A few forthcoming 2016 Loire dates for your diary: Bourgueil, Petit Thouars, VitiLoire

 Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th March 2016: 

Salon des Vins et du terroir @Romoratin

30 exhibitors from across France 

including Lamé Delisle Boucard (Bourgueil)

3€ entry

19th March: 14th Fête des vins de Bourgueil

Boulevard Heurteloup, Tours  

Some 50 Bourgueil producers showing their wines 

Château Petit Thouars: Portes Ouvertes 

Easter weekend: 26th to 28th March 2016

 

Debate over the possibility of expanding the AC Cour-Cheverny

Château de Cheverny

Michel and 

Jocelyne Gendrier (Domaine des Huards)

Excellent Cour-Cheverny that needs bottle age

Article in today's La Nouvelle République by Catherine Simon on the possibility of extending the small appellation of Cour-Cheverny (some 50 hectares across 11 communes) – has to be 100% Romorantin.

'L’aire d’appellation du cour-cheverny pourrait être étendue à d’autres territoires, dont celui de Chambord. La réflexion est ouverte.

Dans les chais, le sujet fait causer : à la faveur d'une demande du Domaine de Chambord qui souhaiterait replanter de la vigne, une révision du cahier des charges de l'AOC cour-cheverny – vin blanc issu de l'unique cépage romorantin –, en particulier de son aire géographique, pourrait être réalisée. Et cela ne laisse pas le microcosme viticole indifférent.'

Catherine Simon also covers the project by the Château de Cheverny to plant vines for AC Cheverny in sight of the château. May be the château will one day plant Romorantin and make AC Cour-Cheverny here! 

Read the rest here.

2005 Cuvée François Ier, Michel Gendrier

Another leading Cour-Cheverny producer:

Philippe Tessier  

Highland Loires

 Glen Tromie looking towards Gaick

Glen Tromie looking northwards

Although we are spending the summer in the Highlands of Scotland, we are still enjoying some good Loire bottles that we brought up from London with us. We are getting in plenty of cycling, which naturally is provoking a considerable thirst!

2007 Excelsior, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, Pierre Luneau-Papin (above and below)

First up 2007 Excelsior Domaine Pierre Luneau Papin Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine

This long aged Muscadet – 30 months on its lees – is brilliantly clean, fresh with lovely length of flavor but good weight, too, which comes from its long aging. Works well as an apéritif but was even better with some simply fried and very fresh filets of sea bass. Although not yet officially one of the new Muscadet Crus Communaux this is very much in that style with the finesse and additional complexity that is a hallmark of these wines.  Comes from vines planted on the schists of Goulaine.

 Terra Laura, Crémant de Loire 

2009 Cuvée Claude de France, Domaine de Montcy(above and below)

 

   

Crémant de Loire Terra Laura

2009 Cuvée Claude de France, Cour-Cheverny, Domaine de Montcy
Businesswoman Laura Semeria took over the 20-hectare now organic Domaine de Montcy in 2007. In the appellations of Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny it lies to the south-west of the Château and town of Chverny. Unfortunately Laura has been hit by Spring frosts in both 2012 and 2013.

The Crémant is 100% Chardonnay in a very clean, vibrant, lemony style making a good wake up aperitif.  The 2009 Cuvée Claude de France is naturally 100% Romorantin in a delicate moelleux style. Lightly sweet it is best paired with blue cheese or creamy dishes. Laura recommends it with a rhubarb or cherry tart – anything sweeter would overpower it.

Ideally I would have cellared the Claude de France for at least another couple of years to gain additional complexity. 

Laura Semeria in London May 2012  

 2010 Les Blancs Manteaux, Chinon, Domaine de la Noblaie

2010 Les Blancs Manteaux, Chinon, Domaine de la Noblaie
Jérôme Billard is one of the most promising of the younger generation of Chinon producers. After working at Pétrus and then Dominus in Napa as well as a spell in New Zealand, he returned to the family estate in 2003. Noblaie now has 24 hectares of vines and last year Jérôme invested in a new winery – previously they worked in very cramped conditions.

