Explore the Loire
A big thank you to The Other Bordeaux customer Will Morony (writer) and wife Susan (photographer) for this outstanding account of their recent trip to the Loire and the suggestions that I know will be of great interest and practical use for the wider TOB community. A liquid gift of appreciation is coming your way, Susan and Will! Thank you. Here is their account:
“Our week in the Loire Valley.
My wife and I had a great week in the Loire Valley in May 2025. We chose Amboise as our base and that worked well for us.
We used AirBNB to book a 16th century gîte called Gîte des Martinets et son coin de verdure. It is located on the island in the middle of the River Loire, opposite the castle, so there were fabulous views (day and night) from the river bank just 20 metres from our door. The bridge to the main town was only a few metres away as well, so all in all a very good location.
Restaurants.
These are places we are happy to recommend.
La Fourchette in Amboise. https://www.facebook.com/lafourchette37/ There was clear evidence of some imagination in the kitchen that was matched by friendly service in what was obviously a family venture.
Les Hautes Roches in Rochecorbon (near Vouvray). https://www.leshautesroches.com/en/
It is a Relais et Château hotel, so quite upmarket, but we were very happy to have the €38 menu. Brilliant location, good service and food.
Le Shaker (Amboise), https://le-shaker-amboise.eatbu.com/?lang=en#
Literally 40m away from our apartment, on the banks of the Loire. More a bar than a restaurant, we sat outside with the river and town in front of us on a gorgeous evening for a light dinner. [Photo of the delicious spread by Susan taken from Le Shaker].
Amboise town.
There is a compact old centre that is good to walk around, if a bit touristic in places (e.g., near the chateau). We found the fromageur [cheese merchant] in one of the main drags very helpful, and the nearby butcher was good.
Clos Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci’s home for the last few years of his life is worth a visit to see the models of his inventions and the beautiful and extensive park-like gardens.
Châteaux of the Loire Valley.
There are many. We chose the first two on the basis of location while the third was targetted.
Château de Chenonceau. Lovely formal gardens. The Renaissance château is built over water – La Cher.
Château de Chaumont had an emphasis on the artworks – mostly sculptures – being displayed throughout the buildings and especially scattered around the grounds.
Château d’Angers was quite a drive from Amboise, but worth it to see La tenture de l’Apocalypse (Tapestry of the Apocalyse). The size, the colours and the details are simply breath-taking. https://www.chateau-angers.fr/
Wineries.
I had contacted Tom Munro from The Other Bordeaux to ask if he could make an introduction or two in the area. He came back with a couple of suggestions and we were able to arrange appointments with both.
The first was with Vignoble Brisebarre in Vouvray, just. 20 minute drive for us.
We were hosted by Anne, the charming daughter of the current owner/winemaker. She had excellent English and is the 5th generation Brisebarre on the property. Her father and grandfather greatly expanded the cellars and landholdings in the 1980s. Anne and her brother recently rejoined the business after other careers away.
The key to Vouvray wines is the limestone. In the cellar the vines are 20 m above, with solid limestone between. This explains why there were no vines visible from the valley roads we’d been on. Driving up higher after our visit there were vines everywhere on top of rolling hills. The cellars were originally dug for building stone; then their use changed and they were extended. The cellars contain significant stocks of old and aging wines, at least as far back as 1976 which was apparently a legendary vintage.
The staggering thing about Vouvray is that they only use Chenin Blanc for a vast range of styles. And all the Brisebarre wines had significant personality and class, with minerality often a key feature. It was a delight to meet Anne and have the opportunity to try their wines.
The second introduction was to Château de La Grille, a property of Domaines Baudry & Dutour. It is in Chinon, so about an hour and a half away from Amboise. We arrived in Chinon in time to have our picnic lunch by the river, overlooking the old part of town. It looked to us like a nice place, but then again that seems to be generally the case in this part of the world.
Domitille hosted us. She explained that this is one of the four domains of Baudry & Dutour that are located in different appellations in the Loire Valley. This property was bought about 30 years ago and the château, other buildings and gardens have had serious renovation. The place is now used as a wedding venue.
The tasting room is a new building, with the winery ‘action’ all underground. All very modern.
We were shown a wide range of interesting wines from the different domaines. The Gosset family from Champagne had the property before this group. So the Chinon Rouge from the vineyards around the château continues to be bottled in the unique Gosset Champagne bottles. We had the 2022 wine which was made 50/50 in concrete vats and in barrels. It has fresh fruits and well integrated tannins. We liked it.
So between these two visits we feel as though we saw two ends of a spectrum. Brisebarre is a small, family producer while Baudry & Dutout is a multi-property, much larger concern. And I am keeping my eye out for when the wines as they are getting onto The Other Bordeaux list.”
Thank you Will and Susan!
If anyone else in the TOB community would like to submit a similar French travelogue, please send to tom@theotherbordeaux.com . Everyone would be most grateful for your insights and suggestions.
