Loire Valley (wine) more pronounced mineral notes. The Cabernet franc based wines are also lighter in color with more vegetal or "weed"-like aromas. In riper vintages, a Loire Cabernet franc will develop aromas of raspberries and lead pencil shavings. The Loire Valley has a high density of vine plantings with an average of 1,600-2,000 vines per acre (4,000-5,000 per hectare). Some Sancerre vineyards have as many as 10,000 plants per hectare. With more vines competing for the same limited resources in the soil, the density is designed to compensate for the excessive yields that some of the grape varieties, like Chenin blanc, are
Pays de la Loire la Loire" ("of the Loire"). Loire Valley is a UNESCO listed World heritage Site since 2000, it is located both in the administrative regions of "Pays de la Loire" and Centre-Val de Loire. Although majority of the châteaux of the Loire Valley such as Montsoreau, Angers, Saumur or Brézé in "Pays de la Loire" are located in the "Maine-et-Loire" departement, "Pays de la Loire" has numerous prominent monuments, such as the castles of Laval, and the Nantes Château des Ducs de Bretagne, the Royal Fontevraud Abbey (the widest monastic ensemble in Europe), and the old city of Le Mans. In