Light on a vine leaf@Clos du Porteau

A leaf, a metal bar and tuffeau

2011 Loire vintage: Côt or Cabernet Franc@Saint Georges + thermo

Côt or Cabernet Franc?

I'm hoping that someone is going to help me out here. Yesterday passing through the vines of Saint-Georges-sur-Cher it was clear that a big majority of the grapes have now been picked. There was a block that still had some unpicked black grapes, so I stopped to take some photos. These are with Côt or Cabernet Franc. Initially I thought they were Côt (Malbec) from the colour of the leaves but then I noticed that some leaves were indented indicating that they might be Cabernet. Now looking again at the photos I'm inclined to go back to my first guess – that these are Côt. Your thoughts please.

The leaves

Then on to the Clos du Porteau in La Vallée Pitrou (part of Saint-Georges-sur-Cher) where I caught up with Aynard de Clermont Tonnerre and Henri Chapon. Aynard has again been busy this year during the harvest with his thermo-vinification system helped in 2011 by Henri as they rush around the Loire vineyards heating up their customers' must with the thermo machine.

Aynard: "We have been very busy, especially as there is quite a lot of rot about, mainly in weed killered vineyards, and one of the advantages of thermo-vinification is that it removes the taste of rot. There is much less rot in grassed over vineyards."

Aynard's 2011 Sauvignon (made by Isabelle, la vigneronne du Clos du Porteau) tasted promising. We tried vats from a number of different parcels. The fruit was picked around 12%-12.5% alc and has some weight and good clean flavours. They are increasing relying on the natural yeasts.

2010 Le Gravelot: AC Touraine Chenin Blanc 4 great summer evening

Fabulous mid-summer evening in London. A glass (or two) of the easy drinking, undemanding 2010 Le Gravelot from Clos du Porteau – lemony with a light touch of honey – an ideal start to the evening. Under the reformed AC Touraine 100% Chenin will no longer be allowed – lunatics running the asylum.


The 2010 Le Gravelot is made by Isabelle de Clermont Tonnerre.

London in the setting evening light: 26th June 2011 (above and below)

Clos du Porteau: the sky is no longer the limit!

Putting roof on the external winery (above and below)

Quick visit on late Tuesday afternoon to the Clos du Porteau in Saint Georges-sur-Cher to see new roof being put on the external winery and to taste a few 2009s. 

Roof about two thirds on

Aynard and Isabelle Clemont-Tonnerre: now with a roof over their heads

Chief winemaker

Le chauffagiste

Looking through the winery (above and below)

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.

Last minute.com inspired by French vignerons?

 Clos du Porteau (Saint-Georges-sur-Cher): extended winery nearly ready

I have often wondered whether the famous internet site – lastminute.com (lastminute-panic.com?) – was inspired by the many French vignerons who rush to finish the improvements to their wineries in the last few days and hours before the harvest starts. On occasions it is more than some improvements rather a complete new winery.

The Clos du Porteau in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher is one example this year of the rush to finish. Aynard and Isabelle de Clermont-Tonnerre have extended their winery and will be adding a roof. The above photo was taken on Saturday morning. They plan to start picking on Tuesday!

Aynard – despite the approaching vintage he seemed pretty relaxed

 

Ripening  Grolleau Noir

Grolleau Gris

Eastern Touraine's variety

Clos du Porteau: 25th September 2009

One of the last bunches of 2009 Pinot Gris – Malvoisie

A reasonably wide range of grape varieties helps to make Eastern Touraine an interesting wine region, despite the dominance of Sauvignon Blanc and Gamay. Varieties like Sauvignon Gris or Fié Gris, Pinot Gris – often called Malvoisie here, Côt, Pineau d'Aunis, Menu Pineau, Grolleau Gris and Grolleau Noir and Pinot Noir all add spice to the mix. A small range, however, in comparison to the some 250 indigenous grape varieties that Portugal has as a national treasure.

