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.                  

  

Noël Pinguet's last vintage: three 2011 secs from Huet

2011 secs: Le Haut Lieu. Le Mont and Clos du Bourg 

Although these three 2011 sec samples arrived from Domaine Huet (Vouvray) in late June, I have not been in a position to taste them until yesterday. No bad thing as this has given the wines more time to rest after bottling. 2011 will be the last vintage made by Noël Pinguet, who resigned in February having been running the estate and making the wines since 1976.

2011 Le Haut Lieu sec

Mid-lemon and the palest of the three secs as well as having a slightly lowered degree of alcohol – 13% against 13.5% for Le Mont and the Clos du Bourg. Delicate but discreet floral and lemony aromas, citric palate with some weight and length but lacking complexity. This is particularly noticeable going back to it after tasting the other two – 2011 Le Haut Lieu lacks that extra dimension. It is often the case that the other two vineyards, right on the premier côte, have greater depth and complexity.

2011 Clos du Bourg sec

Slightly deeper in colour than Le Haut Lieu, the Clos du Bourg is noticeable more generous and textured on the palate with citric as well as slight mousseron aromas. The quite richly textured fruit is well balanced by crystalline acidity and has length and complexity. Can be drunk with pleasure now but will gain additional complexity with more time in bottle. 

2011 Le Mont sec 

Similar colour to the Clos du Bourg with a touch of exotic fruit aromas – none of these secs are very expressive aromatically at present. Good fruit texture and again well-balanced with quite marked acidity.   

Of the three I have a slight preference for the Clos du Bourg over Le Mont but this may well change with time!    

Domaine Huet 2011 Vintage Report: The end of an era

Noël Pinguet@Domaine Huet

Marie-Françoise and Noël Pinguet

July report from Adam Bruntlett of Domaine Huet's UK agents Richards Walford. 

Few in the wine trade will be unaware of the resignation, tendered in October 2011 and accepted by the Hwang family in February of this year, of Noël Pinguet as president, director and winemaker at Domaine Huet. The 2011 vintage will therefore no doubt be remembered as the last to be made by this great man, and in many ways it is reflective of the reasoning behind his premature departure. The struggle between the commercial necessity of producing the dry wines needed to replenish the Huet cellars and the fundamental philosophy of the committed biodynamist to make wines from what Mother Nature provides has come more and more to the fore in recent vintages. In both 2010 and 2011 vintages, a conscious decision was taken to harvest early, resulting in a sec wine from each of the three terroirs, along with a token demi-sec and 1ère trie moelleux. In previous years Noël would arguably have allowed the grapes to hang for longer to produce greater quantities of the outstanding demi-sec and moelleux wines for which Domaine Huet is renowned. It is important, of course, to point out that Noël had previously taken the decision to resign in 2015 at the age of seventy, and had been grooming the young Benjamin Joliveau, whose father owns Domaine Mirault, for the past few years as his successor. As a means of bridging the gap before Benjamin takes over full responsibility, the experienced and knowledgeable chef de cave, Jean-Bernard Berthomé, has been appointed head winemaker with full responsibility for winemaking and viticulture. His 33 years at the domaine will ensure that a link to the late Gaston Huet is preserved, and that the high standards for which Domaine Huet is renowned will continue to be upheld.

Jean-Bernard Berthomé

The Season

In a story which no doubt echoes that heard around much of France, the 2011 vintage would best be described as ‘complicated’. Winter was very harsh; our customary January visit was particularly cold and was followed by a very severe February. Similarly to here in the UK, there then followed something of a heatwave in March and April, and by May the vines were around four weeks ahead of what would be considered normal development, with successful flowering taking place at the end of May. At this point many growers throughout the Loire were anticipating another canicule such as the one witnessed in 2003 but these expectations were dismissed as a cool but dry summer followed, slowing the vines’ development, with rain falling at the end of August. Harvest began very early on the 8th of September, followed two days later by 40mm of rain and the appearance of rot, which resulted in the loss of some of the harvest but also enabled the production of a 1ère trie. A very thorough selection process was carried out with several trips through the vineyards to ensure only healthy grapes were picked and on the 28th of September, when harvest would typically begin in most years, all of the grapes had been picked. The resulting wines are similar to 2010, with perhaps a little more aromatic character. The overall impression is one of purity, freshness and an expression of the terroir, rather than of the season’s weather conditions.

Email: adam@r-w.co.uk

Website: www.r-w.co.uk

*

I have have some samples of the 2011 Domaine Huet wines to taste on my return to the UK. 

Lamé Delisle Boucard (Bourgueil) take a look back at 2011

Philippe Boucard testing ripeness – unfortunately the wrong vintage: 2009

Rétrospective  Millésime 2011 À Bourgueil

C'est l' heure du bilan .

