"The Wine Society`s Generation Series Crémant de Loire 2020" is due back in soon
View original product descriptionThis is a carousel with zoom. Use the thumbnails to navigate, or jump to a slide. Use the zoom button to zoom into a image.
The Wine Society`s Generation Series Crémant de Loire 2020
Wine characteristics
- Sparkling Wine
- 2 - Dry
- Chenin Blanc
- 75cl
- Now to 2026
- 12.5% Alcohol
- no oak influence
- Champagne cork
The Wine Society's Generation Series Crémant de Loire 2020
More on the wine
We have worked with the historic house of Gratien & Meyer in Saumur, in the heart of Loire sparkling wine production, for over 100 years, so they were the obvious choice for our 150th Anniversary wine. The Society’s earliest listings of Loire fizz were 'Sparkling Saumur (specially selected, rich)'. At that time, the grapes would have been hand-picked and the wine would have been based on the chenin blanc grape variety, so for our 150th blend we opted for the superior Crémant de Loire appellation and a blend different from our Celebration Crémant.
The wine comes from the 2020 vintage, benefiting from 30 months on the lees. The grapes were from Gratien & Meyer’s own vineyards – the first to be bottled as an estate wine. The blend is 54% chenin blanc, 27% cabernet franc, 12% chardonnay, 7% grolleau. It was made and blended by former Technical Director Florence Haynes, disgorged by her successor Pierre Charon, with a dosage of 9 grams.
Joanna Locke MW, Buyer for the Loire
Gratien and Meyer
Gratien & Meyer – a jewel in the Loire Valley’s Anjou-Saumur region – was founded by Alfred Gratien in 1864, then aged just 23, and in the same year he established the well-respected Champagne house that is his namesake. The ‘Meyer’ refers to Albert Jean Meyer, an enthusiastic wine expert from Alsace with whom Alfred Gratien joined forces ten years later in 1874, the same year of course in which The Society was founded. When Alfred died in 1885, the Meyer family was entrusted with the company and has continued to uphold its excellent traditions.
The Society first discovered the wines of Gratien & Meyer in 1906 when some Saumur was shipped to our cellars in London. The company quickly became The Society’s choice for our sparkling wines, and today Gratien & Meyer are still responsible The Society’s Saumur and Saumur Rosé as well as The Society’s Celebration Crémant de Loire, all of which are bestsellers.
The Gratien & Meyer house is based on the outskirts of Saumur, in the heart of the Loire’s Anjou region. The river helps to moderate the climate, which is similar to, but less severe than that of Champagne, while the region’s hillsides store daytime heat and the cool nights provide moisture.
Gratien & Meyer buy grapes, must and wine from carefully selected growers in the region. In recent years they have invested in their own vineyards (first crop 2018!), aiming to cover around 50% of their 1.8 million bottle production in due course.
In Saumur, the region’s ...
The Mail on Sunday
With grapes including Chenin Blanc and the Loire's red Grolleau, this is substantial - almost meaty, like a red wine.
The Guardian
Read moreMade using the same technique as champagne, but, in this case, using Loire favourite varieties chenin blanc, cabernet franc and grolleau as well as a little chardonnay, this is a brilliant example of the...
Decanter
Read moreA nod to the rich, Chenin Blanc-based ‘Sparkling Saumurs’ listed by The Wine Society in its first decades, this Crémant de Loire is based on the region’s flagship white variety (54% of the blend) and...