Petit Thouars + Domaine de la Noblaie – two samples to try

 Château Petit Thouars, AC Touraine 

Sébastien du Petit Thouars 

and wine-maker Michel Pinard

I dropped into see Sebastien on Friday to catch up on where they were with the 2016 harvest. They were fortunate that they weren't hit by the late April frost. Sebastien told me that they would pick their Chenin Blanc tomorrow (Saturday) and then the Cabernet Franc next week. Currently their Chenin was at 13% potential and 6 acidity, while the Cabernet Franc was at 12.5% and 5 acidity. 

Sébastien kindly gave me a bottle of their 2015 Touraine Chenin Blanc – next year this can be labelled as Chinon Blanc as from the 2016 the Chinon appellation has been expanded to the south west. There is, however, a doubt for if Thouars 2016 has a similar quantity of residual sugar in it to the 2015 (over 20 grams) it won't meet the regulations for Chinon Blanc, which specify a maximum of 6 grams of residual sugar. 

Anyway the 2015 is very attractive – richly textured but with enough acidity not to make the wine cloying. It works as an apero but would I think be better with a rich paté/foie gras, blue cheese but also with pork and a rich sauce or pheasant à la Normande – cooked in apple and cream – or similar.  

Jérôme Billard, Domaine de la Noblaie 

At the Domaine de la Noblaie in Ligré (AC Chinon) we were given a bottle of 2008 Pierre de la Tuf – the domaine's special cuvée that is made in a limestone vat. The 2008 is delicious to drink at the moment – slightly herbal reflecting the relatively cool 2008 vintage but now with very soft and integrated tannins.   

Appellation Chinon expansion now official

Château de Petit Thouars
– one of the best known of the producers joining Chinon

Jean-Martin Dutour
(Baudry-Dutour + President of the Chinon producers' syndicat

 

Good news for the eight communes to the west of Appellation Chinon and on the south side of the River Vienne – they are now officially part of the appellation. 2016 will be the first vintage when they can use the Chinon classification.

It was back on 15th March 2012 that the Chinon producers accepted the request of these eight communes: Brizay, Candes-Saint-Martin, Chinais, Couziers, Lerne, Saint-Germain-sur-Vienne, Seuilly and Thizay. 

Most if not all of these eight communes could have been included in the Chinon appellation in 1937 but chose not to accept apparently because of worries that their taxes might have been higher. 

The idiotic reform of AC Touraine that will ban 100% Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc, which are the varieties of choice for producers in these eight communes, pushed them to request them to seek promotion into the Chinon appellation.    

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Vin : l'AOC chinon voit les choses en plus grand
La Nouvelle République 3.9.2016

'L’élargissement de l’aire d’appellation d’origine contrôlée a été officiellement validée vendredi. Vingt-six communes peuvent désormais produire du chinon.

Huit communes supplémentaires produiront du chinon dès le millésime 2016. La nouvelle a été officialisée vendredi, par le bulletin officiel du ministère de l'Agriculture.

La conclusion de quatre ans de travail et d'attente qui scelle l'entrée de Candes-Saint-Martin, Couziers, Saint-Germain-sur-Vienne, Lerné, Thizay, Cinais, Seuilly et Brizay au sein de l'AOC chinon. Une appellation désormais constituée de vingt-six communes pour près de 6.900 hectares de vignoble.'

Read the rest here:

Some dates for your diary: Roannaise, Touraine and Chinon

Friday 11th April Restaurant Jacques Coeur@Renaison: paintings of Chris Clavier and the launch of Vincent Giraudon's sparkling wine from 18h.

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Portes Ouvertes Château de Petit Thouars

Samedi 19 Avril à partir de 14H

Dimanche 20 Avril et Lundi 21 Avril 2013 de 10h à 19H

37500 Saint Germain sur Vienne, La Chausée 

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Chinon and the Vienne

26 avril 2014 : les vignerons de Chinon sont dans la ville!
Réservez dès à présent votre samedi 26 avril 2014 pour venir découvrir ou redécouvrir les charmes de la ville d'ART et d'HISTOIRE de Chinon et les saveurs de l'AOC Chinon!!! Cette année le programme d'animation met la famille à l'honneur!

Retrouver nous pour une dégustation en plein coeur de Chinon de 10 h à 18 h 30 pour la 7ème année consécutive.
 

Et en soirée, retrouvez-nous au Restaurant At'able - rue Rabelais à Chinon pour un repas commenté. Réservation au 02 47 98 40 88

Three portes ouvertes + lunch@Café de la Promenade

Part of the remarkable cellars at Domaine de la Chevalerie

Although the weather was foul on Saturday we had an excellent outing taking in three Portes Ouvertes – Domaine de la Chevalerie and Château de Minière (Bourgueil), Château du Petit Thouars and with time for a very fine leisurely lunch at the increasingly popular Café de la Promenade in Bourgueil.  

We started at the Domaine de la Chevalerie being looked after by Stéphanie Caslot and her assistant – Clémence, while Pierre Caslot busied himself topping up barrels – mainly 2012 but also with some 2011 still being aged.

We tasted from 2011 through to 2009 with a couple of 2005s to finish. I particularly liked the 2010 Galichets and Buscardières and from 2009 Peu Muleau, Galichets and Chevalerie. Finally the 2005 Buscardières was impressively good.  

Identifying the bottle stacks (above and below)

Clémence

Pierre Caslot topping up barrels (above and below)

Stéphanie Caslot

Barrels, bottle stack and stainless steel vats for storage

 La Dilettante, sparkling Vouvray, Catherine and Pierre Breton

After the 2005s we headed off to lunch at Café de la Promenade, which is packed. Obviously the format of sharing slates of cheese, charcuterie, oysters etc. along with sensibly priced wine is proving a great success, especially as it is open every day and up to 15.30, so ideal if you need somewhere to have a late lunch. How much custom in tourist areas in France do restaurants lose by turning people away from 1.30 onwards? Owners Ludo and Sophie told me that business in the first three months of the year is up on 2012.

We started with a bottle of the Bretons' sparkling Vouvray. I tend to find their Vouvray more consistently convincing than their reds. We shared a number of platters – all consistently good – and enjoyed the soft and juicy 2010 Rouge Désir from Guillaume Galteau, Domaine des Vins Coeur. I don't think I have tasted the wines of this young vigneron, who is based in Ingrandes at 44 Route de Touraine, before. Certainly someone to look out for.     

2010 Rouge Désir, Bourgueil, Guillaume Galteau, Ingrandes-de-Touraine (above and below) 

We followed lunch by a quick excursion to Château Petit Thouars, on the south bank of the Vienne. Here the 2010s were showing well, so we came away with a couple of very reasonably priced six packs: Sélection and the Réserve, along with the same of 2009 Cuvée Amiral, a new cuvée made using only the press wine and aged for 14 months in oak. This still needs time for the oak to fully marry but it will be interesting to see how Amiral develops.  Currently AC Touraine the wines here will become AC Chinon in 2015. Before that the domaine will produce its first white from a recently planted parcel of Chenin Blanc in 2014.    

 bienvenue au Château de Minière

After Petit Thouars it was back over the Vienne and the Loire to Minière on the western side of Ingrandes, where we tasted another six wines including the new sparkling Bulles de Minière. I found the ripe, soft but structured 2010 Château de Minière from old vines the most impressive of the reds. 

Renovation work@Minière continues (above and below)

   

 

A light made from wine bottles