C'est en ce début d' année 2012, que l'on ressent l' envie de regarder dans le rétroviseur. Comme tous les ans, on se souhaite la santé et un bon millésime.

Est-ce que les voeux de l' année dernière ont été efficaces ?

Oui à tout point de vue, la santé de nos proches est bonne, et le millésime a été très bon. Mais comme je suis, de nature, insatisfait, j' ai quand même le regret d' être passé à côté du plus grand millésime, depuis 1893.

Je vous propose de reprendre le cours de cette année 2011 .

Read the rest here.  

Loire Vintage 2011: ‘Le Grand Ecart’ or 'The Splits'

A large puddle on the top of Les Monts Damnés: 30th August 2011
Note also how lush and green the grass is.

Rich and wonderfully ripe Chenin Blanc in the Quarts de Chaume: 28th September 2011

Here is the 2011 Loire vintage report from Charles and Philippa Sydney, who are based in Chinon. Many in the UK wine trade use the Sydneys as their eyes and ears in the Loire.  

I'm certainly in agreement with them that the vintage was complicated for many producers and that there was a big difference between the weather and the state of the grapes at the start of vintage to those picked later on. I haven't yet had the opportunity to taste any 2011s since the harvest. 

'Loire Vintage 2011: ‘Le Grand Ecart’ or  'The Splits'   

Apparently the wish 'may you live in interesting times' is considered a curse by the Chinese. Here in the Loire, times are certainly interesting, sometimes a challenge too, but equally hugely rewarding - especially in a vintage like 2011!

You'll have gathered from our preliminary report that the start to the vintage was 3 - 4 weeks earlier than usual (around the 22nd August in Muscadet) and less than even. To the extent that early September we gave serious thought to calling this the 'black and white' vintage to reflect the quantities of carbon and sugar being used to correct rot and an obvious lack of ripeness in wines picked in the hot, damp conditions of the start of the harvest.

You may also remember our report on the 2002 'Lazarus Vintage' when we quoted Pierre Couly saying that it was the first 3 weeks and the last 3 weeks that counted - and that the rest of the summer was, frankly, irrelevant...

Which sort of sums it up.... and explains the 'Le Grand Ecart' bit, 'The Splits' in ballet... with some wines showing the extremes of 1994's horrors and others exceeding years like 2005 and 2009 for quality and fruit.

Muscadet was ... compliqué. Given the financial problems of a region still trying to recover from the 2008 spring frost, too many people didn't have the money to treat against rot or mildew - and it showed clearly during the harvest when you could see a patchwork of brown leaves (mildew) contrasting with healthier green - and vineyards that had not been and never will be picked. Tasting the juice, contamination with géosmine was obvious, so it was a great relief to see those négociants who were buying in grapes (Lionel Métaireau chez Bougrier, Pierre Sauvion at GCF's Lacheteau) systematically treating the juice with carbon, racking it onto the lees of the 2010 vintage and boosting the fermentations with aromatic yeasts.

Tasting the wines 6 weeks later was a revelation - dramatic proof of the improvements in winemaking over the last 20 years, as the wines are fresh, aromatic and delightfully easy. Not long keepers, maybe, but they'll be fine until the 2012s come on stream next year.

Meanwhile, further proof of the improvements of the last 20 years was visible chez Pierre Lieubeau at La Fruitière and Jérôme Choblet in the Côtes de Grandlieu, where coherent, reasoned vineyard management allowed them to wait till the grapes were ripe, picking between 11 and 11.5% at harvest.  

For the sauvignons in the Touraine, things were clearly not easy either - with the word 'compliqué' on every grower's lips and serious choices needing to be made on how best to work the grapes as problems of rot and géosmine were widespread, not sparing growers in Sancerre or Pouilly either - while Quincy had to cope with yet another harvest decimated by hail.

For some growers, hand picking with a severe 'tri' selective picking was the answer - in others, I'd say quality was better assured with the new generation of machines like the Pellenc, which with their built-in tri assured a fine harvest with the ability to pick rapidly as grapes reached ripeness.

Despite the obviously difficult vintage, the results are good - big, easy-going wines with loads of fruit, lowish acidity (which may  upset the fans of minerality but which will most certainly please the average consumer) and plenty of concentration and flavour.

And then those 3 weeks of sunshine started to kick in...

The red cabernet francs of Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny are textbook examples of the importance of terroir - and of modern vineyard management: the early-ripening sand and gravel vineyards needed picking by mid-September as they were starting to show signs of rot. Up the slopes, however, better drainage and exposition meant the growers could wait, with Couly-Dutheil, Charles Joguet and Philippe Vatan each waiting until the last week of September to pick their better vineyards, bringing in grapes with (a) a big grin and (b) full phenolic maturity, with degrees in some cases hitting a neat 15°...

