Loire Valley Pinot Noir?

WINE TALK
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Curious if anyone has suggestions for the top producers of Pinot Noir in the Loire Valley? I’ve been venturing out of Burgundy to find better QPR, and stumbled on a LV PN at a recent tasting event. What are your favorite bottles and do you know what percentage of wine coming from the region is PN?

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Overall it’s a small portion but it’s more than just a footnote. Often blended with Gamay. Since it’s not a secret, I don’t think it provides any exceptional value compared to Burgundy but it can be fine for something under $50.
Lucien Crochet
Domaine Pellé
Tried a Philippe Gilbert a couple years ago that was pretty nice. Seemed to be on the cusp of natural w/o any flaws.

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The only one I remember by name was Edmund Vatan (no idea what vintage). I felt it was adequate but grossly overpriced.
I’ve also tasted several Sancerre, Rouge but don’t remember producers, vintages or cuvées.
None have ever made want to buy them.
But there is a lot of good Burgundy from off the Côte d’Or that is reasonably priced and true to its terroir.
And Oregon has some pretty impressive Pinots.
Lastly, while I don’t remember ever having any, I hear from others here that Germany is on the rise.
Best, Jim

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Cotat rouge is fun but I would not call it a QPR

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Bretaudeau Statera is probably my favorite Loire Pinot Noir

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Thanks, honestly didn’t really know whether it was good QPR or not. Really was unsure on the quality side. I’ll check out these producers.

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Thanks Jim! I actually brought back four higher end Spatburgunders from Germany when I was there recently. They are definitely a bit more austere than red Burgundy from what I can tell so far, but really delicious. Maybe Loire is not the way to go!

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You all know I am big fan of German Pinot. @Ryan.B what did you pick up?

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I personally found that searching for Burgundy Pinot outside of Burgundy is a lost cause. Not because there are no great Pinot Noir elsewhere, but because it is just rather different expressions you will find most of the time.

I had better luck with lesser known areas or new producers within Burgundy for my Burgundy cravings (which i rarely have).

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Burgundy off the Côte has been my area of focus for about a year. There are some excellent, age-able wines being made in the lesser known corners of Burgundy.
Nice pricing, too.

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I have really enjoyed these, they can age a bit too.

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Francois Cotat rouge is very good and runs about $70, which isn’t totally out of line with current-day PN pricing. There is also a rose for around $60 that I think is brilliant.

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Awesome, what are your favorite producers and bottles? I picked up these in Munich:

  1. 2017 Knipser RdP Spatburgunder
  2. 2021 Weingut Franz Keller Schlossberg Achkarren GG
  3. 2013 Bernhard Huber Sommerhaide Spatburgunder
  4. 2017 Friedrich Becker Kammerberg Spatburgunder

So far I’ve only opened the Becker. Notes below:

Translucent garnet. Nose is bright fresh cherry, wet earth minerality, black pepper, spicy oak, strawberry, sweeter with more air. Palate is medium bodied with grippy tannins, this is built for the long haul. A bit muted in the palate, with fresh cherry, a nice balance of earth, sweetness, and savory fruit. This is powerful yet elegant. I think it will be awesome in 3-5 years. 94 points.

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Follow along on the German Spatburgunder thread. These are great producers but they are also the old school producers. There are lots of younger producers who have trained in Burgundy that have a slightly different approach.

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I’ve had good experience with Domaine Vacheron, but pricing is close to what you’d pay for a Savigny.

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Franz Keller is probably closest to the newer generation these days with Friedrich Keller at the wheel.

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Thanks I need to track some down.

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Which new producers do you recommend? Curious to know who trained in Burgundy!

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I don’t think Vatan is typical of anything! Certainly not price-wise…

Also plenty of Touraine pinot noir. I’m no expert, but from what I’ve seen, there and elsewhere in the Loire (e.g. Sancerre), people don’t seem to treat pinot noir with the same “ambition” as they do in Burgundy. It’s more of a basic drinking table wine, like the local gamay. Not sure how much that spreads through clones/farming/prices etc in terms of structuring the possibilities for people with other ideas. But it seems to be the recent status quo.

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As Robert said, an insane amount of Spatburgunder chatter (and its ongoing) in this thread: