Jim's Loire: Côtes de Forez

Showing posts with label Côtes de Forez. Show all posts

Saturday, 1 February 2020

Exciting new developments in the Upper loire

Two new projects in the Upper Loire:

Loire Volcanique

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Mathieu Fleuriet's joint project in the Côtes d'Auvergne

Mathieu Fleuriet and Paul Aublet-Cuvelier

Mathieu Fleuriet of Domaine Bernard Fleuriet, a very good Sancerre producer based in Menetou-Ratel, has a joint project with Paul Aublet-Cuvelier, another Sancerre vigneron, in the Côtes d'Auvergne. They intend to plant 13 hectares of vines on abandoned terraces in the southern part of Auvergne in the Allier Valley.

(Full details will appear in a separate post.)

•••

Boudes in the Côtes d'Auvergne

Côte Roannaise

I have been convinced for a number of years that there are exciting producers and wines in the Upper Loire, so I am delighted to see the creation of Loire Volcanique to give more power to promote their wines.

Naissance d'un Collectif

Loire Volcanique

36 VIGNERONS

4 A.O.C.

1 Collectif

Soudés autour de valeurs communes,

36 vigneronnes et vignerons oeuvrant sur les terroirs

de SAINT-POURÇAIN, CÔTE ROANNAISE,

CÔTES D'AUVERGNE et CÔTES du FOREZ

ont décidé de s’unir pour porter plus haut et plus loin leurs voix.

Le 14 novembre 2019, Loire Volcanique est née.

(Association Loi 1901)

Soudés autour de valeurs communes,

36 vigneronnes et vignerons oeuvrant sur les terroirs

de SAINT-POURÇAIN, CÔTE ROANNAISE,

CÔTES D'AUVERGNE et CÔTES du FOREZ

ont décidé de s’unir pour porter plus haut et plus loin leurs voix.

Le 14 novembre 2019, Loire Volcanique est née.

(Association Loi 1901)

ICI COMMENCE LA LOIRE

Le premier vignoble ligérien ?

C’est chez eux que ce fleuve si intimement lié à la vigne prend sa source.

C’est chez eux que ce fleuve si intimement lié à la vigne prend sa source. Leur histoire épouse les méandres de la Loire, leurs vins aussi. C’est elle qu’ils veulent mettre en avant, en parlant davantage de leurs terroirs, et de ce lien si fort qu'ils entretiennent avec le fleuve des rois.

SUR LES CONTREFORTS DU MASSIF CENTRAL

De la fraîcheur SVP

À l’heure du réchauffement climatique, ces vignes situées sur les contreforts Est du Massif Central sont un atout de taille. Des nuits fraîches, des expositions exceptionnelles, une biodiversité préservée… Bordés de bois et de forêts, à quelques encablures de Lyon et au Sud de Sancerre, ces vignobles aux sols volcaniques (granites + basalte) n'ont jamais connu d'agriculture extensive ou de monoculture, et ont en commun d'être en altitude, bénéficiant ainsi d’un véritable climat continental.

UNE HISTOIRE UNIQUE

DES VIGNERONS DYNAMIQUES

Vin des papes et des rois, région viticole parmi les premières productrices de France il y a un siècle, ce coin de France a subit de plein fouet l’industrialisation et le développement du chemin de fer et des voies rapides.

Tombée dans l'oubli pendant des décennies, absente de certaines cartes viticoles (!), la région renaît peu à peu de ses cendres... Aujourd'hui, forts de leur histoire, fiers de leurs cépages autochtones (Gamay St-Romain, Gamay d'Auvergne, Tressalier) et conscients de cette identité originale qui forge leurs vins, ces 36 vigneronnes et vignerons ont à coeur de défendre ces terroirs et d'en montrer le haut potentiel.

QUI SONT-ILS ?

