2016 Loire: photos from Sancerre today celebrating a memorable vintage

Machine harvesting at Henry Natter (Montigny)

He used to harvest by hand but found it impossible to get pickers

 Henry Natter 

 

 2016 Sauvignon Blanc – Henry Natter

 Sancerre in late afternoon sunlight 

Towards Verdigny and Sury-en-Vaux from Sancerre 

Looking southward from Sancerre 

towards Pouilly and Saint-Andelain

 

 Looking southward from Sancerre 

towards Pouilly

(above and below)

 

 

Autumnal colours

 

 

Jean-Yves Delaporte at the sorting table  

Jean-Yves Delaporte's mother (left) mother-in-law (right)

 One of the Bulgarian pickers keen to take 

photos of the wine-making process 

Matthieu, Jean-Yves and Natalie Delaporte 

Domaine Vincent Delaporte

Vincent Matthieu's grandfather died a few months ago

This is the first harvest without him 

Pinot Noir tumbling onto the sorting table 

#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

 

••

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

 

Matthieu Delaporte – impressive wines Domaine Delaporte (Sancerre)

Matthieu Delaporte, Domaine Vincent Delaporte 

It was a pleasure to meet Matthieu Delaporte, who is now in charge of Domaine Vincent Delaporte in Chavignol (Sancerre), at Lea & Sandeman's autumn tasting in central London today. 

The domaine now has 30 hectares of vines after incorporating the 10 ha owned by Matthieu's uncle, Alain Delaporte, who has now retired. "Alain just grew the grapes and sold everything to Henri Bourgeois," Matthieu explained. "We were afraid when Alain retired that his vines would be bought by a large producer or by someone outside the appellation, so we are very pleased to have kept them within the family."

Incorporating Alain Delaporte's vines into Domaine Vincent Delaporte has brought in two top quality single vineyards – around 1.5 hectares on the famous Côte des Monts Damnés and around one hectare planted with Pinot Noir at the top of the equally steep but perhaps less famous Cul de Beaujeu. This is the sole plot of Pinot Noir on the Cul, so tasting Matthieu's 2012 Sancerre Rouge Cul de Beaujeu was a real first for me. The 2012 is the first vintage of this wine and Matthieu made only 10 barriques. 

As well as expanding the vineyards the underground chai has recently been renovated. 

Matthieu is heading back to Chavignol this evening as they start picking tomorrow. This year everything will be hand picked by a team of 80 pickers – all the grapes will go into small cases. During today's tasting he was interrogating his father on the phone checking that everything, including the press, was ready for the off.

  

 2014 Sancerre Blanc: attractively balanced with weight and texture  

Drink with pleasure now

 2013 Monts Damnés, Sancerre Blanc 

Leaner than the 2014 domaine but very precise and long.

Will gain further complexity with more time in bottle 

Part of Les Monts Damnés 

with town of Sancerre in distance  

 2013 Domaine Sancerre Rouge 

Delicacy and length

 2012 Cul de Beaujeu, Sancerre Rouge 

Part of the Cul de Beaujeu

Domaine Vincent Delaporte's Pinot Noir 

is planted on reddish soil close to the cross 

Perhaps inevitably for the first vintage, with new wooden vats bought specially, Matthieu's 2012 Cul de Beaujeu is more marked by toasted wood than he would like – but then he is refreshingly honest enough to acknowledge this. Yes it is quite toasty and spicy on the nose and palate but another couple of years in bottle is likely to integrate the wood, which in any case is not excessive. It will be interesting to taste the 2013 and 2014 vintages. Matthieu is close friends with Clément and Florent Pinard (Domaine Vincent Pinard in Bué) so he is in good hands!  

I look forward to catching up with Matthieu in Chavignol during the vintage.