Some recently enjoyed Loire bottles .....

We opened the 2005 Mi-Pente, Bourgueil from Domaine de la Butte to welcome one of the new members of our French group. She had first visited us in the Cher Valley in 2005. her stay included a visit to Jacky Blot and she was very struck by Jacky's explanation of the terroirs of La Butte. Naturally it felt appropriate to mark the occasion with the 05 Mi-Pente, which is currently drinking very well. Lovely soft, developed fruit, supple structure – all in all the 2005 Mi-Pente seems much younger than its 13 years.

Château de l'Aulée's Crémant de Loire Crémant de Loire Brut Zéro is our house Loire sparkler. Made from 100% Chenin it is very clean, pure and precise. Despite having no dosage, the finish is attractively austere but never acidic. A fine sparkler, which spends between 24 and 36 months sur latte, for less than 10€ from the domaine!

Bought on Sunday at the latest edition of the Bios Jours de Bourgueil attended by organic producers from the Pays Nantais, Saumur and Touraine. This well-made 2017 Bourgueil cuvée printemps from Domaine du Rochouard offers great value at 6.50€ the bottle.  Ripe fruit, some fairly soft structure, this entry level Bourgueil can be drunk now with pleasure but should improve over the next two or three years in bottle.

In contrast with many of the other wines on sale at the Bios Jours Jean-Luc Duveau's Bourgueil was offered at a very good price. Many of the other exbibitors had wines that started at around 10€ without the quality found in this 2017.

A magnum of 2012 Negrette bought from Jérémie Mourat's domaine in the Fiefs Vendéens. A magnum is an ideal size if you have a number of people around the dinner table. Negrette is the majority grape of Fronton, to the north west of Toulouse. It is also found, however, in the Fiefs Vendéens. Mourat's Negrette has lovely juicy black fruits – the 2012 slipped down without a struggle. Time to buy some more!

The 1989 Grande Année is a lovely classic from Bernard Fouquet's Domaine des Aubuisières and it was wines from this great Loire vintage that established Bernard's reputation. Less rich than his 1989 Le Marigny, Grande Année has lovely delicacy, finesse and balance with potential to continue to age brilliantly as on close to 30 years old it has lovely freshness.

2015 Clos Saint André, Fiefs Vendéens Mareuil, Jérémie Mourat

2015 Clos Saint André, 

Fiefs Vendéens Mareuil, Jérémie Mourat

This fine Chenin Blanc comes from Jérémie Mourat who now runs Vignobles Mourat, which was set up in 1974 by Jean Mourat. The domaine now has around 127 hectares – 67 hectares owned by the family and 60 hectares rented. 

Renewing and replanting the Clos Saint-André, who was previously owned by the Taittinger family and since 1968 has covered in nettles and broom, was a childhood dream of Jérémie's.  


From the Mourat website:

Le Clos Saint-André, c’est avant tout le rêve de gosse de Jérémie Mourat : partir de la page blanche, sur un terroir viticole historique, autrefois propriété de la famille Taittinger, et complètement endormi sous un épais manteau de ronces et de genêts depuis 1968.

De par la composition de son sous-sol en
méta-rhyolites, le Clos Saint-André est dédié quasi uniquement à la production d’un vin blanc de grande expression.

Depuis 2007, nous avons entrepris un travail de recensement de vieilles sélections de négrette, cépage emblématique de notre région, à travers la cuvée Grenouillère, porte-drapeau de nos grandes cuvées de garde. Domaine engagé en culture biologique depuis 2006.

The wine's technical details 

Sydneys' Loire tasting London – 22nd January 2014

Severine Branchereau, Domaine des Forges  

After the French Wine Discoveries tasting a week before the Sydneys' tasting was a second opportunity to see how the 2013 Loire vintage is shaping up. As the vintage was late – some four to five weeks later than 2011, which was decidedly early, the 2013s have had less time to develop. 

I tasted only whites from 2013. Some of the Sauvignon Blancs showed high acidity – fine for Loire fanatics but more problematic for anyone would finds high levels of acidity diffiult to take. The Muscadets were clean and lemony. The Muscadets Côtes de Grandlieu from Jérôme Choblet (Domaine des Herbauges) looking promising. There were too few 2013 Chenin's on show to draw any conclusions.     

Emmanuelle Mellot, Domaine Alphonse Mellot 

Among the wines poured by Emmanuelle Mellot were the 2011 and 2012 Génération XIX Sancerre Rouge. The 2011 is very seductive and silkily textured, while the 2012 is powerful and massive – two very different wines.  

 Jérémie Mourat, Vignobles Mourat

Jean-Sébastien Marionnet, Domaine de la Charmoise

Jean-Hubert Lebreton, Domaine des Rochelles

Chris Kissack, The Wine Doctor

2013 Loire Vintage: thundery, humid weather threatening rot

The approaching storm seen on A83 autoroute we were heading eastwards

Growers' obvious optimism aroused by last weekend's fine weather which continued into the early part of this week appears to be starting to give way to concern, especially for those picking early varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. In the Fiefs Vendéens this was clearly the concern of Jérémie Mourat and Thierry Michon. The concern about the threat of rot was reinforced when we visited Frédéric Brochet of Ampelidae in Marigny-Brizay, Haut-Poitou. Frédéric report that you could virtually see rot spreading in their Sauvignon Blanc as you watched!

There also appear to be some fragile parcels of Sauvignon Blanc in the Central Vineyards, so picking will soon be getting underway. 

Friday was very hot, humid – tropical. Driving back from the Vendée yesterday we passed through a large area of stormy weather that stretched from Fontenay-le-Comte to north of Poitiers. We drove through some very heavy rain – fortunately we encountered no sign of hail. 

