Jim's Loire: Domaine de la Chevalerie

Showing posts with label Domaine de la Chevalerie. Show all posts

Thursday, 2 April 2015

Le Bon Laboureur (Chenonceaux): un vrai régal !

Last week we had an excellent and very enjoyable dinner at Le Bon Laboureur in Chenonceaux. This is a long-established hotel restaurant. It was mentioned by Henry James in His Little Tour in France, first published as a book in 1884 but serialised in The Atlantic Monthly in 1883-84.

I chose the Menu Decouverte (48€) – the only menu on that night, while CRM and our friend, Anita, went à la carte.

2013 La Négrette, AC Montlouis, Le Rocher des Violettes,

Xavier Weisskopf

We kicked off with the 2013 La Négrette, Montlouis, from Xavier Weisskopf. Its attractive mid-weight and purity impressed CRM and Anita, neither of whom had ever tasted Xavier's wines before. The Montlouis was accompanied by some delicious nibbles and an oyster each. Then, just before the first course and to ensure that our palates were properly attuned, there was an amuse bouche.

CRM and Anita's first course: langoustine juste saisie

Note that the langoustine are carefully

arranged in descending size.
Well matched with 2013 La Négrette

My very tasty fish soup with a piece of lobster
Consommé de crevettes grises et homard
(crevettes, pétoncles, lotte et champignons)

2005 Alcofribas Bourgueil, Domaine de la Chevalerie

(Pierre, Stéphane and Emmanuel Caslot)

The 2005 Alcofribas Bourgueil was an unexpected delight. Unexpected as I had ordered the 2006 Chevalerie. However, as that was now out of stock, Fabrice, the maître d', offered us either the 2008 Chevalerie or 2005 Alcofribas Bourgueil. Pas photo! It had to be the 2005, which proved to be voluptuously excellent. Sadly it was Le Laboureur's last bottle. Alcofribas is the first part of François Rabelais' pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier – an anagram of the author's name. To date 2005 is only vintage in which the Caslots have made this cuvée, so we were privleged indeed!

Pierre Caslot who died in October 2014

Photo taken June 2014

Main course: my skate dish

Conjugaison de ris et tête de veau

– the most spectacular of our main courses

Selle d'agneau en croute d'herbes

Table decoration with the Alcofribas

Omelette Norvegienne a spectacular end to Anita's meal

CRM: dacquoise praliné, glace "Guanaja"

My Gratin d'ananas et orange, sorbet pomelo

2012 Pointe de Doux Brochet Sauvignon Blanc (Ampelidae)

Frédéric Brochet

For our desserts Fabrice kindly offered us a glass of Frédéric Brochet's delicately sweet 2012 Pointe de Doux Brochet Sauvignon Blanc. While it was a counterpoint to our desserts, I'm not convinced that it was a fully successful match.

The food at the Bon Laboureur is consistently excellent and as sterling is stronger for the moment against the euro eating and drinking there is now more affordable and a vrai régal !

Sunday, 26 October 2014

Pierre Caslot (Bourgueil) – disparition d'un grand personnage

Pierre Caslot @Domaine de la Chevalerie,

Restigné, Bourgueil with some binettes: June 2014

CRM and I are very sad to learn today that Pierre Caslot (Domaine de la Chevalerie), one of the great personalities of the Loire, lost his four-year fight with cancer yesterday. It started as prostrate cancer but despite treatment it spread elsewhere in his body. On Thursday he had an operation to remove a growth in his throat. The fact that his doctor's had decided to operate seemed to be a hopeful sign. Very sadly this was to prove a false hope. He was 62.

As well as being a fine producer – Domaine de Chevalerie is among the top Loire estates and has long been organic, Pierre was a larger than life character, full of fun and generously wanted to share his passion for wine and life itself conscious that he was part of a 400-year-long family tradition. Pierre was the inspiration for the annual Bourgueillotherapie, which I'm sure will continue in his honour and memory.

During the growing season Pierre would regularly organise les journées binettes (hoes) described as 'scéances de remise en forme en plein air'. These days in the vines helped people to get fit but also helped to keep the weeds in the vineyards under control.

I last saw Pierre on Thursday 9th October during the harvest enjoying lunch in the autumn sunshine with a glass of his Bourgueil rosé. He lived long enough to know that 2014 his last vintage would be a good one and to see the harvest finished. We have treasured memories of Pierre.

Our sincere condolences to Pierre's family, especially daughter and son – Stéphanie and Emmanuel.

Santé Pierre!

Pierre, Stéphanie and Emmanuel

with their binettes in the vines at Chevalerie: June 2014

Pierre Caslot: September 2012

Pierre tasting

The remarkable Caslot caves

Sunday, 12 October 2014

2014 Loire vintage – round up of the last few days (Part 1)

Pickers@Antoine Sanzay, Varrains – Saumur Champigny, Saumur Blanc

celebrating the end of picking on Friday 10th October

This week we spent from Tuesday afternoon to late Friday afternoon in Loire vineyards from Vouvray to Savennières via Chinon, Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Saumur and Saumur-Champigny and various Anjou ACs.

2014 in the Loire remains promising, although many producers have reported that it is a complicated vintage. They remain happy with quality, although many have been disappointed that the yields are lower than than hoped. Many have reported yields of around 40 hl/ha where they would have preferred 45/50 hl/ha to make up for the lack of grapes in 2012 and 2013 that a number experienced.

My impression tasting 2014 juice across all of these ACs, although obviously it is still very early to predict the outcome, is that the juice is very clean with a good balance of fruit and acidity.