Les Blancs Manteaux comes from 60 year-old vines planted on a limestone slope. Ideally the 2010 should be squirreled away for at least another two years to fulfill its potential. However, this dark wine currently has deliciously soft black fruit, supple tannins.  

The new winery@Noblaie    

This post was originally published on Les 5 du Vin (30th July 2013).   

  

Philippe Tessier@Le Petit Pressigny with Xavier Fortin: 21st May

Philippe Tessier 

Xavier Fortin's next tasting@Plein Ciel, Le Petit Pressigny will feature Philiippe Tessier from Cheverny/Cour-Cheverny. Unfortunately Philippe was hit by this April's frost, so his 2012s are likely to ber in short supply. As one would expect Xavier advises stocking up on his 2011s and 2010s.  

**

'Bonjour à tous,

A la demande générale, Philippe Tessier revient au Petit Pressigny. Alors faites un peu de place dans votre cave. Nous n’aurons peut-être pas le plaisir de le retrouver sur un millésime 2012 car le gel courant avril 2012 a anéanti une partie de son vignoble.

Je vous propose donc de venir déguster les Cheverny 2010 et 2011 le Lundi 21 mai 2012 à partir de 17 heures.

CHEVERNY BLANC 2011

Majorité de sauvignon et tout sur le fruit. Ce vin vous régalera sur vos plats de poissons grillés et crustacés : 6.90 Euros TTC la Bouteille.

COUR CHEVERNY BLANC 2010

Pur Romorantin avec du gras et de la puissance. Riche avec une acidité tout en élégance. Que ce soit avec une viande blanche ou un poisson en sauce, il sera au rendez-vous.  9.00 Euros TTC la Bouteille

CHEVERNY ROSE 2011

Gamay et pinot noir, gourmand sec et fruité. A servir à l’apéritif ou des crudités dés que l’été sera arrivé.  6.90 Euros TTC la Bouteille.

CHEVERNY ROUGE DOMAINE 2011

Majorité de gamay avec un peu de pinot noir et un touche de cot . 11,8° d’alcool et du fruit plein la bouche. Il attend nos barbecues. 6.90 Euros TTC la Bouteille.

CHEVERNY ROUGE LE POINT DU JOUR 2011

75 % de pinot noir avec gamay et cot, il est léger, gourmand tout en finesse.  A déguster un peu frais avec des viandes blanches rôties ou des brochettes. 9.20 Euros TTC la Bouteille.

CHEVERNY ROUGE NOTA BENE 2010

Pur gamay avec une belle concentration. Riche et puissant à réserver pour vos viandes rouge grillées. 11.20 Euros TTC la Bouteille.

La cave où aura lieu la dégustation sera fléchée à partir de la Boucherie du Petit Pressigny, elle se trouve à environ 200 Mètres du Restaurant. Si toutefois vous êtes dans l’impossibilité de venir goûter lors de notre dégustation vous avez la possibilité de me faire parvenir votre commande accompagnée de votre chèque à l’ordre de Mr Philippe TESSIER, avant le 19 Mai 2012 à mon adresse :

XAVIER FORTIN

« Plein Ciel « 6, Chemin des Coteaux

37350 le Petit Pressigny

FRANCE  

Amicalement,  Xavier Fortin.

PS : J’ai la possibilité de stocker vos vins jusqu’ ’à une prochaine rencontre.'  

           Xavier Fortin

Julien Courtois: two bizarre wines

2005 Equiss, VDT (colour here deceptive, actually grey, brown)

14th April 2010: Dynamic Vines tasting (cont) 

Julien and his father, Claude, have vines in Soings-en-Sologne at the western edge of the Sologne, a wooded region with many ponds and small lakes and famous for hunting. Not long ago I tasted Julien's 2004 Originel (100% Menu Pineau). For the 2007 (£18.20) the blend has changed to 80% Menu Pineau with 20% Romorantin. I was agreeably surprised by the 2004 whereas the 2007 lacks charm and is quite oxidative and medicinal.