The vineyard's flinty soil

During the 2009 vintage we had a quick walk in the vineyard just behind the Clos du Porteau in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher with Isabelle and Aynard Clemont-Tonnerre. The vineyard is on the premier côte of the Cher Valley. The soil is a mix of clay and flint over a limestone base. In this part of the Loire the local term for flint is perruche. They have a number of different varieties planted here, so it was a good opportunity to take photos of them.

Pinot Gris is more commonly called Malvoisie here. What little there is planted is often used to make a late harvest wine – sweet or semi-sweet depending on the vintage and the style wanted. It is rare to find it on sale. Instead an unlabelled bottle for personal consumption is more common. Further west in the Coteaux de l'Ancenis Malvoisie is relatively common. It is one of the three Pinots used to make Noble Joué (or rosé or vin gris) – the other two are Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Grolleau Gris

Grolleau Gris is used to make rosé and is also a useful component in sparkling wine for the finesse of the bubbles it produces.

Menu Pineau (above and below)

Menu Pineau (also called Arbois) is a relation of Chenin Blanc. Once relatively widely planted it lost a lot of ground after the arrival phylloxera and during the 20th century. It can make attractively minerally dry whites. Some producers, like Pascal Potaire, are making 100% versions and I hope this coming decade will see more examples being made. Along with Chenin Blanc, it is the other grape of Vouvray, although this tends to be downplayed.

The official decrét (text) for the Vouvray appellation is unequivocal:

'Art. 2. - Les vins ayant droit à l'appellation contrôlée " Vouvray " devront obligatoirement provenir des cépages suivants : gros pineau ou pineau de la Loire ou chenin et petit pinot ou menu pinot.'

Interloire's site is an example of Menu Pineau being downplayed as Chenin Blanc is given as the sole permitted variety for Vouvray.

It would appear here that 'pinot' and 'pineau' are interchangeable. The rules appear to allow a Vouvray to be made from 100% Menu Pinot or Pineau. I have no idea if there are any examples of Vouvrays made from 100% Menu Pineau – if anyone knows of any I'd love to know please. In contrast to Vouvray, Montlouis allows only Chenin Blanc.

Gamay: Touraine's most popular red variety

From the vineyard overlooking Le Clos du Porteau

•••

Bertrand Celce (Wine Tasting, Vineyards, in France) has a good article on La Chapinière, a recently established domaine in Châteauvieux. Although I haven't yet visited the domaine I have tasted and enjoyed their minerally Sauvignon Blanc on a couple of occasions. They are involved in the Sauvignon Blanc project.

Clos du Porteau and Jacky Preys

Aynard and Isabelle with their 2005 Vanneau Huppé

I have finally finished the report on my March 2009 visit to the Clos du Porteau in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher. See here.

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Last evening came across a really excellent feature from Bertrand Celce (Wine Terroirs) on Jacky Preys and the saving of the Fié Gris (also known as Sauvignon Gris or Sauvignon Rose. Bertrand doesn't update his blog every day but his work is consistently a must read along with his fine photos.

Le Clos du Porteau, Saint Georges-sur-Cher

25 March 2009

Clos du Porteau with the house and the offices to the left and the chai to the right

The first time I became aware of Aynard de Clermont-Tonnerre was earlier on this year when I received an email from him. Aynard informed me that we had met on a couple of occasions but that he had no expectation that I would remember a little and insignificant vigneron like him. Naturally, just as Aynard had intended, I was intrigued so arranged a visit to the Clos du Porteau in the eastern part of the commune of Saint-Georges-sur-Cher to meet Aynard and his wife, Isabelle.

In terms of the area of vines planted Saint-Georges is the most important viticultural commune in the Loir-et-Cher. The commune also has the most villages in the départment: from Vrigny in the west to La Larderie in the east and Villeneuve in the south.

