©Les Vins de Saumur
Saumur is a mid-sized town and wine appellation at the heart of France's Loire Valley. The appellation covers still white, rosé and red wines and sparkling white and rosés. In the early 21st Century, Saumur's most respected wines are its dry reds, although its sparkling wines held the limelight for the latter half of the 20th Century and production of this category in the area is considerable.
Saumur area
The production area for the still wines is concentrated around Saumur (in the department of the Maine-et-Loire) and predominantly confined to the southern bank of the Loire, radiating for an area roughly 30km (18 miles) from Saumur town center, stretching into the neighboring administrative departments of Vienne and Deux-Sèvres.
The zones for white, rosé and red production do not completely overlap although, broadly speaking, are roughly contiguous. Sparkling production takes in a considerably wider zone, stretching out around 40km (25 miles) to the west of Saumur town.
A final subregional designation (officially a "geographically complementary denomination") is the Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame title which covers three distinct areas just southwest and southeast of Saumur town. Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame wines are red only.
Grape varieties
Saumur blanc (white) is based solely around local mainstay Chenin Blanc (sometimes also known as Pineau de la Loire) while Saumur rosé can be produced from Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cabernet Franc is also the principal component of Saumur rouge (red) although Cabernet Sauvignon and Pineau d'Aunis can figure in minor quantities – no more than 30 percent of any blend. Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame is also predominantly Cabernet Franc with Cabernet Sauvignon permitted up to 15 percent.
Sparkling wines (both white and rosé) follow the broad guidelines of being predominantly Chenin Blanc (for Saumur mousseux blanc/white) or Cabernet Franc (for Saumur mousseux rosé). These varieties must make up a minimum of 60 percent of their respective category.
The remaining 40 percent or less of a sparkling blend can encompass a host of local and more distant varieties, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Grolleau Gris, Grolleau, Pineau d’Aunis and Pinot Noir. The only stipulation is that Sauvignon Blanc cannot comprise more than 10 percent of any sparkling wine.
Saumur rouge
The classic Saumur rouge (red), for which the region is now better-known, has floral and fruity aromas of violets and slightly under-ripe plums, brought down to earth with herbal, peppery notes and a hint of pencil shavings. Although relatively light-bodied, they often marked by prominent tannins, due to the fact that they are made largely from Cabernet Franc.
These bright, fragrant, refreshing wines are very similar in style to those of Chinon and Bourgueil, just a few miles to the east. This cluster of red-wine appellations produces the Loire Valley's finest and most highly regarded red wines.
The wines in the broader Saumur category, however, should not be confused with those of Saumur-Champigny. This is a specific appellation based on eight villages near the city of Saumur which was established as a denomination for the best wines made in the wider Saumur region. The wines are again based on Cabernet Franc with the same supporting varieties as for Saumur but are considered a step above those of Saumur rouge.
Quantitatively speaking, Saumur's sparkling wines are the district's most significant product (although the tide is now turning in favor of the local red wines). Large volumes of good value Saumur Mousseux are produced each year by a number of long-established houses, of which the best-known are Bouvet-Ladubay and Gratien & Meyer. The former was established in 1851, and is now owned by the Taittinger Group. The latter was founded in 1864 by Alfred Gratien of the eponymous Champagne house, and is now owned by German sparkling wine giant, Henkell.
Saumur geography
Saumur's geology is particularly well suited to the production of sparkling wines. The town sits on a mound of tuffeau – the porous, sandy-yellow rock which underpins several of the central Loire's top vineyard areas. Many miles of underground cellars have been cut directly into this soft rock, providing a cool, temperature-moderated environment perfect for storing méthode traditionelle wines during their lees ageing.
White and rosé Saumur wines account for just a tiny proportion of the area's annual production. Often highly cropped (coming as a fall-back option from the production of sparkling wines) these have traditionally been quite low on character and flavor.
The current wave of interest in good quality Chenin Blanc has, however, led to patchy increases in quality. The appellation for rosé wines Cabernet de Saumur is reserved for off-dry wines with at least 10 grams per liter residual sugar, and has the same borders as Saumur AOC.
The tiny quantity of sweet wine produced around Saumur is sold under the Côteaux de Saumur appellation. Its output is negligible in terms of quantity, and in terms of quality it falls short of the highly regarded sweet wines produced just to the west in the Côteaux du Layon zone.