Within appellations there is a big difference in time of picking. In Chinon, for instance, Domaine Bernard Baudry and Jourdan Pichard finished last Wednesday, while Couly-Dutheil and Domaine de la Noiré (Jean-Max Manceaux) will not be starting the reds until Monday. Jean-Martin Dutour of Baudry-Dutour and now président of the Chinon appellation, told me that machine harvesting for the reds will have finished this week with the 20 hectares of the domaine – Château la Grille and Domaine Saint-Louans – that is hand-picked will be started on Monday. By last Wednesday 75% of AC Chinon had been picked.

Parts of Chinon – Cravant-les-Coteaux, Ligré and Sazilly – were hit by hail on 19th September. Fortunately the following week was very dry and sunny, so the grapes damaged by hail dried up. After the storm Baudry-Dutour picked their affected parcels to make rosé.

In Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil it is the same with some finishing while others have barely started. On Wednesday afternoon (8th) Frédéric Mabileau sent his entire team out to pick the last grapes – I'm not sure if they managed this in the torrential downpour at the end of the afternoon! Taluau-Foltzenlogel have finished while Audebert were due to finish on Friday. Jean-Claude Audebert reported yields of around 40hl/ha – would have preferred 45-50hl/ha.

Cab Franc@Château de Minière

Picking started on 3rd October

Picking was in full swing at Domaine de la Butte on Thursday with an expected finish on Saturday, also at Domaine de la Chevalerie with another six days of picking left from last Thursday and at Lamé Delisle Boucard, where they had picked a little under half by Thursday morning with degrees ranging from 12.4 to 13.5. The Cabernet Franc looked good at all three domaines as it did wandering through the vines.

Ludo at Café de la Promenade reported that the Bretons were waiting for this coming week. Sébastien David also said that he had paused in picking waiting for acidity levels to drop.

Sébastien David in relaxed mode with his pickers

@Café de la Promenade (8th October)

There is a similar disparity in Saumur-Champigny with some like Jean-Pierre Chevallier (Château de Villeneuve) finishing on Thursday morning. He started the whites (Saumur Blanc – Chenin Blanc) on 25th September having obtained a dérogation from the INAO to pick everything on one swoop. JP is well happy with potentials varying from 11.2% potential to 13.5% and acidities between 5.2 and 5.5. Villeneuve started the reds on Wednesday 1st October with a range of potential alcohol from 11.8% - 13.5%. Overall their yields are between 40-45 hl/ha.

JP reported that some producers had had problems with acid rot, which is being blamed on the Asian fruit fly (Drosophila suzukii), which unlike the common fruit fly is able to pierce grape skins. If you pick by hand is is much easier to discard the affected grapes than it is using a machine harvester, although the most recent harvesters are very sophisticated and their sorting systems may well eliminate the rotten grapes. But what of the vinegary juice from the rotten grapes infecting the machine?

Domaine Rocheville, Parnay

Cabernet Franc@Rocheville

Vats@Rocheville

Driving through parts of Saumur-Champigny on Thursday it is clear that there are still a considerable number of parcels yet to be picked, especially on the coteaux (the northern part of the AC close to the Loire). We dropped in on Domaine Rocheville's new winery (Agnés and Philippe Porché) on Les Hauts de Valbrun at Parnay. They had started picking the whites on Thursday 2nd October and started the reds the following Monday. They expect to finish on Wednesday.

Antoine Sanzay with his domaine Saumur-Champigny one week in

Already a depth of colour but he is wary of over-extraction in 2014

"Just an infusion," he says

2014 is the first vintage where is he is not

contracted to the Co-op de St Cyr, so all 11 ha of harvest are his.
Antoine was happy to finish on Friday afternoon

Antoine Sanzay has extended his winery this year to cope with
being able to use his entire production – new concrete and wooden vats

Antoine Foucault, Domaine du Collier, who finished on Thursday,

checking his brilliant 2011 La Charpentrie, Saumur Blanc

from 100 year old Chenin vines

Antoine finished on Thursday

It is a shame that the fine weather through almost all of September and into the first few days of October didn't continue for just another week or ten days. The fine spell came to an end on the afternoon of Saturday 4th October. The weather station at Tours recorded 10.5mm (4th Oct), 17.1mm (6th), 8.2mm (7th) and 27.4mm (8th). The total for the month is now 65.4mm – very close already to the average total (1981-2010) for October of 70.9mm. During September on 15.7mm of rain fell compared to the average of 53.2mm.

Despite the rain, and amounts will of course vary, the Cabernet Franc appears to have resisted this heavy spell of rain well. Less sure about Chenin Blanc in Vouvray and Montlouis – that much closer to the weather station at Tours so the stats should be that much more accurate.

Unfortunately it has been raining again today from around 11am – initially quite light but now (2.15 pm) raining steadily. Looks very likely that today's rain will push October 2014's rainfall over the average just 12 days into the month. Luckily the forecast is good for most of this coming week after an uncertain day tomorrow.

Friday, 10 October 2014

Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil holding up despite rain early this week

A delighted Frédéric Mabileau listening to his 2014 Eclipse,

Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil

He is very excitied by the potential of his 2014 harvest
Fred joins Eco-Luneau movement!

The last three days – Wednesday through to today (Friday) – has seen us do a quick sweep through Chinon, Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Saumur and Saumur-Champigny, Savennières and parts of the Layon.

Despite the sometimes heavy rain last Saturday evening and on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the Cabernet Franc seems to be holding up well as does the morale of the vignerons, although some are concerned at the third consecutive year of low yields.