The Clermont-Tonnerre family has vines in the southern part of Touraine in Broussay, a small village near Preuilly-sur-Claise. "The Château de Bouassay has belonged to our family since 1205," explained Aynard. "We have made wine there for generations – records show that we used to export white wine to England before the revolution. My grandfather had 35 hectares of vines but when Isabelle and I started to make wine there in 1989 there were only three hectares of vines, which the family still owns."

"There used to be 230 hectares of vines in the village of Broussay and it was part of Appellation Touraine until 1999, when the INAO took away the appellation because the area planted with vines had become too small to justify it remaining part of the appellation."

In 2004 Aynard and his wife, Isabelle, bought Le Clos du Porteau with some 24 hectares of land with 22 ha of vines. The Clos dates from at least the 17th century when the owners had some three or four hectares of vines and also acted in a small way as négociants to other small producers in the locality.

The old pulley

Inside their chai there are remains of an old pulley system as well as grooves cut into the walls by the ropes pulled by horses that operated the press two centuries ago. The chai is built of tuffeau, the local limestone, which is quite a soft rock. It has a reasonably hard ‘crust’ but once this is broken some tuffeau can be worn away by rubbing your fingers across it.

Rope grooves in the rock

On their 22 hectares, divided into some 85 parcels, Côt has pride of place followed as far as red varieties are concerned by Pineau d’Aunis, Pinot Gris (probably more of a pink variety) and Gamay. For the whites it's Sauvignon Blanc, Grolleau Gris, Grolleau Noir (pressed white for sparkling) and Chenin Blanc. Their vineyards are on the première côte up from the Cher planted on a bedrock of clay and limestone with a covering of flint above. The vineyards are grassed over.

We discussed the fashionable practice of harrowing and tilling the soil, especially in the light of Claude Papin's comments that le travail du sol, particularly if done frequently and intensively is a serious mistake. Turning over the soil disturbs its natural profile and by introducing oxygen into the soil accelerates plant growth, so that vines become too productive. Aynard and Isabelle agreed. Isabelle talked about a book by the soil specialist Claude Bourguignon in which he explains that each level of soil has its own micro-organisms and bacteria that only live at their particular level and not at other levels. Excessive travail du sol will kill these micro-organisms.

We started our tasting with a particularly expressive and aromatic 2008 Touraine Sauvignon Blanc that would still in tank but due to be bottled at the beginning of May under the Le Courlis label. A 2007 Sauvignon followed – less expessive, leaner and more mineral. Aynard then dug out a 1992 Chenin, which had iodine aromas alongside a hint of honey. Overall rather rustic and not completely clean but interesting to taste none the less.

Aynard and Isabelle with their 2005 Vanneau Huppé

Next up several Côts starting with the 2008 Le Côt du Cher, which Aynard describes as 'his industrial Côt' probably with his tongue firmly in his cheek! The 2008 is sooty, slightly rustic on the nose – typical Cher Côt – with weight and concentration and just a touch green in the finish. Vanneau Huppé is their top Côt – in 2008 it had 20% Cabernet Franc added – naturally it has more concentration and structure than the 'industrial' Côt. Unsurprisingly the 2007 Le Côt du Cher has less concentration, although it has considerable length. We ended this series with the softly concentrated 2005 Vanneau Huppé – 100% Côt. With its supple tannins and fruit it shows the potential of Côt here, especially in vintages like 2005.

Lastly a delicate late picked 2007 Chenin Blanc picked on Sunday 4th November – light gold in colour, honey and a touch of apricot confit with slight note of bitterness in the finish – typical of Chenin.

Update:
When I met Aynard in March he was working for Commerzbank commuting from Saint-Georges to Paris and London every week. Like many other banks, Commerzbank racked up large losses during the recent bubble. Aynard came to London for the London International Wine Trade Fair in May and during the first day received a text message from the bank telling him that he had been made redundant along with many others of their staff. Now he will have more time to concentrate on his Touraine vineyard.