Sampling whites in a wine cave at Chateau Gaudrelle in France's Loire Valley

West Australian

5 days ago

Since my first-ever proper wine tasting - in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales in the mid-2000s - I've enjoyed trips to wineries and cellars across the globe.
And most visits, from South Africa to Italy, Argentina to New Zealand, have followed a similar pattern: after being shown the wine-making process in varying detail, you enjoy, say, three or four tipples, usually with eyes gazing (increasingly blurringly) over the vineyards.
Yet today's wine tasting experience in the Loire Valley of France is very different and ensures I won't forget it in a hurry (or jumble it together with hazy memories of other wine quaffing sessions).
The venue is not some antique or shiny winery with merry vistas over fields of grapes, but an actual cave. It's dug into the cliffs that proliferate in the Loire Valley, formed from the local tuffeau limestone that has been mined for centuries and helped construct the region's famous chateaux.
Many of the artificial caves created by the quarrying were turned into places of residence and storage. While some of these so-called troglodyte caves became dwellings, others were used for maturing and ageing wines.
Stepping into the dimly-lit, barrel-studded wine cave at the Chateau Gaudrelle, an estate just outside the city of Tours, the first thing that strikes us is the drop in temperature. Inside it's a constant 13C, year round.
There are also earthy, musty aromas. The humidity levels are high - moss clings to the craggy walls - and it's no surprise to learn that these are ideal growing conditions for mushroom farms.
Leading this afternoon's wine tasting is Paul, a friendly Frenchman who speaks good English and explains that we'll be enjoying the fruits of the Vouvray AOC - one of the oldest appellations of the Loire Valley, where viticulture has thrived since at least the 4th century.
Both white and red grapes are grown in this region, but the former is the more dominant and this family-owned organic vineyard exclusively plants the chenin blanc grape, also called pineau de Loire here.
I had no idea it was so versatile. And nor, it seems, do my fellow travellers, all from Australia and more accustomed to chardonnay, semillon or sauvignon blanc.
We're served seven different chenin blanc wines, from sparkling to sweet with several dry and semi-dry tipples in between.
'This grape has a diverse personality,' says Paul. 'If we had sauvignon blanc, we could make good dry wines at least, but it would be difficult to make others.'
He explains how the terroir and the weather inspire contrasting vintages. Some grapes are planted in purely limestone soils near the Loire river, others in clay and flint stone soils, yielding varying levels of acidity.
Also influencing the lightness and crispness of the vintage is the amount of sunshine and rainfall. Some years are warm and dry, others milder and damper.
'2022 was the driest season we've had, 2024 was the wettest. So two extremes. The climate is going a bit crazy,' says Paul, who adds: 'We have to adapt to the conditions we get. Last year we picked the grapes in late September but because of the warmer start to this year, we may pick in late August.'
Finishing the last of our drinks, we bid Paul 'merci' and 'au revoir', and step (OK, slightly stumble) out of the cave into the light and warmth of this early summer's day.
We're heading back to our hotel now. Some of the group are planning to relax by the pool. Others will take a nap. And by the sounds of it, many of us are looking forward to more wine at dinner.
After this afternoon's chenin blanc fiesta, a glass of red will be lovely.
+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Albatross Tours. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.
+ A visit to a Loire Valley wine cave is on the itinerary for Albatross' La Grande France Tour, which begins in Paris and ends in Nice. The 2025 tour lasts 16 days and is priced at $10,987 per person (based on two sharing) or $14,087 (solo). There are departures on August 17 and August 31, 2025. For the 2026 itinerary, which has three extra nights, and starts on May 17, June 7, August 23, September 13, the tour costs $15,887 per person (twin) and $20,887 (solo). See
albatrosstours.com.au
+ If travelling the region independently, you can book wine tastings at Chateau Gaudrelle, Tuesday to Saturday. See
chateaugaudrelle.com
+ To help plan a trip to France, see
france.fr