Showing posts with label Bué. Show all posts

Tuesday, 6 March 2018

2017 Sancerre Jean-Max Roger

2017 Cuvée Marnes et Caillottes, Sancerre, Jean-Max Roger

Following on from the delicious 2017 Natalie, Reuilly (Claude Lafond) here is more evidence here demonstrating what an attractive vintage 2017 is for Loire Sauvignon Blanc. It has attractive citric weight with a grapefruit character to the fore, length and good balance. This cuvée may gain more complexity with time.

Wednesday, 20 December 2017

Sancerre and Pouilly – some further reflections

As well as posting here on Jim's Loire about Andrew Jefford's fine blog on Sancerre and Pouilly last Monday I also used this as my weakly post on Les 5 du Vin, which happily provoked some discussion. This caused me to reflect (yes I know unusual...) further on these two neighbouring appellations.

Firstly I should have made it clear in the initial post that there are fine producers in both Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, who despite the commercial success they enjoy are always determined to push the limits to make their wines better. I am always impressed by this as the human temptation to sit back on your success and take it easy must at times be strong.

Having looked at the differences between Sancerre and Pouilly, I realised that there is another area that I hadn't considered – wine tourism. Once again unfortunately Sancerre has very much the upper hand. Sancerre and the appellation of Sancerre have much to attract the visitor from the bustling town of Sancerre to the picturesque villages of Bué and Chavignol – both crammed with producers and, especially in the case of Chavignol, with cafés, restaurants and an excellent hotel.

In contrast Pouilly-sur-Loire is as I have already detailed unfortunately moribund – a victim of a small town being by-passed by the Autoroute A77. There remain just a few tattered vestiges of its glory days when it was a staging post on the N7 – the road from Paris to the sunshine of the Mediterranean.

Apart from La Tour de Pouilly – a wine tourism centre – and visits to wine producers there is unfortunately little to attract the visitor to Pouilly-sur-Loire.

Nor does it have a village like Bué or Chavignol with a concentration of producers also with a café and restaurant to attract visitors. The picturesque hamlet of Les Loges and perhaps Saint-Andelain are probably the closest but neither have a café.

So again it is Sancerre that holds the tourism cards.

Tuesday, 19 September 2017

2017 Loire – Sancerre - some photos of the harvest (18.9.17)

Victory sign from Jean-Laurent Vacheron

busy shifting palettes of Sauvignon grapes

Hod carriers on the edge of Clos de la Poussie (Bué)

(above and below)

Pickers near Amigny

Sancerre in the shade, vineyards in sunshine

– signs of picking.

White vans rool OK!

Vincent Pinard: prototype design for the new

– Le Chàteau design by Clément Pinard's 5 year old son

Fuller report on 2017 vintage at Sancerre to come shortly.

Wednesday, 20 July 2016

Sancerre – shameful vandalism attributed to IGP nonsense

'Rififi dans le Sancerre: arrachage sauvage de plus de 5.000 pieds de vigne

Publié le 19/07/16 par Le Figaro Vin

Un viticulteur du Sancerrois a porté plainte ce week-end contre l'arrachage sauvage de 5.600 pieds de sauvignon sur une parcelle à Saint-Satur (Cher).'

On Saturday morning a vigneron based in Bué discovered that his recently planted parcel apparently at La Cabarette, Saint-Satur had been vandalised with 5600 vines uprooted – an estimated damage of 12,000€. The vigneron is said by Decanter to be Jean-Jacques Auchere.

The shameful vandalism has been widely attributed to the tensions and controversy over the right to plant Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir close to appellations. These tensions are particularly strong in Sancerre.

In the FranceBleu article Gilles Guillerault, president of the Sancerre producers, is quoted as saying: 'ce geste d'exaspération ne l'étonne pas .... il se déclare désolé mais c'était prévisible puisque les négotiations avec l'état n'avancent pas pour resteindre la liste des cépages en IGP en Centre Loire'.

Frankly I'm not surprised that négotiations haven't produced the result that the Sancerre producers want. I can see no good reason why it shouldn't be possible to plant both Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc for IGP wines in Centre Loire. Instead their objections are foolishly protectionist and send out very negative signals regarding how fragile they see Sancerre's reputation.

One of the reasons advanced for a ban on planting Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir destined for IGP in the Centre Loire is that it would be easy to blend IGP with appellation wine in a winery where both types of wine are made. This ignores that some of the leading respected producer négociant companies, such as Henri Bourgeois and Joseph Mellot, already make both AC and IGP wines in the same winery. The Henri Bourgeois Le Petit Bourgeois and Joseph Mellot Destinea are both IGP ranges, featuring both Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, made in their facilities in Sancerre.

