Happy Christmas everyone! Joyeux Noël ! Small selection of Loire fizz to assist in celebrations

 Crémant de Loire, Brut Zéro, Château de l'Aulée

 Triple Zéro, AC Montlouis, Jacky Blot 

 Crémant de Loire Rosé, Lamé Delisle Boucard 

 Miss Eugénie, Méthode Traditionnelle, Extra Brut, Grolleau Gris 

Domaine des Herbauges

(above and below)

2016 Loire Harvest – Muscadet: a complicated year = small volume but hi quality?

Handpicking at Jo Landron: 20th September 

We have just spent just over 24 hours in the Pays Nantais looking at the start of the harvest. As elsewhere in the Loire 2016 is undoubtedly a complicated vintage and volumes will be small here due to a combination of factors – late April frost, heavy rain in late May/early June then severe attacks of mildew plus some unfavourable weather during the flowering followed by drought and high temperatures in July and August. Sadly the ravages of mildew are all too clear when wandering through the vines.

Today Jérôme Choblet (Domaine des Herbauges) told me that 2016 is estimated to be the smallest crop in Muscadet since 1949. Yields were lower in 1991 following the very widespread and severe frost but the area under vines was much higher then. The area of Muscadet has fallen from over 14,000 hectares to a little over 9000. Jérôme also said that around a third of the vineyard will not be picked this year – either because there is nothing there or there is so little that it is not worth harvesting.

Despite the paucity of the crop there are hopes that the remaining grapes will produce wines of high quality with good concentration, although in places acidities may be on the low side. Equally some producers have said that now that the nights are fresh acidity levels are fine.

Tuesday and Wednesday were glorious days weatherwise in the Pays Nantais and the forecast is favourable for the moment, so that producers can take their time. 

Some photos from yesterday and today:

Mildew affected bunch

Small bunch but with concentrated juice?

 Jo Landron confirms that his famous moustache 

has not be affected by mildew

(above and below)

Michel Gadais

The Gadais family across three generations:

Pierre-Henri, Michael, Christophe

Vincent Caillé in one of the famous Terre de Gneiss parcels 
enthusing about the quality of the soil due to biodynamic methods 

 Pascal Guilbeau, Guilbeau Frères, Gorges 

(above and below)

Domaine des Herbauges – fine bunch in 
parcel badly affected by the April frost

Grapes from the Clos des Allées, Domaine Luneau-Papin

Hod carriers – Domaine Luneau-Papin
 

Marie Luneau with 2016 juice just after it has been 
pressed and before it has had time to settle 
– tasted rich and concentrated

    

Remembering the 2009 Loire vintage – Le Pays Nantais

Chereau-Carré (Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine) – offices  

Chereau-Carré (Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine)

Melon de Bourgogne grapes from the 100 year old vines 

(above and below)

 Bernard Chereau

Bernard with the 2009 juice 

 

 Picker

Melon de Bourgogne 

 The pigeonnier 

Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin 

Pierre Luneau with a sample of Muscadet

2009 Muscadet, Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin

Domaine des Herbauges (Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu) 

 Jérôme Choblet and his family

Luc Choblet – Jérôme's dad

‘Brest’ to ‘Ars’ 500K cancer charity ride: 23rd May - 26th May

'Parents to cycle from ‘Brest’ to ‘Ars’ for Breast Cancer Care and Prostate Cancer UK

This May, a group of Islington parents have pledged to take on a tough 500km cycle ride to raise money for Prostate CancerUK and Breast Cancer Care.

After seeing friends and family affected by the two diseases the parents, who all have children at Canonbury PrimarySchool, decided to ride 500km from Brest in North West France to Ars on the Ile de Re in the west of the country, to help raise funds for the most common cancers in men and women in the UK – prostate and breast cancer.

The eight amateur cyclists have called the challenge, Brest2Ars, in reference to the start and finish points, as well as the charities Prostate Cancer UK and Breast Cancer Care, for whom they are raising funds and awareness. Their journey will begin on Thursday 23 May, with the group cycling across the French countryside to reach their destination on Sunday 26 May.

Lu Zurawski, on behalf of the riders, said: “This event may sound cheeky, but it has serious intent. Having all lost family and friends at school prematurely to these diseases, we want to raise awareness of the support and preventative care that can help more of us to survive and thrive. And we hope Brest2Ars catches on to become a decent legacy for loved ones who struggled with breast or prostate cancer”.

Gemma Cornwell, Community Fundraising Manager at Prostate Cancer UK and Tom Whitehead, Sporting and Challenge Events Manager at Breast Cancer Care say: “Prostate and breast cancer are the most common cancers in men and women in the UK. So the chances are you know someone who’s been affected by life threatening diseases.  We are there from day one with expert information and support for everyone that needs us and can only do this through support from fundraisers like the Brest2Ars cyclists. Brest2Ars really is a brilliant way to raise awareness of these diseases, as well as raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK and Breast Cancer Care.

“We would like to say a huge thanks to the group for taking on the ride and wish them the best of luck with their challenge.”

All money raised through the Brest2Ars will be split equally between Prostate Cancer UK and Breast Cancer Care.

For more information, please visit http://www.brest2ars.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Brest2Ars

https://twitter.com/Brest2Ars'

The Brest2Ars route unfortunately skirts around much of the vineyards of the Pays Nantais but it does pass through Bouaye in Muscadet Côte de Grandlieu. Producers there include Domaine des Herbauges run by Jérôme Choblet, whose wines are carried by Waitrose.

Jérôme Choblet with juice from the 2012 vintage

2012 Loire: Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu

Eric Chevalier – Domaine de l'Aujardière

The story of the 2012 vintage is similar in Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu. In fact yields may well be even lower than in the Sèvre-et-Maine as producers here were also hit by frost in April. Eric Chevalier started picking last Thursday. From his young vines the yields was only 10-11 hectolitres per hectare, although he is hoping that the overall average will rise to 25 hl/ha by the end of the vintage. The quality, however, is very good. 

 Bell@l'Aujardière

Shrine@l'Aujardière 

Pinot Noir (?)@Domaine de l'Aujardière (above and below)

 Jérôme Choblet, Domaine des Herbauges (above and below)

Jérome Choblet started on Monday and to date yields are only 12 hl/ha. By the end he is hoping for 15-18 hl/ha but suspects that it will be closer to 15. Again quality is very good – very clean grapes with a potential of 12.3-12.5% alcohol and around 5 g/l acidity. He is hoping that he has sufficient stock form 2010 and 2011 to supply his customers.