The results with these growers are real stunners, wines with huge, fat and soft fruit and that delicious sucrosité and low acidity that comes with genuine maturity - wines easily on a par with (and maybe better than) 2005.

Up river, the chenins of Vouvray and Montlouis are fine too - despite problems we associate with high density planting and its associated low foliage and grapes close to the soil, the vintage is fine, almost certainly better than 2010. There's loads of fruit, loads of flavour and a balance of acidity that'll make these really tasty wines to drink young.

Downstream, though, in the Anjou and - especially - in the Coteaux du Layon, the chenin blanc  has really shown the world-beating potential of the Loire, with Gilles Bigot at the Château de Fesles bringing in his first 'tri of Bonnezeaux at between 22 and 23° potential, while in Chaume young Stéphane Branchereau picked 20 hectolitres (that's 5 x 400 litre casks) with a potential of 32°.

Damn... we could have called this the 'smiley vintage' again!

A final point - prices.... Joe Punter won't have noticed, but over the last 4 years the guys have worked hard to hold or even reduce prices, which are often lower now than they were 10 years ago. This year isn't that different in that we expect your beloved chancellor to raise duty by another 12 pence - but it is different in that for the first time in over five years the pound has gained some ground against the euro, making our wines that touch more competitive - and effectively compensating for that *@xxarggh duty increase, so I hope you'll understand us relaxing a bit of the pressure and accepting the occasional price increase where necessary to ensure continued investments in improved quality.'

Douglas Wregg's predictions for 2012

Newtonmore and Creag Dhubh – relatively mild even in the Scottish highlands

Douglas Wregg of Les Caves de Pyréne has some interesting predictions for 2012: 

Predictions for 2012

1. The natural wine debate will continue to stir strong emotions. The wines will, however, begin to be assessed on their individual merits and the notion that there is a highly co-ordinated movement and that wines are either labelled natural or non-natural will be scotched.

2. 2010 will be assessed as a sensational vintage in the northern hemisphere. 2011 will generally be perceived (despite attempts to hype it) as one of the poorer vintages in recent memory. Except in England, apparently.

3. The region? The Loire. Over-delivering year after year and now finally recognised for quality, diversity and personality. Every style of wine from sparkling to sweet, great value intensely drinkable wines with moderate alcohol and lovely acidity. The spiritual home of the biodynamics and with the greatest concentration of natural winemakers. A region of furious debate, grand passion, daft authoritarian regulations.

4. The trend? The move away from oak (specifically new oak) in fermentation. Cement vats seem to be increasingly favoured and the shape of the fermentation vessel is also being considered. Watch out for more eggs, amphorae, qvevri...

5. The grape? Cool climate Syrah for red. Chenin* for white.

Posting Doug's predictions has the great advantage that I don't have to think up my own predictions for 2012. Anyway I especially like Doug's third and fifth predictions. As for 2011 being 'one of the poorer vintages in recent memory' I think it is still too early to say for the Loire. Certainly I think there will be big variations in quality between producers – not only due to the quality of individual's work in the vineyard but also when they decided to pick. 

I look forward to tasting the young 2011s at the beginning of February but given the look of some of the Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc at the end of September and beginning of October it is hard to believe that the resulting wines will be poor.


* Noticeable that Jancis Robinson MW included a very fair sprinkling of Chenin Blancs among her 65 + Great Whites.


Jancis' take on Pancho Campo MW and and Jay Miller in her review of the year is here:


‘The wine topic of the year on blogs and online fora, at least among the wine writers who dominate them, has been wine writer ethics. Acres of cyberspace have been devoted to the sometimes jaw-dropping conduct of Spain's first Master of Wine and event organiser Pancho Campo. Allegations have been made that Campo asked for sums from producer associations for access to the (now ex) Spanish specialist wine reviewer for America's leading wine writer and supposed beacon of probity Robert Parker. The matter is now being investigated and Campo denies any wrongdoing. His last major event was WineFuture, an ambitious international wine conference in Hong Kong at which the three tastings, for 1,000 tasters, were led by me, Parker and Campo. In retrospect it does not look good that much of Campo's tasting was taken up with films of his arrival at various wineries in a Ferrari.’

Looking forward to 2012 the concern is that so far the Loire hasn't had a cold snap, so no chance yet to kill off unwanted bugs and vine maladies. Tomorrow's forecast for Epeigné-les-Bois is for a low of 11˚C and a high of 14˚C – extraordinarily mild!    

