Loire exports to the UK gather pace
Loire wine exports to the UK were on the up in the past year in both value and volume terms but the region is struggling to reach levels achieved a couple of years ago.
When compared with the past year, newly released figures show 5% volume growth in exports to the UK alongside a 9% increase in value to €44,497 in the past year, according to Interloire (year to 30 June 2019).
At first glance, the latest export data for the UK from the Loire paints a pretty healthy picture.
However, when compared with a couple of years ago, the French region has yet to catch up to where it was export-wise – if you compare 2019 with 2017, exports to the UK have declined 8% in volume and 3% in value.
A key driver of this loss has been put down to a lack of Muscadet, after the region was dealt a harsh hand by the weather for several consecutive years in a row.
“The Muscadet appellation was hit particularly hard by frost across three vintages – 2015, 2016 and 2017 – which resulted in limited volume available,” says Claire Duchene, communications director for Interloire.
Indeed, a dive into the Interloire data shows that Muscadet exports to the UK dipped a massive 42% for the year ended June 2018 compared to the end of June 2017, with this drop nearly halved when comparing 2019 to 2018 (22%).
This suggests things are looking up for Muscadet, which is also set to benefit in general with additional crus poised to get approved later this year.
“Muscadet is back on track, people love it. The only concern is Mother Nature. We have to have a normal harvest, to organise the production and to find solutions against frost together,” says Duchene.
“When we see the positivity towards cru Muscadet in the press, we believe this will definitely change the perception of Muscadet on the wide palette on offer from the Muscadet AOP to the crus.”
Away from Muscadet, if not denting volumes to quite the same extend, total white exports to the UK have suffered a similar fate, while it’s a rosier picture for the region’s rosé/red – albeit both from much smaller platforms.
And Interloire is hopeful that it will continue to build on the slow but steady progression of its red wines as they “match the demand for the styles Brits are currently seeking”, says Duchene.
“Consumers don’t want big, oaky reds anymore. Nowadays they want to bite the fruit with cool-climate red wines, which is the definition of the reds we produce.
“We can see this by the increasing attention we are getting for Cabernet Franc – it’s the daddy of grapes at the moment.”
The success story of the valley in the past couple of years is no doubt the rise and rise of Crémant de Loire, of which UK exports leaped 90% in the past year on volumes up an equally impressive 71%, making the bubbly by far the biggest contributor to growth.
“The overall growth is for Crémant de Loire and we’ve always seen an opportunity for this category as the quality has been always good, so it is largely down to increased awareness,” says Duchene.
“There is now a really good sparkling offering in UK so the market is more open to this category from everywhere. The Loire Valley is the second biggest region for sparkling in France after Champagne, so we are a big part of this wave for sparkling.”
For the full lowdown on Loire exports to the UK, see Harpers’ November print edition where we also look at the 2019 harvest.
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