Domaine Philippe Raimbault, Sancerre @Daniel Lambert tasting

Daniel Lambert of the eponymous Daniel Lambert Wines is clearly not a man to rush into things. The wine company was founded in 1992 but it was only on Tuesday – 25 years later – that Dan held his first trade tasting using the recently opened Novotel near Paddington Station. 

Among the wines I tasted were three Sancerres from Domaine Philippe Raimbault of Maimbray in the commune of Sury-en-Vaux. The wines were presented by Lynne Raimbault. 

The estate has 16 hectares of vines: 10 in Sancerre, four in Pouilly-Fumé in the commune of St-Martin-sur-Nohant to the east of the PF appellation. This commune also includes Château de Favray and vines belonging to Emmanuel Charrier. They also have two hectares in the Coteaux du Giennois at St Père near Cosne-sur-Loire.

First up – the 2015 Les Godons, Sancerre from vines in Maimbray, the commune that also includes Pascal & Nicolas Reverdy, the Roblins and Pascal Joulin with Domaine Michel Vattan. The 2015 has the ripe fruit and concentration that is typical of this vintage with a lightly grassy character. 

Next the 2012 Les Chasseignes from vines in the commune of Sancerre to the left of the main road to Bourges. This oak fermented cuvée –30% new barrels – is only made in selected vintages – not in either 2015 or 2016. The 2012 is drinking well now with attractive texture and showing some evolved character with the oak well intregrated. 

I also tasted their 2015 Sancerre Rosé. There is a Sancerre Rouge from the Les Godons vineyard but this wasn't shown. On the whole the UK hasn't got its head around red Sancerre, despite the progress that has been made over the past two decades.

Unfortunately due to the severe April frost the domaine has not made any Pouilly-Fumé or Coteaux du Giennois in 2016.                    

#2015Loire – Sancerre further photos – Matthieu Delaporte and Pascal Joulin

 The only Pinot Noir on the Cul de Beaujeu

Domaine Vincent Delaporte

(above and below)

My last visit last Thursday was to Domaine Vincent Delaporte with Matthieu Delaporte. I had been impressed when I met Matthieu in London in early September at the Lea & Sandeman tasting. 

First we visited the cave of Alain Delaporte, Matthieu's uncle now retired, which Matthieu promised to restore. Here we tasted from barrel the Delaporte 2014 Monts Damnés, Sancerre Blanc and the 2014 Cul de Beaujeu – both brilliant! The Monts Damnés wonderfully tense and mineral, while the Cul de Beaujeu has tremendous silky fruit. 

Then we headed to the top of the Cul de Beaujeu above La Croix de Jacko, which commemorates the death of Jacques Delaporte on the Cul tragically hit by lightning in 1957. The Delaporte Pinot Noir, the only to be planted on the Cul, which is otherwise exclusively Sauvignon Blanc, are at the top of this fearsome slope just above the Croix. Here the soil is slightly more red unlike the white clay limestone of the rest of the slope. 

This is obviously a magic place for Matthieu for new girlfriends are expected to like this place high above Chavignol. The Pinot was due to be picked next day by Delaporte's team of Bulgarian pickers

 Matthieu Delaporte in the Cul de Beaujeu 

Pinot Noir high above Chavignol

(above and below)

    

 Renovated chai of Alain Delaporte created by Alain's father in the 

1950s shortly before his death since when it has remained virtually unused

The cellar's fine ceiling

Part of the cellar that is in 

the process of being renovated

 

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Next morning (Friday 25th September) started with a visit to Pascal Joulin (Domaine Michel Vattan) in Maimbray. Unlike all the other producers I saw during my two day visit, who were either finished harvesting or would be shortly, Pascal was only a third of the way through his picking as he wanted to make sure the fruit was ripe. 

 Pascal Joulin, Domaine Michel Vattan, Maimbray

 

2011 Loire vintage: Sancerre – Pascal Joulin c/o Domaine Michel Vattan

Pascal Joulin 

It was good to meet Pascal Joulin again on Thursday. I first met Pascal back in the early 1990s when he was looking after La Cave des Hauts de Seyr in the Coteaux Charitois. Then he moved to the Domaine de la Grange just beyond the limits of the Pouilly-Fumé appellation. I visited him once there and then lost touch. Happily Pascal got back in touch with me when the Domaine Michel Vattan 2010 Cuvée Argile won a bronze medal at this year's Decanter World Wine Awards.  

In 2002 Pascal had moved to Sancerre to work with Michel Vattan in Maimbray, just up from the chai of Pascal and Nicolas Reverdy. In 2008 he took over the 9 hectare domaine on Michel's retirement. Prior to his arrival the wines went to the cooperative or the négoce, Pascal has developed the domaine's direct sales. Now 65% of the production goes on export – Norway, United States and some to The Sampler in the UK .   

Pascal in his old vines overlooking Maimbray 

Pascal: "We started picking on Wednesday 7th beginning with the Pinot Noir. The ban des Vendanges was on the 1st but the grapes weren't ripe then so I preferred to wait, even so the harvest was three weeks in advance of 2010. Then the following day we started on the Sauvignon Blanc. The 3rd September we had had a sharp storm with 22mm of rain in just 15 minutes. Waiting until the 7th following the potential degree rise to 12.5% and the level of tartaric acidity go up.

"I have 1.30ha of Pinot Noir – 0.70 ares goes to make rosé and 0.6 ares goes to make red. This year we had to cut off 30% of the Pinot Noir and throw it on the ground because of rot. Even having grass in the vineyards made a big difference this year.

"Everything is picked by machine at the moment but I want to move to picking the Pinot Noir by ahdn as soon as possible. My Pinot is planted on the caillottes. I did have some planted on the terres blanches (clay and limestone) at the bottom of the slope but it never ripened, so I've pulled it out.

My aim with the red is to make a typical light, easy drinking Loire red, so I use a short cuvaison so as not to extract too much tannin."    

Pascal Joulin and Domaine Michel Vattan

Autumn colours@Maimbray

I was very pleased yesterday to get an email from Pascal Joulin, who I first met around 1995 when he was working for the La Cave des Hauts de Seyr in the Coteaux Charitois. He was making Chardonnay from vines planted in the Montaillant vineyard and Pinot Noir from vines at Saint-Lay. I think I first met Pascal in London at a tasting, impressed by the wines I later went to visit him at Hauts de Seyr. Much later La Cave des Hauts de Seyr ran into financial problems and in 2005 it was bought by Alphonse Mellot who renamed it Les Pénitents.

In 1998 Pascal moved on to Domaine des Granges in Suilly la Tour. Here he made vin de pays de la Nièvre as the property is just outside the Pouilly-Fumé appellation. In 2002 he moved to AC Sancerre to Domaine Michel Vattan in Mainbray. When Michel Vattan retired in 2008 Pascal bought the domaine, which has 7.80 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and 1.30 ha of Pinot Noir. This year at the Decanter World Wine Awards we gave the 2010 Cuvée Argile from Domaine Michel Vattan a bronze medal. In the UK his wines are imported by The Sampler.

I think the last time I saw Pascal was when he was at Domaine des Granges, so I'm delighted he has made contact and brought me up to date and I look forward to meeting him again when I'm in Sancerre.

More harvest pics

Picking machine of the steeply sloping Maimbray vineyards

Picking machine in Bué at the end of the day

View from Domaine Didier Dagueneau towards Les Loges

Hod carrier@Jacky Blot (Montlouis)