Agnès Sorel@Genillé: high quality and excellent value!

 

Thursday evening on our return from the Central Vineayards we ate at the Agnès Sorel in Genillé. This is certainly one of our favourite restaurants in the area as it offers very good food at great value.

The three of us took the entry menu@23 euros – entrée, main course, cheese or dessert with a mise en bouche, which was a delicious velouté de ceps. For first course I chose the seasonal interpretation of oeufs en meurette – poached eggs on a base of sliced ceps with a rich red wine and shallot sauce. Excellent! Main course of a fricassée of Géline de Touraine. The Géline is a type of chicken, which is traditional to this area but which ceased to be popular in the 1950s and was declared extinct in 1977.  The Géline fell out of favour because it needs 120-130 days to reach maturity, whereas ordinary chickens only need 90, so it seemed no longer economic to rear the Géline. Fortunately in the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a gradual Géline renaissance and the race was reintroduced. It now features on the menus of top restaurants in this part of the Loire. 

To finish I chose the raspberry clafoutis, made with raspberries from the restaurant's garden, accompanied by a raspberry sorbet. The raspberries were nicely sharp and refreshing. 

Raspberry clafoutis (foto CRM)

To drink we had the 2009 Choisilles from François Chidaine. This is a blend of old vines from various parcels and Choisilles is the local name for black flint. Being 2009 had good weight and went well with the oeufs en meurette – better than our red – the 2010 Les Quartiers, Bourgueil from Yannick Amirault, which clashed a little with the sweetness of the shallots. However, Les Quartiers was fine with the Géline.

Estelle and Nicolas Petit's restaurant is highly recommended!     

  

 

Millésime Bio 2012: a few more portraits

Jean Noël Millon, Saumur Champigny, La Source du Ruault

François Chidaine: Montlouis, Touraine and Vouvray

An Italian exhibitor relaxing: everyone has the same sized, unfancy tables

Time to text...

See also some photos by Michel Smith (Les 5 du Vin) here.

Millésime Bio 2012: some portraits

Jonathan Pabiot and Nina Schomakers (Domaine Jonathan Pabiot, Pouilly-Fumé + Pouilly-sur-Loire)

It was difficult to make many posts during Millésime Bio 12. It was necessary to decide whether to seize the opportunity and taste as much as possible or take time out to post. I chose the former as it is always possible to post after the event and it gives you time to reflect on what you have tasted. In the event I tasted wines from nearly all the around 60 Loire producers present at the show and will be returning to wines that impressed me. It was also the opportunity to take a few pics of Loire producers – some shown here:    

Jonathan Pabiot

Nina Schomakers

Loïc Mahé (Savennières)

Vincent Caillé, Domaine Faye d'Homme, Monnières (Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine)

Damien Delecheneau, La Grange Tiphaine, ACs Montlouis and Touraine 

Vincent Roussely, Domaine du Clos Roussely (AC Touraine)

Pierre Gauthier, Bourgueil, Domaine du Bel-Air

Loire moustaches: Pierre Gauthier (Bourgueil –above) and Joseph Landron (Muscadet – below) shared the same table

 


    

Pierre Clavel: the listening vigneron – truly natural! Bouche à l'oreille...!

Pierre Clavel demonstrating @Millésime Bio 12 how essential it is for a winemaker to listen closely to what his wine is telling him

It is obvious that any producer intent on making truly natural or authentic wine must listen closely to what their wine tells them as Pierre Clavel of Domaine Clavel in Languedoc shows here today on the last day of Millesimé Bio 2012.

For this a standard ISO glass is perfectly shaped to fit most people's ears – certainly far better suited than a large Riedel glass that won't trap the delicate frequencies that wine, particularly natural wines, use to communicate when they want the winemaker to intervene or not.

Close up of Pierre listening with due attention to his wine

Millésime Bio 2012: The first day

Entrance to Millésime Bio 2012 under a clear blue sky

With around 60 Loire producers at this edition of Millésime Bio – incidentally this is the 20th – my first priority was to visit and taste with all the Loire producers present, especially as there are a number here whose wines I have never tasted.  

One particularity of this fair is that everyone has the same sized table, which means that much less space is needed as there are no fancy stands so there is less walking involved. Even so with nearly 600 exhibitors the fair took up two large halls – 12 and 10.

I started in Hall 12 yesterday and here are some of the wines that impressed: 

White 

2006  Clos du Papillon, Savennières, Domaine du Closel  

There is lovely balance and complexity in this 2006 Clos du Papillon demonstrating that Savennières often needs time to develop and show its best. This still has a good number of years  ahead of it and may still get better. 

