When I arrived the well-set up tasting room was full of people – I have never previously seen toys and books provided for kids, while the adults amuse themselves tasting wine. It was extremely hot outside – around 35˚C – so it was good to have a short wait in the cool before going through with Annie to the winery.
I commented on their well set-up tasting room. “50% of our production is on vente direct,” added Annie.
Michel is obviously quite a spiky individual and I suspect quite reasonably resented finding some pesky journo in his space (he is the winemaker) especially after a day’s hard work. Initially I got several challenging looks.
Annie continued: “There are some 40 viticulteurs in the Côtes d’Auvergne but only five or six live exclusively from making wine. It is common for one of the partners to work in another field.
"In the vineyards we are close to being organic – the rows are grassed over although we do use weedkiller once a year under the vines. Because of our steeply sloped vineyards we can’t harrow the soil under the vines as this would encourage erosion. Recently we have given up organic fertiliser and instead are using compost, which is giving us good results.”
We touched on the move to appellation in particular whether it will be possible to make a pure Pinot Noir once the Côtes d’Auvergne is promoted to appellation – it won’t be. “There is very little Pinot Noir planted and some it is the wrong clone. Furthermore it is difficult to vinify.” Michel is not a fan of Pinot Noir/Gamay blends and doesn’t produce one preferring to either make a pure Gamay or a pure Pinot Noir. I think he is right as it is rare to find a convincing blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir and even rarer to find a really good one.
One of the two conical vats, where they punch down the cap by foot, can be seen on the left.
Annie and Michel are not alone in having a sofa in the winery – Neal Ibbotson of St Clair in Marlborough, New Zealand at ease on his winery couch: November 2007
We tasted seven wines and while I liked all of them I thought that the reds were their strongest suit. We started with two Chardonnays – the 2007 Prestige that spends about 11 months in oak and was bottled in November 2008 and the unoaked, crisp apple and lemony 2008 Cuvée d’Antan that doesn’t go through malo. The lightly coloured 2008 Les Charmeuses rosé with its delicate pear flavour and refreshing finish is made from Gamay – 50% from grapes pressed immediately after picking without maceration and 50% saignée.
The deliciously, easy drinking, ripe 2008 Selection Gamay was the first red. Made from yields of 50-55 hl/ha this is just the sort of wine where you finish the bottle effortlessly and wonder how it emptied so quickly. “What is a ‘grand vin’,” asked Michel rhetorically. “It’s a wine that gives pleasure – immediate pleasure.”
The 2007 Pinot Noir Prestige was picked by hand from a yield of 30-35 hl/ha. It spends 10-12 months in barrique – new to four years old. It’s slightly earthy in style with good, rich concentration and, at the moment, quite edgy, so could do with some more time in bottle. CRM thought it was reminiscent of a New Zealand Pinot Noir.
Anyone convinced that Gamay is invariably light in colour and flavour should taste the deep coloured and rich 2005 Gamay Mythique. It’s slightly drying, grainy tannins would not be noticeable with food. 2005 is so far the only vintage that Annie and Michel have made this cuvee, which is now sold out.
Michel has 40 ares of his own vines on the Coteaux de Bard, part of the commune de Boudes. Unusually the vines are on granite soils – the vineyards of Boudes are normally on argile-calcaire (clay-limestone). There are 30 ares of Gamay and 10 of Chardonnay. The vins de paille come from here.
Traditionally vins de paille here were made for personal consumption and often by by the cure (priest) from bunches of grapes that had been given to him. Like Vin Santo the grapes for vin de paille are not late picked. Instead they are harvested at the normal time and dried for four or five months. It is very important that there is no rot, so it is ideal if the grapes on a bunch are well spread out: some millerandage (shot berries) is good. The dried grapes tend to be pressed in two batches – they look for a minimum potential alcohol of 22˚. Then the second batch is allowed to dry for another two months – producing a potential of 25-27˚. The juice is fermented slowly in barriques for 18 months to two years.
We tasted the Michel Blot Raisins Confits X Gamay (vin de table) a blend of 2005 and 2006 – rich and sweet with strawberry and dried apricot flavours with refreshing acidity. "The drying process concentrates both the sugar and the acidity," observed Michel.
See Annie's comment on my visit here on her blog.
63340 Boudes
Tel: 04.73.96.41.42
Email: sauvat@terre-net.fr
Web: www.sauvat-vins.com
La Maison Marie Camille, Saint-Germain-Lembron
Mireille et Fabien Marotte
4 Rue de la Porte Vieille
63340 St Germain Lembron
Tel. 04.73.96.45 73, Mob. 06 50 70 45 73
3 comments:
Thanks Jim, good report on a little-discussed region. It is humbling to think how hard it must be to make a living producing wine in a region like this - good on them for having a full tasting room!
It certainly sounds as though you had a 'challenging' time from Michel.
Thanks Chris. I don't know how hard it is to make a living in the Côtes d'Auvergne. Certainly there were quite a number of visitors in the region in high summer. There are also some large towns nearby – Issoire and Clemont-Ferrand – and there is a substantial Auvergnat population in Paris with restaurants specialising in products from the region.
It can't be easy but I suspect that as the production of Côtes d'Auvergne is now small, it is not as difficult as one might imagine.
PS More to come on Côtes d'Auvergne.
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