 Heavy rain on the A83

Fortunately the rain was much more gentle by the time 

it got to the Haut-Poitou vineyards

Reaching the Loire we ran into another, separate area of thundery weather with very dark clouds to the north of Bléré in the direction of Amboise. 

Unfortunately there are showers, some of them thundery, forecast of most days this coming week, so I expect growers to be picking their early varieties as quickly as possible while hoping that the later varieties resist better and manage to ripen properly before rot sets in.

2013 Loire vintage – a day in the Fiefs Vendéens

 The entrance to the impressive Mourat winery

 Pinot Noir@J. Mourat

We spent yesterday in the Fiefs Vendéens to see how the vintage was coming along.  We saw Jérémie Mourat at J. Mourat in Mareuil-sur-Lay and then Thierry Michon (Domaine Saint Nicolas) at L'île d'Olonne. I don't often get down here as it is nearly a three hour drive to Mareuil-sur-Lay and even further to Thierry's. 

Both Jérémie and Thierry are hurrying to get the early varieties picked, especially the Pinot Noir, whose skins are very fragile and the berries are starting to rot. "On Saturday 14th September we had 40 mm of rain," explained Thierry. After the dry August and September, the grapes sucked up the water and swelled up. This is not being helped by the warm, very humid weather. Thunderstorms are forecast for this weekend – hopefully less humid weather will follow on. Thierry, who started on Wednesday, reckons that the harvest will last three weeks instead of the usual five. I sense that Thierry may be regretting that he didn't start on Monday, especially as he has 40 hectares to pick by hand. 

"Petite année!" was Thierry's early but decidedly pessimistic take on 2013.   

    

 J. Mourat: visitors entrance to the winery shop

 

Egg fermenters in the very new winery section (2013) 
Above and below

(Photo: CRM)

 Clos du Moulin Blanc (above and below)

Mourat: Negrette – once accounted for 60% of the plantings

Now down to less than 10% but is being revived

Jérémie Mourat in his pre-phylloxera Negrette 

Sorting Pinot Noir@Domaine Saint Nicolas (Thierry Michon)
above and below

 

 Olivia from Felton Road, Central Otago (New Zealand)

She is spending part of the vintage here

Testing the grapes 

Case of 2013 Pinot Noir

 Thierry Michon hard at work 

Olivia, too

 Thierry with his new amphora

Thierry Michon's winery – different style to Mourat

Thierry has a tasting room and shop in nearby Brem-sur-Mer


Domaine Saint-Nicolas is biodynamic

Loire 2013 – getting underway this week

Emptying a hod of Melon de Bourgogne 2012@Chereau Carré

The Loire vintage is beginning to get underway this week. Although it will still be some considerable time before the Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc, except I assume for grapes destined for sparkling wine in Saumur, some of the early appellations are now getting underway. Picking in Muscadet started today as it did at J.Mourat in the Fiefs Vendéens with Jérémie Mourat harvesting Pinot Noir for their sparkling wine using their recently completed new chai.

This week may well see some in Quincy and Reuilly also starting on their Sauvignon Blanc. 

Reports from Guilbaud Frères and Couly-Dutheil:  

'Chez GUILBAUD Frères, été indien pour le Muscadet ?

  

Début des vendanges le 23 septembre. La température est clémente et nous débutons sous le même soleil radieux que l’année dernière !

Après un printemps pluvieux et maussade, nous nous sommes réjouis de ce mois de juillet si beau et exceptionnellement chaud ; le mois d'août a été également très beau mais avec des températures plus habituelles : 26, 27°.  Ouf, nous avons échappé aux violents orages, c’est la douceur du bord de Loire !

Si la météo de 2013 ne devrait pas affecter la qualité de notre vin, elle a déjà eu des conséquences sur l’importance de notre production. En effet, nous voyons bien déjà que côté quantité ce sera hétérogène.

Si ce mois de septembre continue à nous gratifier d'un été indien, la récolte devrait être aussi belle qualitativement qu'en 2012.

Pascal Guilbaud

GUILBAUD Frères

COULIS-DUTHEIL : un vignoble épargné…

On attaque les vendanges des cabernets francs destinés aux rosés – 25 septembre

Le millésime 2013 ?

Nous vendangeons dès le 25 septembre les cabernets francs destinés aux rosés… puis dans la première quinzaine d’octobre, les parcelles dédiées aux Chinon rouge

L’essentiel pour nous c’était d’avoir un très bel été, car août et septembre sont des mois décisifs. Nous avons été exaucés : le mois d’août a été magnifique et septembre se poursuit avec des températures douces et du soleil.

Nous sommes ravis.

Et pourtant en 2013 : que d’émotions…

- Fin avril - gel à Chinon : immédiatement Arnaud et Jérôme font le tour des parcelles et soulagement, elles ont été épargnées

- Lundi 17 juin - l’info est à la une des télévisions : les violents orages ont traversé une partie de la France, la grêle a frappé, le vignoble de Vouvray est ravagé, à Chinon des dégâts importants sur la commune de Cravant les Coteaux. Une fois de plus Arnaud et Jérôme arpentent les vignes et notre bonne étoile nous a une fois de plus épargnés

- floraison vers le 20 juin, très beau mois de juillet,  les grappes sont bien formées homogènes…. quant aux mollets de nos vignerons : du solide.

Jacques & Arnaud Couly Dutheil

COULY-DUTHEIL

Sydney's Loire tasting: 20th January 2011 – some photos

Natalie Lafond, daughter of Claude Lafond of Reuilly and Valençay

Jérémie Huchet, Domaine de la Chauvinière

Olivier Mouraud, commercial director of Bougrier

Jérémie Mourat, Domaine Mourat, Fiefs Vendéens with a glass of his Negrette