2008 La Fontaine des Bois, Anjou, Domaine Pierre Chauvin 

2008 was a cool vintage saved as is so often the case by fine weather in September and into October. Due to the cool temperatures the grapes had a very long hang time and this is a fine vintage for very precise and pure dry whites. Domaine Pierre Chauvin is an estate of 14 hectares with two thirds planted with Chenin Blanc. La Fontaine has weight, purity and good length. It is a pity that Anjou Blanc doesn't have a better reputation as there are some excellent dry whites being produced under this appellation. 

2009 Authentique, Anjou, Domaine Philippe Delesvaux

2008 Feuille d'Or, Anjou, Domaine Philippe Delesvaux

More text and pics to add.

 
    

Millésime Bio 2012: visit to Natoli & Cie

Jean Natoli of Natoli & Cie

Yesterday kicked off with a tasting of some 70 organic wines at the laboratory of Jean Natoli, on the outskirts of Montpellier. Photos for the moment details to be added once I get back from Day 1 of Millésime Bio.

Some journalists on the trip:

 Howard Hewitt

Rasmus Holmgârd 

Wolfram Römmelt

Michael Hornickel

Some wines that stood out:

 Scene@the back of the lab

Millésime Bio 2012: visit to Château de Cazeneuve (Pic Saint-Loup)

Name plaque@ Château de Cazeneuve

André Leenhardt: owner of Château de Cazeneuve

After a morning spent tasting at the Natoli & Coe (details to be posted later) we headed off for lunch and a visit to Château de Cazeneuve in Pic Saint-Loup. André Leenhardt and his wife bought the property some 20 years ago. In the 19th century the property had produced wine that was used to make vermouth but then there had been a switch to the production of table grapes. When the Leenhardts bought Cazeneuve the cellars hadn't been used for 20 years.

Today they have some 40 hectares, which includes nine hectares which their son has rented recently and goes into their early drinking cuvée – Carline. They started to convert their vineyards to organic production in 2007 and received their certification in 2010. Cazeneuve has an impressive range of wines including a white made from mainly from Roussanne and Grenache Blanc with the addition of some Vermentino and Viognier.

2005 Le Roc des Mates, Pic Saint-Loup, Château de Cazeneuve

Amongst the reds I was very impressed by the spicy and structured 2005 Le Roc des Mates with 65% Syrah completed by Grenache and some Mourvèdre, which has had time to soften and evolve in bottle. The rich and powerful 100% Mourvèdre – 2007 Le sang du Calvaire – was also impressive but needed time to soften. Later a magnum of the 2005 was opened and the additional two years showed how good this cuvée can be with some bottle age.

2007 Le sang du Calvaire, Pic Saint-Loup, Château de Cazeneuve

Typical view of vines dominated by the limestone plateau above.

Trees (including olive) in the bright January sunshine

Pruning done now waiting for spring (above and below)

Good that our organisers recognise the high quality of the journalists on this trip...

Millésime Bio 2012: dinner@plaisirs des mets

Plaisirs des mets

Bar of the restaurant

Montpellier

Millésime Bio, the annual organic wine starts on Monday (23rd) and runs through to Wednesday but the press trip associated with the fair started last night in the Plaisirs des mets, a small restaurant in the old part of Montpellier. The press group is mainly from Germany, Denmark, Scandinavia and Iceland with a couple of late additions – Howard Hewitt from the US and myself. Apparently we managed to squeeze on as there weren't enough Scandinavians who wanted to leave the chilly north for a few days of respite sun in Montpellier.

At dinner we were joined by producers: Marie Teisserenc (Famille Fabre), Jean Paul Cabanis (Costières-de-Nîmes) and Virgile Joly.

Jean Paul Cabanis

Domaine Cabanis: Pays du Gard 2010 Clairette

We started with a simple, refreshing vin de pays 2010 Clairette from Jean Paul Cabanis, which was just right to kick off the evening. Then two further whites in ascending order of richness: the well balanced 2009 Saturne (100% Grenache Blanc) from Domaine Virgile Joly and the rich and full but not cloying 2009 Viognier from Famille Fabre. This Viognier came from vines selected in Condrieu. This was a rare treat as production is very small – just three barriques.

2009 Saturne, Coteaux du Languedoc, Domaine Virgile Joly

2009 Viognier, famille fabre

A succession of attractive south reds followed. These were based mainly around Carignan, Grenache and Syrah, although Jean Paul Cabanis' Costières de Nîmes had a majority of Mourvèdre which ripens well in these vineyards which are close to the sea. Unfortunately the later reds were served with and after the chocolate dessert which made tasting a challenge! Despite this the still quite youthful 2002 Rouge from Domaine Virgile Joly showed very well and should clearly last for another few years.

A rather grainy photo of Virgile Joly – should have taken the other Canon!

2002 Rouge, Domaine Virgile

Swirling glass: not what was intended but I like the effect – vive la modération!