Creag Dhubh    

2011 Loire vintage: vintage report from Central Vineyards

Puddles on top of Les Monts Damnés: 30th August 2011

Press release from the Bureau du Centre:

Une climat insolite et paradoxal pour des vins typés

L’été au printemps et l’automne en été, insolite et paradoxal, tel fut le climat pendant la saison viticole 2011. Après une pousse très rapide en avril et mai jusqu’à la floraison, la vigne retrouva un rythme normal pour le développement et la maturation de ses raisins. Le millésime fut sans doute un des plus précoces depuis le fameux 1893.

Malgré ce climat, les vins sont typés. Souples et pleins au palais, ils conservent la fraîcheur caractéristique du Centre-Loire. Leurs arômes sont bien ciselés. Les 2011 ont le potentiel pour se développer et s’épanouir à la faveur des mois d’élevage.

La campagne viticole

Une fin d’hiver douce a provoqué un débourrement précoce, dès la première semaine d’avril. 

Le printemps très chaud (+2,7°C en avril et en mai) et sec (65% de déficit pluviométrique) a entraîné une accélération de la pousse de la vigne, les stades végétatifs se succédant à une cadence effrénée : 53 jours se sont écoulés entre le débourrement et la floraison contre 65 jours en moyenne. La floraison fut rapide. Elle eut lieu avec 3 semaines d’avance pour se terminer dans les derniers jours de mai.

Le climat s’est alors inversé en devenant plus froid, surtout entre le 14 juillet et le 15 août, et plus humide pour le plus grand bénéfice des raisins qui commençaient à souffrir de cette « arythmie ». La vigne a récupéré ; elle s’est imprégnée de l’eau qui lui faisait défaut pour retrouver son fonctionnement normal. La période de maturation fut plus chaude et ponctuée de pluies orageuses localisées qui accéléraient l’évolution des raisins avec parfois des dégradations sanitaires.

En dehors de la grêle qui a sérieusement touché tout un secteur du vignoble de Quincy le 2 mai, le climat est resté peu menaçant pour la récolte. Les principales maladies de la vigne, mildiou et oïdium, furent bénignes et n’ont nécessité qu’un nombre réduit d’interventions.

La maturation

La précocité de l’année et la bonne santé du feuillage étaient les premiers indicateurs du fort potentiel qualitatif. Malgré la précocité, la maturation fut lente. Il a fallu s’armer de patience, c’est-à-dire non seulement suivre l’évolution de l’équilibre des sucres et des acides qui était facilement atteint, mais aussi déguster les baies pour évaluer la maturité aromatique. Cette attente a été rendue possible par l’état sanitaire qui restait globalement bon, excepté dans environ 10 % des parcelles où le botrytis fit son apparition et fut inquiétant. Là où l’état sanitaire était le plus dégradé, un débourbage plus soigneux en blanc et un tri plus rigoureux en rouge ont permis de purifier la vendange et de maintenir le niveau de qualité.

Finalement, les raisins se sont caractérisés par des taux de sucres importants, sans être excessifs comme en 2009, et des acidités plutôt basses. Grâce aux températures modérées pour la saison et au ciel souvent couvert, la fraîcheur aromatique a été bien préservée.

Les vendanges

Les vendanges se sont étalées sur près d’un mois sous un ciel clément. Les terroirs où le manque d’eau avait été le plus marqué en juin et juillet ont été les premiers mûrs. Les premières grappes ont été coupées dès le 29 août en blanc à Sancerre et pour le pinot gris à Reuilly. Les blancs et les rouges ont été récoltés simultanément. Dans l’ensemble des vignobles du Centre-Loire, la majorité des parcelles a été vendangée entre le 5 et 17 septembre, les dernières étant rentrées le 22 septembre. On ne se souvient pas de vendanges ainsi achevées avant la fin de l’été, même 2003 et 1976 n’avaient pas été pas aussi hâtives.

Les premières impressions du millésime

Les blancs sont tendres, imprégnés d’une forte sucrosité naturelle. Ils ont du volume. Malgré une acidité peu marquée, ils montrent une belle fraîcheur et sont harmonieux. Les arômes, qui ont besoin de quelques mois d’élevage pour s’ouvrir, s’expriment déjà avec intensité et élégance. Ils sont dominés par les nuances de fleurs blanches et de fruits (agrumes, fruits à chair blanche), agrémentées de touches végétales et épicées.

Les rouges, aux teintes vives et de bonne intensité, sont ronds en attaque. Les arômes aux évocations de fruits (griotte) et de fleurs (pivoine) sont expressifs. Ils dévoilent des tanins équilibrés, bien répartis, souvent fermes en finale et qui se fondront au cours du temps avec le gras perçu en milieu de bouche.

Rendez-vous est pris à Angers du 6 au 8 février 2012 pour découvrir le millésime pendant le Salon des Vins de Loire.

Contact Presse :

Benoît ROUMET

benoit.roumet@vins-centre-loire.com

Réalisé par Bertrand DAULNY (SICAVAC)