Brilliant! – 2010 Le Mont Sec, Vouvray, Domaine Huet

2010 Le Mont Sec, Vouvray, Domaine Huet

The 2010 vintage in the Loire is looking increasingly good and, unusually, is showing well across the region's wide diversity of styles. There are some lovely reds almost as rich and weighty as 2009 but better balanced. The dry whites are very good: again a lovely balance of fruit and acidity. Then the sweet wines, especially from Anjou, are spectacularly good. Like the 2002 vintage balance is the keyword here.

This 2010 Le Mont Sec is a brilliant example of how good a dry white or really, in this instance, a slightly off-dry white from this vintage can be. The touch of sweetness is wonderfully off-set by a backbone of ripe but austere acidity. I have no doubt that this will last 30 years and more but it is delicious to drink now. 

2010 turned out to be Noël Pinguet's penultimate vintage and this is part of a wonderful legacy. 

 Noël Pinguet and Anthony Hwang during 

the 2010 vintage@Domaine Huet

   

An afternoon with Jacky Blot including tasting 2011s

Jacky Blot in the Clos Michet, Montlouis 

I met up with Jacky yesterday afternoon in the company of a Belgian importer and one from Switzerland. This was mainly an opportunity to taste all the 2011s. A few of these are in bottle but most will be bottled shortly now that the definitive assemblage is complete. 

First, as neither of the importers had visited Jacky's vines, we went for a look at the Clos Michet and the neighbouring Clos Mosny. In introducing the Montlouis appellation, Jacky stressed that rather than facing across northwards over the Loire and towards Vouvray, it actually faces south towards the Cher.      

Jacky explaining the Cordon Royat system of pruning that he prefers to the more traditional Gobelet

After a quick look at Le Clos Michet we moved into the 12-hectare Clos Mosny that Jacky acquired in autumn 2010. He explained that in the first year they hadn't started to replace missing vines, although they did rip out a few rows of unwanted Chardonnay rather had looked to see which part of the Clos produced the best fruit for a single vineyard Montlouis. They have now identified a square in the centre of the Clos as the most promising and will be starting work here on replacing missing vines and raising the trellis from two to three wires. 

Across the Clos Mosny – the central part has been selected for the single vineyard cuvée

Checks on grape maturity will start at the beginning of September. "With a small crop this year I think we could well be surprised by how quickly the grapes ripen at the end," says Jacky, "so we have to be ready." However, no matter how fast the grapes ripen the 2012 Loire harvest will clearly be later than last year when much of the grapes were being picked in September with some of the early varieties picked in late August.      

Part of the small 2012 crop (above and below)

We then repaired to the barrel cellar, at the bottom of the steep rise up into the hamlet of Husseau, before heading back to the offices to taste the 2011s and 2010s.

 In the barrel cellar where all the whites are vinified 

On left one of Jacky's prized Chassin barrels

2011 and 2010 Montlouis/Vouvray and Bourgueil

Our tasting of the 2011 whites began with the two wines that are already in bottle – Les Dix Arpents (Montlouis) and Les Caburoches (Vouvray). My preference was for the Vouvray with its great vivacity and length.Then onto Rémus, Rémus Plus and the single vineyard wines – Clos Michet and Clos Mosny (Montlouis) and Clos de la Bretonnière and Clos de Venise (Vouvray). 

Jacky is understandably pleased that his 2011s are vivid and lively not lacking the acidity of some 2011s. I was particularly impressed by the volume, texture and purity of the Clos Michet. Although sec, it gives the impression of sucrosity. I also thought that the first vintage of the Clos Mosny was a real success given the poor state of the vineyard when Jacky took it over with vines used to producing a generous and an abundant crop. I thought the Clos Mosny was a little more angular, less generous than the Clos Michet. It will be interesting to see how the wines from here develop over the next few years. My favourite, however, was the one hectare Clos de Venise – a lovely blend of opulent fruit and a lifted vivacious finish.

From the range of 2010s I picked out the beautifully balanced 2010 Rémus and again the Clos de Venise. Tasting 2010 and 2011 whites side by side shows that 2010 is a vintage whose purity and balance will please Loire fanatics with greater staying power than the softer 2011s. We concluded the dry whites with the 1996 Rémus – one of the very early editions of this cuvée. Light gold hue, the 1996 has a lovely savoury, complex character with delicate spice and honey. Although evolving, it shows no sign of tiring.  

