Loire Valley (wine) come out of this period with their full palate of flavors and can continue to age well into 20 years. Some of the Sauvignon blanc based wines like Sancerre buck this trend and instead stay more low key till their third year when they mature and develop their full assortment of flavors before they eventually fade around their 7-10th year. However the best made examples in top vintages can often live much longer. Some classic examples of Vouvray can even reach the levels of longevity commonly associated with Port. Historically the wineries of the Loire Valley have been small, family
Maine-et-Loire around: Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department of the Loire Valley in west-central France, in the Pays de la Loire region. Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791. It was created from most of the former province of Anjou. Its present name is drawn from the Maine and Loire Rivers, which meet within the department. Maine-et-Loire is part of the current region of Pays-de-la-Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Ille-et-Vilaine, Mayenne, Sarthe, Indre-et-Loire, Vienne,