'Real wine' – Les Caves de Pyrene

The Hérédias (Domaine du Montrieux, Coteaux du Vendômois) with their red Coteaux du Vendômois (Pineau d'Aunis) and 'Pet Nat' Boisson Rouge (Gamay)

Have been off at two London tastings today. First 'Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés: 2005-2008' at the Portico Rooms, Somerset House. This involved ten Bordeaux châteaux, including Smith Haut-Lafitte, Canon la Gaffelière, Gazin, Angelus, Rauzan-Ségla and Leoville-Poyferré, showing their various wines. It was a welcome opportunity to have a rapid squint at the 2008s. I got here quite earlier but it was already fairly crowded and rapidly got fuller.

Rather than taste everything I just concentrated on 2007 and 2008. On this showing, at least, I can't imagine why anyone bought 2007 Bordeaux en primeur particularly now that the 2008s, a better vintage is being offered for substantially less than the opening prices of 2007. Even though 2008 is better than 2007 I can still see no reason why it makes sense to buy 2008 en primeur, especially in these difficult economic times. Better to wait and see how the wines turn out once they are finished and not to take the risk of your chosen merchant or Bordeaux négociant going bust in the nearly two years before the 2008s are delivered.

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An Oddbins interlude
On the way down the Strand to the Portico Rooms I passed an Oddbins – the blackboard outside listed Oddbins red at £4.49 for a single bottle but only £3.59 as part of a mixed dozen. One of the noteworthy things about the press tasting was the high price for a single bottle purchase, whereas prices as part of a mixed dozen were much more competitive. Oddbins appeared to be trying to do a Majestic and encourage their customers to buy a minimum of 12 bottles. All very well if you have car parking facilities – extremely tricky parking in the Strand! So who, apart from a weightlifter, is going to buy a mixed case here in central London?

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The Hérédias and Christian Chaussard (Le Briseau)

Real wine: tasting of primarily biodynamic and organic wines

Next up Les Caves de Pyrene's Real Wine tasting up at the Porchester Hall nearly Paddington. Les Caves is a marvelous antidote to the tedium of big brands and BOGOFs. On show today 56 producers making interesting wines with passion. The tasting is on for two days and it would be easy and time well spent to be there for all two days – sadly deadlines makes that impossible. Instead I naturally concentrated on their Loire producers.

Frantz Saumon (Montlouis)
Frantz Saumon tasting his rosé

I started with Frantz Saumon’s Montlouis and particularly liked the recently bottled 2008 Minérale +, Montlouis. Sec (£10.68 ext vat – same for all Les Caves prices quoted here) with has considerable weight but also mineral precision. Should be good to drink young but will also age well.

Stéphane Cossais (Montlouis)

Then to Stéphane Cossais and two vintages of Le Volagre – 2007 and 2006. 2007 won’t be bottled until 8th December 2009 and Stéphane was regretting bring it along as it wasn’t showing very well. Anyway the impressive 2006 (£18.38) has the typical richness and concentration of this vintage.

Stéphane and Frantz – "Yes you do look like José Mourinho's brother!"

Emile Hérédia (Domaine de Montrieux, Coteaux du Vendômois)

Next I moved onto the reds beginning with the 2008 Pétillant Naturel Boisson Rouge (£9.88) from Emile Hérédia (Domaine de Montrieux in the Coteaux du Vendômois). PetNats (pétillants naturels) are very fashionable in Touraine and the Valley of Le Loir at the moment. Their secondary fermentation relies on their being sufficient grape sugar left when the wine is put in bottle to provoke fermentation. Emile’s Boisson Rouge is 100% Gamay and has soft attractive blackberry fruit – a good fun wine for the summer but at quite a serious price.

The Hérédias have seven hectares of vines with three varieties planted: Gamay and Pineau d'Aunis for the reds and Chenin Blanc for their whites. Their 2005 Coteaux du Vendômois (£9.43) is 100% Pineau d’Aunis – typically peppery on the palate, while aromatically more discreet.

Then onto three wines from Thierry Puzelat, who was yet to arrive although he was on his way courtesy of Ryanair. Of the three I preferred the delicate and spicy 2007 Touraine KO ‘In Cot we trust’ (£10.73). Thierry and the Domaine du Tue Boeuf in Les Montils have a Portes Ouvertes (open weekend) on 9th and 10th May. Other producers present include René Mosse (Anjou), Pierre Breton (Bourgueil, Chinon and Vouvray) and Pascal Potaire (Touraine).