For the reds of La Butte 2010 is the superior vintage with riper fruit than the more angular 2011 but with more definition and precision than the crowd-pleasing 2009s. Having tasted the full range of La Butte 2011 I picked out Les Perrières and Mi-Pente, while the Pied de la Butte is full of easy drinking red fruits – a wine to drink young and share with friends. The two 2010s we tasted – Haut de la Butte and Mi-Pente – were both very fine with quite a marked floral character. Mi-Pente has great finesse, balance, ripe tannins and length.                  

  

Tasting of 2010s@the RSJ

2010 harvest@Domaine de la Butte, Bourgueil

This is a rather belated report on a tasting at the RSJ Restaurant on Monday 4th July featuring a range from the 2010 vintage. 2010 is an interesting contrast to 2009. Overall the wines, although they have good fruit, have crisper acidity and a more marked mineral character than the richer 2009. 

Growing season of 2010 the Loire divided climatically into two parts: west and east of Tours. To the west it was very dry with some parts of Anjou having virtually no rain in April and May then again in July and August. Over the the whole year Angers had 595mm of rain compared to the average of 647mm. The 2010 total was boosted by high rainfall in November and December. The Pays Nantais had a similarly dry summer. Average temperatures here in 2010 were 16.2˚C exactly in line with the norm average of 16.2˚C. In contrast the average for 2009 was considerably higher at 17.1˚C.

Further east in Bourges the rainfall total in 2010 was 691mm against a norm of 732mm. Although slightly below average, it was well above that of 2009 – 622mm. Average max temperatures in 2010 were 15.6˚C compared to the norm of 15.8˚C. 2010 was much cooler than 16.9˚C.

Aperitif:

2010 Sauvignon, Vin de Pays de la Loire, Domaine de Bablut

This Sauvignon Blanc from Christophe Daviau was for many among their favourite wines of the tasting. It immediately pointed up the difference between the 2009 and 2010 vintages. The 2009 SB Bablut was a fatter, richer wine with more exotic fruit flavours. In contrast, although the 2010 has some weight, it is more mineral and has more marked acidity.

Whites:

2010 AC Touraine Sauvignon, Clos Roussely, Vincent Roussely

Attractive crisp lemony fruit well balanced with mineral acidity. As is often the case the acidity is more marked on the Touraine Sauvignon than those from Anjou. Whites from the clay limestone soils of Saumur and Touraine tend to have higher levels of acidity than those from the impervious rocks and soils of Anjou.

2010 Quincy, Domaine des Ballandors, Jean Tatin and Chantal Wilk
The Ballandors' Quincy is quite lean and citric at present. It may take on more weight over the next few months.

2010 Chenin Blanc, Anjou Blanc, Ch de la Roulerie, Philippe Germain

A change of grape variety here moving from the trio Sauvignon Blancs to Chenin Blanc. Again la Roulerie is quite crisp and lemony at present and may gain weight with a little more time in bottle. I found this showed better with the  

2010 3 Coteaux, Chinon Blanc, Baudry-Dutour

An ideal bracing aperitif – very clean citric flavours with light floral. Closed with a screwcap. Tasted without food this was the clear preference amongst the tasters. With the salmon the verdict was less clear cut.

Reds:

2010 Clos de la Bienboire, Château de Villeneuve, Jean-Pierre Chevallier  
This was probably the first time this new no sulphur cuvée from Jean-Pierre has been shown at a tasting in the UK. Its attractively soft, bright reds fruits are to be enjoyed now. A wine to drink with friends rather than on to analyse.   


2010 Les Rouillères, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Frédéric Mabileau
Showing more concentration than the Bienboire with juicy black fruits to the fore. Can be kept two or three years but very good to drink now and enjoy the youthful fruit. 

2010 Anjou Rouge Château de la Roulerie, Philippe Germain

Again black fruits to the fore being from Anjou the tannins are a little more present.

2010 Saumur Champigny, Domaine de Roches Neuves, Thierry GermainBright youthful, vibrant fruit – both red and black fruits. The 2010s from Thierry are a real success.  

