Domaine de Clos de l'Èlu: three fine 2010s

Charlotte Carsin: Domaine de Clos de l'Elu 

I met Charlotte Carsin of the Domaine de Clos de l'Elu at the Salon des Vins Loire at the beginning of February. As she wasn't exhibiting she kindly agreed to send me some samples when I was next in Touraine as I had never tasted the wines of this new domaine of 30 hectares. Established in January 2008 in Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné, the domaine has 30 parcels of vines stretching from Chaume westwards to Ardenay.   

Three bottles from the 2010 vintage duly arrived: L'Aiglerie – an Anjou Rouge, Bastingage – an Anjou Blanc and a Coteaux du Layon. I was particularly impressed by Bastingage – a 100% Chenin partially vinified in wood and partly in vat and then bottled in July – and the Coteaux du Layon. Both wines have a lovely balance. 

2010 Bastingage, Anjou Blanc

Bastingage (10€ at the domaine) has attractive floral and honeyed aromas, good texture with a little touch of oak that aids complexity without being dominant and is likely to disappear with a little more bottle age. Yet more evidence that Anjou Blanc can be very good. 

2010 Coteaux du Layon, Domaine de Clos de l'Èlu 

The 2010 Coteaux du Layon (12€ at the domaine) is delicious: not a heavyweight or super sweet but a really well-balanced sweet wine with apricot and citric fruit and a very clean, fresh finish. It makes a lovely aperitif and is good with cheese, especially hard and blue cheeses. It would probably work well with a poulet à la crème or a rich pork dish. I wouldn't, however, try to serve it with desserts as they would be likely to accentuate the acidity and hide the fruit. This Coteaux du Layon is vinified in vat, while their Chaume, which I didn't taste, is vinified in wood and sells for 22 € for a 50cl bottle.     

   

2010  L'Aiglerie, Anjou Rouge 

The 100% Cabernet Franc L'Aiglerie (10€) has good juicy, black fruits and soft, light tannins. An easy drinking red, L'Aiglerie is good and well made but just less 'stand out' than the two whites. 

On this evidence Domaine de Clos de l'Èlu is very promising and is another domaine that I need to visit.