Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Saturday 3 January 2009

‘Maybe forty producers making exquisite wine’

September 2008: Côt in the Cher Valley

Returning to yesterday’s posting on Alice Feiring’s The Battle for Wine and Love and to her assertion that in the Loire there are ‘maybe forty regional producers who make exquisite wine’, here is my list of producers in a small part of the Cher Valley between Bléré and Saint-Aignan who work with passion and commitment and whose wines are worth tasting and good to drink. There may well be others whose wines I haven’t yet tasted.

Michel Augé – Les Maisons Brulées, Pouillé
Mikaël Bouges – Faverolles-sur-Cher
François Chidaine – AC Touraine holdings in Chissay
Bruno Curassier, Domaine de la Grange, Bléré
Jean-François Merieau – Les Bois Vaudons, Saint-Julien-de-Chédon
Pascal Potaire – Faverolles-sur-Cher
Vincent Ricard – Thesée
Vincent Roussely – Clos Roussely, Saint-Georges-sur-Cher
Catherine Roussel and Didier Barouillet – Clos Roche Blanche, Mareuil-sur-Cher
Jerôme Sauvete, Monthou-sur-Cher

Plus a producer whose methods Alice probably wouldn’t approve of but whose wines are worth trying anyway: Thierry Delaunay of Domaine Joël Delaunay

That’s 11 producers already in no more than 40 kilometres and there are still hundreds of kilometres of Loire vineyard left.

Here we are in the heart of ‘plain’ AC Touraine – most of the vignerons cited use this appellation, although a few prefer to opt for vin de table. This part of the Cher Valley is well worth exploring and can offer wonderful wine at very reasonable prices. Look out particularly for Côt and Gamay, Sauvignon Blancs that can be way better than many more expensively priced Sancerres and Pouilly-Fumés and an increasing number of pétillants naturels.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Of those 11 I've seen only two or three in the U.S. You've convinced me to try one of Merieau's wines (which I think I can find locally).

Jim's Loire said...

Steve: some are small producers with very little distribution. Will be interested to know how you get on with Merieau. Jim