1996 Chinon Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de la Perrière, Jean & Christophe Baudry
We chose a 1996 to finish as it was our guess as a vintage that may give a clue as to how the 2010 may age. The mid-weight Vieilles Vignes has aged attractively with mature soft, round fruit. Ready to drink now it can be kept a while longer although I doubt if it will improve further.

Starter:

Ballotine of Salmon with cucumber dressing

Main:

Confit Duck leg

Saute potatoes, spinach, braised celery, carrots

Dessert
Griottine cherry and Greek yogurt jelly with whipped cream and shortbread

Jacky Blot: visit to Le Clos Mosny + 2010s

Pipette and glass@the cave Domaine de la Taille aux Loups

I spent this afternoon with Jacky Blot (Domaine de la Taille aux Loups) first visiting his new vineyard – Le Clos de Mosny – and then tasting from barrel a number of his 2010 Montlouis and Vouvray.

Jacky looking towards the south western end of the Clos

Jacky and Joëlle Blot took over the historic Clos Mosny from Monmousseau after the 2010 harvest. See the details here. Driving along the D40 from Saint-Martin-Le-Beau to Montlouis you pass the southern end of the Clos, whose walls completely encircle the 12ha vineyard and the Château de Mosny making 1.6 kilometres of wall to look after! Jacky has already hired a stonemason called Antoine to repair and look after the walls. I suspect he will be busy!

Ivy infested gateway

Although I had previously looked through the gate at the Clos I had never been inside, so it was particularly interesting to visit it with Jacky yesterday. It seems very likely that not all of the Clos will produce the same quality of grapes. The soil is a mix of flint and sand. Typically the soil in Montlouis becomes more sandy as you approach the southern part of the AC around Saint-Martin-le-Beau. The Clos slopes gently down from its northern end to the D40 road. It seems likely that the best part of the Clos, which faces south – south-west, will be from the upper and the middle parts. In the lower part the soil may be deeper with more clay. There looks to be a frost prone hollow at the south-western end. Some of the vines are around 50 years old.

The intention is that the best fruit from the Clos will be used for a single vineyard cuvée with the lesser fruit going into either Les Dix Arpents or to the base wine for Triple Zéro.

Pruning in the Clos (above and below)

Vines beyond the wall are part of the Clos Michet

Pruning has already started in the Clos as the cold snap at the end of November has allowed producers to start pruning earlier than normal. It makes particular sense in the clos as all the posts, etc. will be replaced here once pruning has finished. Yields will be drastically reduced – Jacky suggested that yields here in 2010 could have been in the order of 120/130 hl/ha, which was reduced at vintage time around 70hl/ha by discarding rotten bunches.

There is also a winery at the entrance to the Clos with a ground florr and cellar, which has a stock of bottles from the Monmousseau purchase. 

The Blots have a virtual monopoly of the Clos except for a small patch of untended vines (see below) at the northern end which belongs to the Château de Mosny, more an attractive manoir than a true château.

The Château de Mosny

It is a pity that the vineyard and the château have been in separate hands for some years now as there is a potential to make the Clos Mosny a show place for Montlouis.

Barrel tasting of 2010s

After visiting the Clos we headed back to the village of Husseau to taste the 2010s from both Montlouis and Vouvray from barrel – many of them still fermenting. It is always fascinating to taste wine at all of its stages, although it is difficult to fully know how the finished wine will taste, especially if there is still some sugar left to ferment and the blend is yet to be made. However, you can discern the broad outlines. At this early stage in their life they seem reminiscent to the 2007s and 2008s – very precise, clean flavours with quite strong acidity.

Among the many samples we tasted was the Clos Michet. 2009 was the first vintage of this Clos, which is adjacent and just to the west of the Clos Mosny. Michet is also 12 hectares but has a number of owners with Jacky now having some 4 hectares here as the deal with Monmousseau included some parcels in this Clos. My current impression is that Michet has less weight than Rémus, which comes from a number of parcels, but has delicacy, finesse and precision. We also tasted wine from the Château de la Bourdaisière, whose harvest Jacky has been looking after for the past three or four years.

Chassin – Jacky's preferred barrel maker

Jacky Blot (above and below)

**

I gather that sometime over the past year Domaine Deletang (20ha) was sold to Michel Antier, a wine producer (Domaine de Cray) and restaurateur (La Cave à Montlouis).

