The longest river in France, the Loire is known for its mineral Muscadets, soulfully expressive Chenins, captivating Cabernet Francs, and textbook Sauvignon Blancs. If that were the Loire Valley’s whole story, it’d be more than enough. But, an intrepid few have journeyed up to the headwaters of the Loire where it springs from the volcanic and primordial massif central. A tiny cluster of appellations far flung from their famed siblings of the northern Loire Valley exists here, and while technically they are part of the greater Loire. They are far closer in geography and culture to the Beaujolais and Northern Rhône. Pauline Lair makes Indigo from a single parcel of Gamay in the Côtes du Forez, where the soils are granitic sands over volcanic bedrock. This is a wild and untrammeled Gamay skillfully rendered by Pauline.
