyard. If a wine comes from a single vineyard, and if that vineyard is capable of delivering to the vines a unique flavor imprint, and if that imprint is nurtured by the winemaking and not buried in oaky pyrotechnics, then it, too, will contribute to the wine's authenticity.

Finally, if the place where the vineyard is located experiences wide variations in the weather from one vintage to the next (France, anyone?), then you may have the additional pleasure of tasting wines that actually reflect different ripening conditions. Let the corporate megawineries focus on creating wines that taste exactly the same, year in and year out. Such consistent sameness is the bane of authenticity.

This happy conjunction of grape, vineyard and climate characterizes many of the Loire Valley's red wines. And yet these remain some of the least-known wines from all of France. Why?

Loire Valley producers seem to go out of their way to design confusing labels, loaded with indecipherable words. The same winery may have a dozen or more wines, each with a completely different label. Of course, as in much of Europe, wines are named for the place rather than the grape, which adds to the confusion.

Most consumers would be hard-pressed to identify white wines from Sancerre as sauvignon blancs. Who on earth has a clue that Sancerre rouge is pinot noir? What grape do you suppose creates the hearty red wines from Chinon, Bourgueil, St. Nicolas de Bourgueil and Saumur Champigny? If you said cabernet franc, you're on your way to Master of Wine certification.

Consumers who want authentic wines, who prefer less oak and alcohol, more acid and mineral, who appreciate red wines with unique flavors and don't want to spend more than $15 or $20 to get them, must be willing to do some work, especially in these days of the crashing dollar. Step outside the box of cheap pinot noir from California and look to Sancerre. Do you like the cabernet francs of Washington? Then by all means explore some of these leaner, chewier examples from the Loire.

For rounder, sweeter, fruitier wines, look for the 2005 vintage. For leaner, tighter wines with racy acids, compelling minerality and, in some cases, a longer cellar life, 2004 and 2006 would be the best choices.

Pinot noir lovers take note: The 2005 Reuilly "La Sablière" from Pascal Desroches Reuilly $15 is a lovely bottle, offering sweet cherry fruit and scents of rosewater. Millésime imports. Chavignol's Henri Bourgeois makes a tart, tasty 2005 Grande Réserve Sancerre Rouge ($22) worth hunting for. Grape Expectations distributes.

The Loire offers an abundance of red wines from cabernet franc grapes. Those grown on gravel soil tend to be lighter, fruitier and more forward (also less expensive). The richer, more tannic wines are grown on tufa (or tuffeau) — calcareous rock that has been excavated for centuries to build chateaux and cathedrals throughout the region.

Chinon (pronounced "SHE-non") and Bourgueil ("BOOR-goy") are the two best-known appellations. Recommended producers (and bottlings) include Charles Joguet, Domaine de la Noblaie ("Les Chiens-Chiens" and "Pierre de Tuf"), Domaine Pierre Breton ("Clos Senechal"), Domaine Philippe Alliet ("Vieilles Vignes" and "L'Huisserie"), Domaine de la Chevalerie ("Galichets" and "Busardières") and Wilfrid Rousse ("Clos de la Roche").

In a recent visit to many of these properties, I tasted back vintages as old as 1989 and found that the wines not only age beautifully, they really require at least five years at a minimum in order to round off some of the rougher tannins. It's worth noting also that, although many of the new generation of vignerons (grower/winemakers) practice sustainable, organic and even biodynamic viticulture, few choose to boast about it. It is simply considered the right thing to do.

I was pleased to discover the delicious, fruit-driven wines from the appellations of St. Nicolas de Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny ("SUH-more SHAM-pee-knee"). Less tannic and intense (and less expensive) than the Chinons and Bourgueils, they still capture the unoaked pleasures of the cabernet franc grape and the stony soils in which it is grown.

Frederic Mabileau ("Les Rouillères," "Racines" and "Coutures"), Domaine Filliatreau ("Vieilles Vignes") and especially Vignerons de Saumur are exceptional. Vignerons de Saumur has two wines that are widely available in Seattle. Their 2005 Saumur-Champigny "Les Poyeux" ($15) and 2005 Saumur-Champigny "Les Vignobles" ($13) are loaded with cassis, berry and violet notes. Les Poyeux carries delicious whiffs of forest mushroom, which Les Vignobles has more rock, acid and grip.

Note: Though it has been woefully underpublicized, Taste Walla Walla is putting on a terrific tasting Monday at McCaw Hall. Dozens of producers, large and small, new and famous, will be pouring their new releases in a benefit for FareStart. Tickets at $65 plus tax and fees and available through Ticketmaster. For details visit www.wallawallawine.com.

Paul Gregutt is the author of "Washington Wines

and Wineries The Essential Guide." His column appears weekly in the Wine section. He can be reached by e-mail at wine@seattletimes.com.