Thierry Germain (Domaine des Roches-Neuves, Saumur) wasn't present but the 2007 Insolite (Saumur Blanc £13.48) has the lean, minerla precision that Thierry is now looking for. The 'basic' 2008 Samur-Champigny has some attractive ripe fruit but quite marked acidity. Of the other wines 2007 Terres Chaudes (Saumur-Champigny £12.98) was a bit of puzzle with both bottles showing bitter, astringet fruit mid-palate. I thought the first bottle was slightly corked but the second proved to be similar. This may well have been a one-off but I hope it is not an indication that Thierry is pushing his current enthusiasm for picking very early slightly too far.

Danielle Caslot (Bourgueil) with the impressive 1996 Les Galichets

On to the Domaine la Chevalerie – a 33 hectare Bourgueil estate that impresses me and one that I ought to know better. First up the sweet, juicy fruited 2007 Binette (£7.48) from young vines grown on sand and clay. Amongst the range shown I liked 2006 Les Galichets (£10.63) – red and black fruits but needing time – and the same cuvée ten years on with its delicate, sweet evolved fruit and fairly priced (£12.18) for this 1996 – a lovely vintage now often drinking very well. 1998 Les Busardières, from 50-year-old vines on the clay-limestone coteaux, has initially supple fruit but has quite tight tannins reflecting this difficult vintage.

Pierre Breton (Bourgueil, Chinon and Vouvray)

With Pierre Breton I tasted his fine 2008 La Dilettante Vouvray Sec (£9.78), made from bought in grapes, for the first time. Catherine Breton is responsible for the vinification and it's a success with attractive quince fruit, good length and that touch of bitterness in the finish – typical Chenin. Pierre also has a 2007 Bourgueil Dilettante (£11.28), which is soft and supple. It is also made by Catherine, using carbonic maceration, but pricy for what it is. Similarly I have always thought the Breton’s entry level Bourgueil – Trinch (£9.78) – to be overpriced.

Christian Chaussard with 2006 Kharaktêr (Jasnières)

Of the three wines Christian Chaussard (Le Briseau), incidentally one of the initial guiding lights behind the PetNat movement, showed the 2006 ‘Kharakter’ Jasnières (£12.68) stood out for its balance and minerality on the palate. The 2005 Clos des Longues Jasnières (£16.28) is a considerable contrast with its richer, rounder fruit.

Paul-Henry Pellé (Menetou-Salon)

Paul-Henry Pellé was showing three Menetou-Salons – two whites from 2007 and the 2008 red. The Morogues (£10.58) and the Clos Blanchais (£12.88) both have the pure linear character of the 2007 vintage. I think it is worth paying a bit more for the Blanchais’ additional character and concentration. The 2008 Morogues red (£11.58) has attractive vivid, leafy young fruit. The Pelles’ 2006 Les Cris, their top Menetou red is currently showing very well, especially if served cool.

Sébastien Riffault (Sancerre)
Not sure what pruning system Sébastien uses but it is clearly complex and precise

There are some villages in the Loire where if you shout out a particular surname almost the entire population will appear and rush towards you. For instance, try ‘Mabileau’ in Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. In Sury-en-Vaux (AC Sancerre) the name to shout is ‘Riffault’. Here things are made even more complicated because there are two very promising young producers – both with a first name that starts with an S – Stéphane and Sébastien. Stéphane now looks after Domaine Claude Riffault, while Sébastien has a five-hectare property – 4.5 planted with Sauvignon Blanc and just 0.5 ha of Pinot Noir.

I’ve been wanting to taste Sébastien’s wines for a while, so this was a good opportunity. If you are looking for a classic Sancerre, then you’ve come to the wrong place. Sébastien’s are richly fruited in a slightly oxidative style and have real character. As well as his red (2007 Raudons £16.98), he showed 2007 Akmenine (£14.13 - caillottes) and 2007 Skeveldra (£16.98 – silex). Of the two, Skeveldra is the more mineral. Sébastien is certainly working outside the norm and I must try to get to see him some time this year. See profile of Sébastien on Bernard Celce’s wine terroirs site.

The legendary but unwell Eric Narioo (Les Caves de Pyrene) – no swine flu here please!