2010 harvest: some pics from the Clos du Bourg, Vouvray

Discarded grapes

By late September/early October it was already clear that unlike Anjou, the 2010 vintage was going to be difficult as these photos taken at Domaine Huet's Clos du Bourg on 1st October show.

A victim of esca

View across the vines to the tower with some of the buildings of Tours in the background

20 novembre 2010: Soirée du vin nouveau de Saumur@Distré

Château de Saumur overlooking the town

Venez déguster et fêter l'arrivée du vin nouveau avec la Commanderie du Taste-Saumur.* Au programme : dégustation, intronisations, repas gargantuesque, soirée dansante.

Téléchargez le coupon de réservation

Modalités d'accès : Coupon de réservation à envoyer à : M. André Brault - 16 rue G.Girard, appt 3 - 49400 Saumur

Lieu : Distré
France
Renseignements : Tél : 02 41 67 95 26

* La Commanderie's website badly needs updating as it still gives details of the 2008 Soirée!

2010 en Centre-Loire : Un grand classique

Pickers during the 2010 vintage

Assessment of the 2010 vintage from the Bureau du Centre

Le climat 2010 modérément sec a été rythmé au long de la saison végétative par les alternances de fortes chaleurs et de températures fraîches. Aussi, la maturation, comme tous les stades – débourrement, floraison et véraison – a été marquée par un démarrage lent et un achèvement dans des conditions climatiques optimales. D’un bel équilibre en bouche associant plénitude et fraîcheur, caractérisé par de superbes arômes fruités en blanc comme en rouge, 2010 est un grand classique.

La campagne viticole

Après un débourrement relativement tardif, la floraison s’est étalée sur trois semaines. Les températures basses de mai et de début juin ont provoqué de la coulure en de nombreux endroits, surtout sur les blancs. La dernière décade de juin et tout le mois de juillet particulièrement chauds (+2°C par rapport aux normales) ont permis de rattraper le retard à la fermeture de la grappe. Et puis, à nouveau, c’est un climat plus froid, entrecoupé de belles journées, qui s’est installé en août et septembre, si bien que la véraison fût longue et marquée par une certaine hétérogénéité. Sur l’ensemble de la période végétative, le déficit pluviométrique est de 15%. Un épisode de grêle a touché une partie importante du vignoble de Châteaumeillant. Les autres vignobles du Centre-Loire n’ont pas subi de dégâts significatifs.

La pression des maladies cryptogamiques fut moindre par rapport aux années précédentes. Le mildiou se manifesta tardivement, tandis que l’oïdium était un peu plus virulent. La relative sécheresse dans la profondeur du sol a préservé l’état sanitaire qui est resté bon jusqu’à la récolte. L’inquiétude est surtout venue des maladies du bois (esca, black dead arm) dont les symptômes se sont exprimés dans des proportions élevées, jusqu’à plus de 15 % de ceps touchés sur certaines parcelles.

La maturation

Ralentie dans sa première phase, la maturation s’est accélérée graduellement à la faveur des petites pluies et des périodes de plus fortes températures. La dernière semaine s’est révélée déterminante pour la qualité du millésime. En particulier, les acidités un peu élevées au début se sont bien rééquilibrées par la perte d’acide malique, tandis que les teneurs en sucres augmentaient de façon aussi impressionnante qu’inespérée. La fraîcheur nocturne et les journées ensoleillées, chaudes sans excès, ont peaufiné la maturité des arômes.

Les vendanges

La majorité des vignobles (Sancerre, Pouilly, Coteaux du Giennois, Châteaumeillant) ont ouvert les vendanges le 27 septembre. Reuilly et Quincy avaient donné le ban le 20, tandis qu’il fallut attendre le 29 septembre à Menetou-Salon. Les dates de récolte ont suivi les écarts de floraison et pratiquement tout était fini de rentrer le 15 octobre, les tout derniers ayant terminé le 19 octobre. Les vendanges se sont déroulées sous un ciel clément, hormis la grosse pluie du 4 octobre qui a permis d’achever la maturation dans les parcelles tardives. En général, les rouges ont été cueillis dans la première moitié des vendanges, exceptés quelques uns qui ont eu des très beaux résultats en repoussant la récolte à la fin avec un tri rigoureux.