Producers:

AUVERGNE / Yvan Bernard, Domaine Charmensat, Benoît Montel, Gilles Persilier, Domaine Catherine & Roland Royet, Domaine Sauvat, Domaine des Trouillères

FOREZ / Agamy - Cave des vignerons Foreziens, Le Clos de Chozieux, Domaine de Fontvial, Stéphanie Guillot, Les Vins de la Madone, Domaine du Poyet, Cave Verdier Logel, Vin et Pic

ROANNAIS / Domaine des Ardaillons, Alain Baillon, Domaine de la Bénisson Dieu, Le Vignoble des Blondins, Thierry Bonneton, Maison JB Clair, Le Clos St Jean, Domaine Désormière, Vincent Giraudon, Domaine des Palais, Domaine de la Paroisse, Domaine des Pothiers, Le Retour aux Sources, Domaine de la Rochette, Domaine Sérol, Domaine Vial

St POURÇAIN / Domaine des Bérioles, Domaine Gardien, Domaine Grosbot Barbara, Domaine de la Sourde, Les Terres d'Ocre

Côtes de Forez vines above Boën-sur-Lignon

Saint-Pourçain: vines and landscape

•••

Thursday, 20 September 2018

Loire 2018 – round up of harvest news

Since we arrived in the Loire we have seen producers from Muscadet Sèvre et Maine to the Côtes de Forez – just about from one Loire vinous extremity to the other.

In Touraine Vincent Ricard started picking on Monday 3rd September. He is happy as he has avoided any serious attack of mildew but at the cost of treating his vines 14 or 15 times. His Sauvignon is coming in at between 12.5˚ potential with the acidity averaging 5.2. Yields at 50-55 hl/ha. He expects to finish harvesting the middle of next week.

Vincent Roussely (Angé) started picking on Monday 10th September. Due to the heat they are only picking in the morning. I saw some Sauvignon Rosé that they had picked – the grapes very healthy and clean.

Luc Poullain, Domaine des Echardières – also in Angé – like Vincent Roussely also started on Monday but picking Chardonnay. He warned that vines on clay were coping well with the drought – just 10mm of rain in two months – but other on easy draining soils were suffering with maturation blocked especially if they were young vines.

In Montlouis Jacky Blot started on Thursday (6th) – earlier than he had originally thought but with the grapes ripening rapidly he didn't want the alcohol levels to shoot up and the acidity to fall away, especially as he picks by hand – three teams of pickers in action.

In certain parcels he has been badly hit by mildew with very small yields. However, the incidence is very irregular with his best parcels like the Clos Mosny and Clos Michet resisting well.

Jacky and a team started picking his top Vouvray (Vin de France) from the Clos de Venise on Thursday 13th September.

On our way to the Côte Roannaise last Thursday (13th) we dropped in quickly to see the Pinards – Vincent, Florent and Clément – in Bué and then Domaine Fouassier in Sancerre itself. The Pinards started picking their Pinot Noir on Thursday 6th and have subsequently picked some of their Sauvignon Blanc. They are very happy with the results to date with the Pinot coming in at 12.4˚ to 13.5˚ potential with acidity averaging around 5. Florent and Clément thought that the 2018 reds will be easy to drink and easily digestible.

2018 Sauvignon Blanc (Sancerre)

2018 Pinot Noir (Sancerre)

Benoît Fouassier was also very happy with their 2018s. They started on 5th and have been picking both Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. The Pinot, which they have nearly finished, coming in at up to 14˚, while the Sauvignon Blanc is between 12.5˚ and 13.5˚ and an acidity on 4-4.5.

From Sancerre we headed south to the small town of Renaison in the heart of the Côte Roannaise where we stayed at the Hotel Central, which is in town square. The hotel is very reasonably priced and is run by the very welcoming Arlette, who appears to have boundless energy as she is on the go from the early morning until late at night.

The Côte Roannaise we saw Carine, Stéphane and Robert Sérol (Domaine Robert Sérol). Their chai and some of their vineyards are up above Renaison and is one of the appellations top domaines. They started picking at the end of the previous week – Gamay for their pétillant rosé naturel – Turbullent. Picking Gamay for their reds had started this morning.