I then moved onto two truly bizarre wines, especially with regards to their colour. The photo gives the 2005 Equiss (VDT – 100% Menu Pineau) a rich golden colour when in actuality the colour was an extraordinary greyey brown-like the colour of dishwater. Julien must have considerable talent to achieve such a curious hue! This is a vendange tardive but vinified dry. It does have a touch of honey but I certainly wouldn't want to pay £31.60 even if I did want to play a joke on friends. The 2005 Franc de Pied (VDT – 100% Menu Pineau) is also a vendange tardive and exhibits the same colour as Equiss. Also very oxidative with a note of iodine like an Islay malt. Again £31.60 a bottle.

The three reds were a little better. I tasted two Gamays – 2007 'Element-Terre' (£16.50) made from Gamay Chaudenay (a teinturier) – quite rustic with some greenish tannins in the finish. 100% was a Gamay à jus blanc was also from 2007 and was the best of the reds but very poor value at £17.90. The last red was the 2007 Ancestral, presumably a blend, supple with some fruit but quite marked acidity.  
Steven Spurrier was also at the tasting and I asked him what he thought of the Julien Courtois wines and he admitted he was equally bemused by them.        

Sancerre, Menetou-Salon and Touraine

Henry Natter's vines on the coteaux overlooking Montigny

Our last day in Sancerre and the Central Vineyards. Quite heavy rain overnight starting around midnight and continuing for several hours. Rather cloudy this morning. Activity around Sancerre started today from around 6am and now just before 8am there is a continuous drone of machines and the lights of vans and tractors moving around on the still dark hillsides.

Hand picking near Bué: 8.10.2008

Today’s visits: Sancerre: Vincent Grall, Alphonse Mellot, Domaine Fouassier, Roger Champault, Henry Natter; Menetou-Salon: Henry Pellé; Touraine: Henry Marionnet.

L'equipe Henry Natter – Henry Natter family and team

Once again there is surprise and satisfaction from the vignerons that 2008 is turning out remarkably well after the very indifferent summer.

First stop was a quick chat with Vincent Grall (see posting: Vincent Grall: vintage in Sancerre’s streets). Leaving Vincent we headed out to the vineyards just to the south of Sancerre to take pictures of Pinot Noir in the rather damp vineyards. Looking down across at La Moussière we could see a picking team busy in the vines. As I suspected this was an Alphonse Mellot team and, having established that Les Deux Mellots – snr et jnr – were both the winery at Sancerre we headed off to Porte César.

Alphonse Mellot

Alphonse snr – Salon des Vins de Loire 2006

As we left the vineyard it was good to see that the old cabane des vignes (stone vineyard cabin) in the vines at La Moussière is being restored. Sadly these stone cabins that were once a regular feature of many of the Loire vineyards are disappearing – abandoned and falling into disrepair. They belong to a time when people walked out to their vines – before the days of tractors and small vans.

La Moussière: Cabane des Vignes near Sancerre

Alphonse Jnr: “We are finishing La Moussière this morning and that will complete Sancerre. This afternoon we start on the Coteaux Charitois (Les Penitents). Because of the hail it’s a tiny harvest – only 12 hl/ha for the classic La Moussière Rouge. Two hectares of La Moussière were completely wiped out by hail. It is better for Generation XIX, Grands Champs and Les Les Demoiselles – 27 hl/ha, which is our normal yield for these wines. But we are happy with the quality.”

Tasting the juice, the colour is already dark. Everything here is picked by hand.

“For the white the average yield is 40 hl/ha.”

Alphonse, junior

Alphonse introduced me to Antoine Michon, the son of Thierry (Domaine Saint-Nicolas) – the star of Les Fiefs Vendéens. Antoine is doing a stage with the Mellots, so I get him to tell me about the harvest in the Vendée.

Antoine Michon: “We were hit by the frost of 7th April, so it’s a tiny production this year – only 12 hl/ha. We started on 13th September and will finish this week. However, the quality is very good with the Chenin up to 14% potential.”

Next we visited Domaine Fouassier (see post: Domaine Fouassier (Sancerre) to go biodynamic 15th October 2008) and then headed to Champtin:

Roger Champault et fils
(8th October 2008)
Late morning we dropped in on the Champaults in the hamlet of Champtin, which is just a couple of kilometres west of Bué. We saw Claude Champault and his father, Roger. Laurent, the other brother, was out in the vineyards.