Les premières impressions du millésime

Les blancs exhalent toute la richesse et la finesse aromatiques du sauvignon selon les origines (sols, expositions). Le fruité étonnant des moûts se retrouve dans les vins : les fruits exotiques (passion, mangue), la pierre à fusil, le buis et autres nuances végétales (rhubarbe, pois, asperge). Amples, ils sont équilibrés.  Soutenus par une juste et belle vivacité, ils affirment une présence, une fermeté et une longueur remarquables au palais. Leur potentiel de conservation est certain et beaucoup n’atteindront leur pleine expression qu’après 12 à 18 mois d’élevage.

  

Les rouges aussi sont séduisants par leur fruité intense (fraise, framboise, cassis, mûre). En bouche, l’attaque est ferme. Les tanins austères, parfois vigoureux, bien soutenus par du gras, confèrent de la solidité et de la longueur à la structure. La fermentation malolactique saura apporter de la rondeur. Plus sur l’élégance que sur la puissance, ils pourront être prêts assez tôt (fin 2011) mais aussi se garder pour les cuvées les plus denses.

 Benoît in the vineyards of Pouilly-Fumé: October 2008

           

Contact Presse :

Benoît Roumet*

benoit.roumet@vins-centre-loire.com

Réalisé par Bertrand Daulny (SICAVAC)

* Many congratulations to Benoît on his recent marriage in Japan.

2010 Loire vintage: report and links from the Gralls (Sancerre)

'Château' Grall: processing the 2010 on the pavements of Sancerre

Le 2010 est enfin en cave !*

Encore une belle récolte pour le Sancerrois, et cette année ‘Dame nature’ a été généreuse en nous offrant une belle maturité, cette minéralité si typique à nos vins et enfin un rendement normal.

Pour vous mettre l’eau, ou plutôt le vin ! à la bouche, visitez notre site Internet pour voir quelques images de la vendange 2010.

Je profite de ce message pour vous informer de la mise en ligne de notre nouveau site Internet www.grall-tourisme-sancerre.com dédié à l’oenotourisme. Faites passer le message autour de vous.

Au plaisir de vous rencontre dans notre caveau ou sur un salon/foire aux vins.

Sancerrement,

Adélaïde & Vincent GRALL

* Technically perhaps a slight exaggeration as the Gralls really do vinify in their garage, although it does stretch back into the hillside.

2010 Loire vintage: summary from Martial Angeli

 Mark Angeli

Les vendanges se sont très bien passées, c'était une année "piège" parce qu'il y a eut une semaine de pluie au milieu des vendanges et qu'il ne fallait pas se précipiter pour les cabernets et les grolleaux, donc on a pu faire les chenins avant la pluie. Au niveau des rendements, c'est une très bonne année pour nous puisqu'ils sont de 26-30 hl/h sur la plupart des parcelles (hormis les Vieilles Vignes qui produisent toujours beaucoup moins), ce qui est le rendement idéal pour nous, que nous ne voulons pas dépasser. 

2010 Loire vintage: Vincent Ogereau

Vincent and Catherine Ogereau

On Sunday night I spoke to a generally pleased and certainly astonished Vincent (Domaine Ogereau) Astonished by the rapidity and completeness of the development of botrytis. "The grapes for the sweet wines are superb this year. We have nearly finished – we will be picking Les Bonnes Blanches at the beginning of the coming week. Due to the dry summer and then the rain at the end of September the botrytis is very regular, I have been amazed we hardly have to do a tri (selectively pick). We can pick 80%-90% of the hrapes nd they are all between 20%-21% potential. In the Bonnes Blanches it's between 22%-23% potential. All the juice is pure – there aren't any faux goûts (bad flavours). Even our 'generic' domaine cuvée is 19% potential*."

"The Cabernets are now done – we finished this week. We had to pick them quickly as there was a threat of rot. They came in at between 13%-14% and 4gm acidity.The parcel used for our Cabernet d'Anjou was at 13.5%!"