At their winery in Chavignol I have frequently tasted Petit Bourgeois, Sancerre, and Pouilly-Fumé from stainless vats all in the same area. Are the protesters really suggesting that Henri Bourgeois and Joseph Mellot blend their IGP wines into their Sancerre or that they are even tempted to do so?!

Jean-Christophe Bourgeois sources Petit Bourgeois from around Touraine. What would be the difference if it was sourced from IGP vines close to Sancerre? Why the objection?

If it were possible to sell IGP Sancerre, then I could understand the complaints but any IGP wines made from vines planted close to Sancerre etc. have to be labelled IGP Val de Loire.

A number of Central Vineyard appellations, such as Menetou-Salon, Reuilly and Sancerre who make pure 100% Pinot Noir, already enjoy protection provided by the INAO, who will not allow pure Pinot Noir in appellations like Coteaux du Giennois, Châteaumeillant, Saint-Pourçain and the Côtes d'Auvergne. Pinots from these appellations have to include Gamay.

Hopefully whoever vandalised these vines will be told to stop as this sort of vicious action is very damaging to Sancerre's reputation.

Friday, 8 July 2016

Update from Sancerre (Karine Crochet – Domaine François Crochet) and Chinon (Jérôme Billard – Domaine de la Noblaie)

Jérôme Billard @RSJ in very smart shirt

– a birthday present

I phoned Karine Crochet (Domaine François Crochet in Bué) last week and she updated me on how the vines are doing at the beginning of July.

"We are getting towards the end of the flowering. The weather hasn't been ideal and François says there is quite a lot coulure – flowers not setting properly. Mildew is a big threat this year and being in the middle of converting to organic viticulture this is challenging.

In Sancerre we weren't affected seriously by the late April frosts. Unfortunately our friends Jean Teiller in Menetou-Salon were badly affected by the frost and they expect to only make between 5-10 hectolitres per hectare in 2016."

••

Last Monday (4th July) I had dinner with Jérôme Billard (Domaine de la Noblaie) and Tom King at the RSJ Restaurant. Jérôme underlined how difficult 2016 is proving to be with mildew a real threat now – the latest is mildew on the grapes rather than just the leaves. "Flowering has now finished – it ended around 27th June. With the first flowers appearing on 11th June but really starting full on 15th June. Flowering is about a week later than the average. Flowering has been over a quite extended period so there will be some variable ripening."

Sunday, 27 September 2015

#2015Loire: photos from Sancerre

Thierry Véron's pickers celebrating the end of the

harvest in the centre of Chavignol

Another round of drinks

Thierry Véron

Box of Pinot Noir@Domaine Bourgeois

Awaiting processing

Sorting table@Domaine Bourgeois

Pinot Noir@Bourgeois – very clean fruit

Cleanliness is all important

(above and below)

One of the eastern roads into Bué

Antoine Clérmont-Tonnerre

bringing Touraine expertise to Sancerre

(abobve and below)

Gilles Crochet (Domaine Lucien Crochet)

#2015Loire: Another very good vintage in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé

2015 Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre – between Bué and Amigny

Despite rain during the week starting 13th September, 2015 is another very good vintage quality-wise for Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé following on from the fine 2014. Yields are lower than last year, which was generous. The lower yields are ascribed to coulure during the flowering and to the heat of June and July.

It may also be down to the vines compensating for last year's big harvest. Nobody appears to have made the maximum yield allowed (65 hl/ha) with reported yields ranging from around 45ha/hl to 60hl/ha, so it is strange that the commune of Verdigny asked for special permission to increase the yield this year. Their request was turned down by the Syndicat of Producers.

Yields for Pinot Noir are certainly lower perhaps averaging around 35-40 hl/ha but it is difficult to tell precisely until the juice has been run off the skins (décuvage). I was told that the Burgundians have found this year that their red yields of are considerably lower than they had thought.

Picking in Sancerre started during the latter part of the week beginning Monday 7th September. The Ban des Vendanges was on Wednesday 9th.

Many had already finished picking when we arrived last Thursday including Vincent Pinard, Alphone Mellot (finished in Sancerre – now picking in the Côtes de la Charité), François Crochet and Thierry Véron (Chavignol). Others including Mathieu Delaporte (Domaine Vincent Delaporte) were due to finish Friday, while some estates like Domaine Vacheron and Lucien Crochet will finish Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday this coming week. I imagine that by Friday 2nd October the 2015 harvest will effectively be over.

Of the producers I saw Pascal Joulin (Domaine Michel Vattan, Maimbray) was the least advanced. Pascal had started on Monday 21st and by the end of the week was about a third of the way through. When I saw him on Friday he was keen to push on as it was misty and humid with the temperature on Thursday night not dropping below 13˚C. However, now that the wind has turned away from the West to the North East and the sun has come out he should be less worried.