A delivery of grapes – note conveyor

“We started last Thursday,” said Roger, “and there are about three days harvesting left.” While we talked Claude and a couple of workers were trying to fix the belt of the conveyor that takes the grapes into the press. Machines breaking down at vintage time are always a problem. So much of the equipment, like presses and conveyors, needed during the vintage is only used for a maximum of two or three weeks in the year. Only after their long lay-off to be used almost continuously, so breakdowns are inevitable.

Using conveyors means that the fruit is treated much more gently than pumping it in through a pipe. It is very noticeable how much more care now take over the handling of grapes.

Claude had time to let me taste some of the 2008 juice, which was very clean – just as it has been with all the producers visited in Sancerre and Pouilly. “We picked the Pinot Noir in Menetou-Salon yesterday,” said Claude. “We harvest about two hectares a day and I expect that we will finish on Friday. Yields are averaging 60 hl/ha.”

As we left Claude pointed out their shiny new Italian Defranceschi pneumatic press. Just a few more days work before it gets a long rest before the 2009 vintage!

View from south-west towards Champtin and its vineyards

Henry Pellé, Menetou-Salon
Following a memorable few hours spent with the Natter family, we headed off to Morogues to drop in on Anne Pellé and her son, Pierre-Henry, of Henry Pellé. They were in the middle of their harvest.

Pierre-Henry: “We started picking in Menetou on 30th September. We are taking our time waiting for fully ripeness. Our Sauvignon Blanc from Morogues is coming in at 13-13.5% potential. Our yields this year are 40 hl/ha for the Pinot Noir and 45-50 hl/ha for the Sauvignon.“

Anne and Paul-Henry Pellé

From Morogues we cut across country avoiding the speedier route via Bourges and on to the autoroute. It was well worth the extra time – driving mainly through forests with sensational autumn colours. Cutting across country always emphasises the sheer size of France in comparison to the UK. We reached Soings-en-Sologne around 5.30 pm.

Henry Marionnet, Touraine
Henry and his son, Jean-Sébastien, were decidedly relaxed as they had finished their harvest.

Jean-Sébastien

The office at Domaine de Charmoise

Henry: “We started on Wednesday 17th September, finished on Saturday 4th October and harvested quicker than usual. The harvest is small – we were hit by hail on 30th May and the flowering was difficult – the Côt suffered from coulure. Yields for the Sauvignon are between 20-35 hl/ha with the Sauvignon Vinifera at 20 hl/ha. However, the Gamay is at 50-55 hl/ha.

“Although there was a little rot, the quality is very good. After the poor summer, the weather in September 2008 is proof that God exists!”

Henry recalled vintages when nature had destroyed the harvest. “In 1988 we were hit by hail in August, then in 1991 there was the April frost and we only made 2-3 hl/ha.”

Together Henry and I tasted various 2008 juices. The depth of the Gamay’s colour stood out – “similar to 2005 with a pronounced black cherry flavour,” said Henry. The Vinifera Côt was even darker – almost black, while the ungrafted Romorantin planted in 1850 was a floral and peachy. Only 10 hl/ha from 36 ares, the final wine will be fascinating to taste.

Romorantin: pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1850

Romorantin: pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1850

I asked Henry about the Place Alexander Marionnet in the centre of Soings-en-Sologne that showed up on the GPS. Apparently Alexander was a nurseryman. Henry explained that his paternal ancestor was a master carpenter from the Vendée, who arrived in the area 150 years ago and found work here. Curiously this would have been around the time that the famous parcel of Romorantin was planted. Despite being left-wing and his boss right-wing, he married his boss’ daughter. At that time and until the 1960s the Domaine de la Charmoise practised polyculture – the pattern of cultivation found throughout the Loire with very few people concentrating solely on growing vines. Today the Marionnets have 60 hectares of vines.

That evening we opened a bottle of the straight Henry Marionnet’s Touraine Gamay 2007 – deliciously easy drinking with bright red fruits and considerable concentration.