Didier holding the cork for the 1960 Romorantin Clos Roche Blanche
Wednesday afternoon we dropped down to see Catherine Roussel and Didier Barouillet at Le Clos Roche Blanche to taste the 2009s. Having scaled back their vineyards to just 9 ha Catherine and Didier are in the fortunate position of having far more orders for their rightly highly regarded wines than they can fulfill. This now means being able to turn away fair weather clients who only bought the best vintages and stayed away in the difficult years.
In their heavily pregnant cat in attendance, we started with the Touraine Sauvignon Blanc Cuvée No2 which has just been bottled. Rich on the nose and palate with ripe yellow plum flavours, this comes in at 14.5%, although I didn't find any alcohol burn in its mineral finish, although Didier did. Although SB Cuvée No5 has three grams of residual sugar (against one for No2) this gives the impression of having a little more zip at present. This is partly due to the No2 being bottled very recently and also No5 won't be bottled until the end of August, so it currently has more CO2 which gives it an additional freshness. Both Sauvignons have been through malo.
Next onto the pale pink Pineau d'Aunis Rosé – a typical vin gris with the touch of pepper – the signature flavour of Pineau d'Aunus and well as the aromas of rosehip. The three reds – Gamay, Cabernet and Côt – all really really well. The Gamay, which was bottled just a week ago, has wonderful ripe, spiciness. It will be one of those reds that no sooner have you pulled the cork than the bottle is suddenly empty. Just delicious uncomplicated drinking but which will keep surprisingly well if you can keep your hands off it.
Both the Cabernet (black fruits) and Côt (spice and powerful but ripe tannins) are concentrated, the Côt especially, and will need time to show their best. We finished the tasting of recent vintages with a return to white and the lovely 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Cuvée No5 dominated by ripe yellow plum.
Didier then pulled out a 1960 Clos Roche Blanche Romorantin that was a mid gold in colour with some oxidation on the nose – perhaps maderisation is a better descriptor along with aromas of honey and dried but not sweet rainsins with a high acid – tonic! – finish. Catherine and Didier explained that some Romorantin was planted on the property until 1974 when Catherine's father grubbed up the vines. He died the following year and Catherine replanted with Sauvignon Blanc. The Romorantin, and this may well have been the same the other wines, was only bottled in good years, so clearly 1960 was a good vintage for Romorantin. One reason for only bottling the best vintages was the lack of bottles in the 1950s and early 1960s. Wine would be bottled in previously used bottles – quite often Champagne bottles as this one looks to have been.
The top of the 1960 Romorantin
It seems to be a typical Champagne or sparkling wine bottle from the time when these bottles were closed with a normal Champagne cork for the secondary fermentation and, not as almost all are today, with a crown cap.
Talking about the Romorantin and the diversity of grape varieties that used to be grown in Touraine moved us onto to discussing the current madness – the urge to simplify the Touraine appellation. I had fully appreciated the stupidity of the current proposals. Not only will Sauvignon Blanc with Sauvignon Gris be sole authorised varieties for white Touraine but pure Pineau d'Aunis will not be allowed for the rosé (or as a red either). For the reds 100% Gamay will be permitted, otherwise it will have to be a blend of Cabernet and Côt. This simplification flies in the face of the history of the area where pure Côt is typical and is often the best red produced here. These new regulations ignore that eastern Touraine is naturally the melting pot of grape varieties found in the Loire and that this diversity should be treasured. Instead the plan appears to be to legislate it out of existence – just at the moment when many other wine regions around the world are increasing celebrating and promoting a plurality of grape varieties, especially indigenous ones.
It is tempting to blame bureaucrats for this stupidity but it is the vignerons themselves who have voted to put themselves in a strait-jacket. I suspect that the desire to banish grape varieties from the label is the motivation behind this. The goal is to be able to sell Touraine Blanc without the mention of Sauvignon Blanc on the label. 'Touraine Blanc' may work on the French market but I'll be amazed if it does on export markets. In the UK Touraine Blanc is highly unlikely to sell without the magic words – Sauvignon Blanc. You only have to look at Bourgogne Blanc and Bourgogne Rouge which is very rarely sold in the UK without Chardonnay or Pinot Noir on the label.
Where's the C word?
Amongst all this nonsense there is one crucial element that has been ignored – the C word: culture. In all this rule making there is no mention of how the vineyards should be cultivated. You can use as much artificial fertilizer as you and zap the whole of your vineyard with weedkiller and it doesn't matter – it is still appellation contrôlée. Surely the vineyard – the terroir should be the cornerstone or the foundation of the appellation contrôlée system. Instead producers can do what they like. Driving around it is shamefully evident that the use of weedkiller is indiscriminate and widespread in AC Touraine.
Didier Barouillet's three proposals
To have the right to sell wine as appellation contrôlée, producers should not use:
a) artificial fertilisers
Their use both causes vines to over-produce and encourages the plant to grow a lot of roots on the surface rather than to search deeper into the soil for nutrients.
b) weedkiller throughout the vineyard
Destroys a vineyard's biodiversity and the natural balance which assists in keeping the vine healthy. Widespread use means that other chemical products have to be used to protect the vine against various diseases. It also encourages erosion.
c) systemics
These penetrate into the soil destroying the microbacterial life and this Didier believes is responsible for diseases like esca because the protection this life provides for the roots of the vine has been destroyed.
Producers, who want to use the above products and practices, would have to opt to sell their wine as vin de pays or vin de table: they would not have the right to appellation contrôlée. Perhaps a new France wide vin de pays could be created – vin de pays de Monsanto – it could prove to be a popular choice.
Those who say that this measure is too extreme should be reminded that the rules for the new AC Saumur Le Puy-Notre-Dame ban the indiscriminate use of weedkiller (desherbage total) in the vineyard.
AC Touraine should be following Le Puy's good example.
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