My impression is that 2010 has certainly been a more difficult year than 2009, although there should be some fine resulting wines. One of those vintages that are called 'l'année du vigneron'. In general those who looked after their vineyards properly and kept yields down and the bunches well aerated look to have been rewarded. In more heavily cropped vines there may well have been more rot and the grapes probably less ripe. Doubtless there are cases where unripe grapes had to be picked otherwise they would have rotted. Buyers may well have to select carefully this year. 

(My apologies in the delay in getting this posted.)

*

I may have been premature in welcoming the Angeli family into the 21st century as I haven't had a reply to my email on Tuesday to Martial Angeli. They are probably busy with the harvest. I have sent the message again – perhaps I was too rude about Mark! Looks as though he might be on Facebook. Will keep you posted on emails and the Angelis!

Clos du Porteau finished but the chauffeur is still busy

 

Isabelle de Clermont-Tonnerre (winemaker)

A quick call yesterday evening to Isabelle de Clermont-Tonnerre (Clos du Porteau, Saint Georges-sur-Cher)  established that they had just picked the last of their Cabernet that day, which had come in a 14%. Apparently a number of other producers in Saint-Georges also also finished yesterday including Norbert Berry.

Aynard, le chauffeur extraordinaire, is still very busy hiring out his thermovinification machine in many parts of Touraine. Demand appears to have been boosted significantly this year due to the prevalence of rot. Apparently heating the must up to 60˚C gets rid of the taste of rot and the thermomachine has been used on a wide range of wines including Sauvignon Blanc in Touraine and Chenin in Vouvray and Montlouis. It will be interesting to taste the wines as I think it is similar to the technique used in parts of Beaujolais and the Côte Roannaise as the process emphasises the fruit. I don't know whether this reduces the wine's potential to age, although many of these wines will be made for early consumption so it may not be an issue.

Further research required I fancy.

2010 Loire vintage report: Charles Sydney

Château de Chinon this morning from the Clos de l'Echo (pic: Charles Sydney)

(Delighted that Monsieur Charles has graciously given me permission to publish his vintage report.) 

Thought it was time we sent you a preliminary vintage report...
 

Muscadet almost four weeks ago, on more-or-less the same date as last year. One month later, with the exception of a handful of the more committed red producers, the vast majority of the grapes throughout the Loire Valley are now in, although we are of course waiting for the final tris of Coteaux du Layon.

After a perfectly normal summer and despite our annual scare with rain, things are looking good.  In fact, as the harvest has gone on, we’ve been getting happier and happier...

Muscadets from the better domaines are at least as good as last year, maybe even better, with young Pierre Sauvion’s comment of ‘ravi content’ summing it up nicely. That said, the situation in Muscadet is pretty catastrophic, and those growers who simply couldn’t afford to treat the vines in the summer had a lot of problems with rot, resulting in strange eau de vie aromas in the juice.
 
Any comments about the greed of growers asking too high prices are misplaced - 60 growers have gone bankrupt in the Pays Nantais since the harvest. You might like to see my ‘meltdown’ analysis in the attached letter.

In the Touraine and up in Sancerre and Pouilly, picking started upto a week later than last year. Rain around the 24th September put the frighteners on some growers but gave wonderful proof of the advantage of grassing through the vines.

The sauvignons look lovely - nice degrees, nicely balanced acidity and loads of fresh fruit - and there should be plenty of really attractive wines to enjoy. The gamays are less exciting, as too few people deleaf, debud and grass through the vineyards, but stick with the best growers (Marteau, Marionnet.*..) and you’ll be fine.
 
In Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny, picking in general started earlier than last year (another couple of days of rain set off some rot and panicked growers) but better growers waited (again), and benefitted from an extra 2 weeks of bright sunny weather and cooling winds, achieving a level of ripeness that seems clearly on a par with - or superior - to last year... It’s even tempting to compare with 2005, but I guess we need to wait till fermentations are over before promising too much!
 
For the chenins, once more, and despite some problems in Vouvray, the good guys have come up trumps, with some huge grins in Saumur and  the Layon and more than one grower saying he was ‘aux anges’ ... For my  money, and even before the final pickings, I’d bet heavily on 2010 being way better than 2009.

We will of course send you a full report once fermentations are over and we've tasted the wines.

* Not all the Marionnet Gamay vineyards are grassed over. 

2010 Loire vintage: other people's views

Richard Leroy in his Les Noëls de Montbenault vineyard

I had been hoping to be able to post a preliminary 2010 Loire vintage report from Charles Sydney, the Loire courtier based in Chinon.