2018 Gamay, Domaine des Pothiers, Côte Roannaise

Early on the Friday we also saw Romain Paire (Domaine des Pothiers) – another top Roannaise estate. Romain had started that morning – kicking off with his Pinot Gris (13˚ potential) before moving onto his Gamay. The juice tasted very clean and promising. Indeed everywhere the fruit in the Roannaise and the Forez looked very clean and healthy with apparently much less mildew than you can find in parts of Touraine. We also saw Simon Hawkins, an English guy who with his French wife bought the Domaine de Fontenay in 1991 and started making wine leaving the textile business behind.
We had left the car in Renaison and instead explored the Roannaise on our e-bikes. Along with the Côtes de Forez and Sancerre I think that the Côte Roannaise is one of the three most picturesque Loire appellations. The vines are planted on the lower slopes of the granite hills that quickly rise to 1000 metres or more – so an electric bike is certainly a good investment, especially if you are of pensionable age. There are plenty of quiet roads both through the charming little villages and up higher in the hills.

Gilles and his team sorting Gamay @Domaine de la Madone
– little sorting needed this year

Friday we headed the just over 50 kilometres south to Champdieu and Gilles Bonnefoy Domaine de la Madone. Gilles was generally happy with the way the harvest was progressing, although he had some parcels of vines that were suffering from the drought. We tasted some Gamay that he had picked the day before which had already taken on good colour even after one day but without much tannin in the skins. Gilles was happy with the potential degrees – between 11.5˚ and 12.5˚ – as his clientele appreciates wines with relatively low alcohol levels.

Max @Verdier Logel, Côtes de Forez

Leaving Domaine de la Madone we stopped off briefly at the Cave Verdier-Logel and saw Odile, Max and Jacky. They were preparing to start picking yesterday (17th September). Max was hoping that there would be no rain despite the drought because any rain was now too late to be beneficial. Instead rain was all too likely to provoke rot.

Jean Teissèdre (left) with his Portuguese worker

On our way back to Touraine we made a first visit to Domaine des Bérioles in Saint-Pourçain in the hamlet of Cesset, to the west of the town of Saint-Pourçain, Bérioles has been rightly building a reputation since Jean Teissèdre took over the domaine in 2011, when it had 7 hectares. He was later joined by his sister Sophie and her husband – Jérôme Roux. The domaine has now more than doubled in size with 15 hectares in production and two more planted.

On the Friday when we visited they were picking Chardonnay, which was very clean and healthy. The nearby Pinot Noir looked equally healthy with no sign of rot. During the visit it was very interesting to see a parcel of ripening Tressalier, the local grape which will be picked last.

Tressalier grape also known as Sacy outside Saint-Pourçain
– note pinkish tinge @Domaine des Bérioles

Due to the artificial constraints imposed by the appellation rules – 100% Tressalier and 100% Pinot Noir are banned - a very significant part of their production is sold as IGP. "This makes no difference to our sales" says Jean "as we now have established a reputation but it is a pity for the appellation."

Sunday, 31 July 2016

A few recently enjoyed Loires – Forez, Savennières, Chinon, Vouvray

2010 Savennières, Domaine du Petit Métris,

Joseph Renou et Fils

Lovely richly textured Savennières from Joseph Renou et Fils, a 30-hectare domaine based in Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné. 2010 is a wonderfully well balanced vintage. From Byrnes of Clitheroe £12.99.

2011 Baronnie Madeleine, Chinon, Couly-Dutheil

Rich and powerful – 14.5%

no alcohol burn but plenty of concentration

but a little OTT?

From one of Chinon largest and leading producers

Byrnes of Clitheroe £11.59

2013 Les Grives Soûles, Vouvray, Domaine Perrault-Jadaud

Very precise, crisp, quite austere still young Vouvray Sec from very promising young estate – Domaine Perrault-Jadaud. Here is a previous post on Jim's Loire on the domaine.

2015 La Volcanique, Côtes du Forez, Cave Verdier - Logel

Juicy and very attractive young 2015 Gamay from Odile Verdier and Jacky Logel (Cave Verdier-Logel) in the Côtes de Forez – the appellation just to the north of Saint-Etienne and the most southernly of the Loire. Cave Verdier-Logel is a now long established – since 1992 when almost all the production came from the Cave Co-opérative. Odile and Jacky were pioneers.

I enjoyed this at the RSJ Restaurant with Tom King when Jérôme Billard (Domaine de la Noblaie, Chinon) was over in London.