However, his report has the following confidentiality notice attached:

'CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE

This communication is confidential and is intended for the use of the addressee designated above. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy, distribute or disclose this to anyone other than the addressee.'

Having taken appropriate legal advice I have decided reluctantly that I cannot post the report, even though Charles appears to be fairly optimistic about 2010. However, when looking at vintage reports from producers I'm reminded that parents are invariably infatuated by their newly born offspring as  I understand are Premier League footballers by their latest mistress.

 ***   

Instead I'm delighted to provide a link to La Pipette aux quatre vins's Petit bilan des vendanges 2010, en Anjou et Layon, which features Eric Morgat in Savennières, Richard Leroy@Rablay-sur-Layon  and Cyril Le Moing, à Fline de Martigné-Briand.

Domaine Baumard: Quarts de Chaume questions

 

Domaine Baumard:  large bunches of green grapes: 28th September 2010

For a number of years Le Domaine des Baumard has been an ardent advocate of cryoextraction or cryosélection as Jean Baumard, Président d'Honneur de la Fédération Viticole de l'Anjou, prefers to call it. The Baumards have been allowed to use cryoextraction for their Quarts de Chaume. However, on the 27th September 2010 the Syndicat des Quarts de Chaume decided by an overwhelming majority that cryoextraction will no longer be permitted in the Quarts de Chaume.

A visit to the Quarts de Chaume on 26th September demonstrated why Domaine Baumard may have found cryoextraction such an attractive option, at least for some of their vines. I was utterly staggered to see by crop load and the greenness of the grapes on Baumard's vignes larges (widely spaced vines), having no inkling that the Baumard vines and grapes would be so radically different from those elsewhere in this prestigious appellation – ('Cette AOC se classe parmi les terroirs d’exception' – Interloire).

Indeed as I have previously admired this domaine and its wines I assumed that theirs would be very similar to those of the other producers in the Quarts de Chaume. How wrong I was!

Domaine Baumard: a mass of large, green bunches and dark green foliage (above and below)

Up to 20 bunches on a vine

Large bunches of green grapes

Domaine Baumard: the dark green rows in the middle are the domaine's 'vignes larges' planted on terraces. Their dark green foliage is in marked contrast with neighbouring vines

Other vines and grapes in the Quarts de Chaume (photos taken the same afternoon):

Noble rot already starting to develop

Widely spaced well ventilated, small bunches of much riper fruit

Much lighter foliage

A stark contrast, indeed! It is difficult to see how the grapes on the Baumard terraces (pictured above) could be used to make Quarts de Chaume without the aid of cryoextraction.

**

Following my visit to the Quarts de Chaume I put four questions to Domaine Baumard. 

a) Are the terraces entirely used for Quarts de Chaume or are the vines that are heavily loaded normally used for Anjou Blanc or another appellation?  

b) Will they all be used for the 2010 Quarts de Chaume or will any heavily loaded vines be declassified?

c) The vineyards of the Quarts de Chaume are subject to a ‘contrôle « à la parcelle » des conditions de production’. Have the vines on your terraces been inspected by the INAO this year and did they consider that your vines met the ‘conditions de production’?

d) From 2011 grapes destined for Quarts de Chaume must have an average potential alcohol of 18%. In order to meet this new requirement will you need to make any changes to the way that your vines on the terraces are managed? Or will you be seeking to overturn the Syndicat’s decision through the courts?

As yet I have received no answers from Domaine Baumard, only an email from Jean Baumard complaining that I had made a 'furtive' visit to their Quarts de Chaume vineyard and that my questions were akin to police questionning and that he had never been asked such questions by a journalist before.

Since Domaine Baumard benefit from the high reputation of the Quarts de Chaume appellation, I think these four questions are entirely reasonable. After all Jean Baumard has already been to court twice to defend the Quarts de Chaume's prestige against the ambitions of neighbouring Chaume and appears to be threatening to go to court again if the INAO accept the proposal to make Quarts de Chaume a grand cru and Chaume a premier cru.

While Domaine Baumard has every right to ignore my questions, I hope they will provide a response.

See previous posts about cryoextraction and the Quarts de Chaume here, here and here.