2017 harvest in Pays Nantais – first impressions

 Melon de Bourgogne @Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin 

Still a little green – will be picked later this week 

or early next week 

We arrived in the Pays Nantais this morning after a night in a cheap hotel close to Saumur. It is clear that many producers were badly hit this year by the frosts at end of April. Unfortunately April 2016 also saw bad frosts – again at the end of April. Ironically 2017 is very promising in terms of quality – such a pity that the frost was so damaging. 

Today we visited Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin, Fred Niger (both in Le Landreau) and the Lieubeau family in Château-Thébaud. Fred is undoubtedly the worst hit as he has lost 98% of the crop – not funny as he lost 90% in 2016 and 85% in 2012. Fortunately he is part of 11 organic vignerons across France who help each other out by selling grapes/must when frost or hail strikes. Nevertheless it is very far from easy – very dispiriting when you get another vintage destroyed by frost over night.

For Pierre-Marie and Marie Luneau only their Butte de la Roche is yielding a normal harvest, while the Lieubeau family has a 40% loss from their 70 hectares.  

Understandably there are now projects underway to install frost protection systems. Clearly producers cannot survive such losses for very long.  

Marie Luneau, CRM and Eric Narioo (Les Caves de Pyrene) 

as well as wine @Vino di Anna 

on Mount Etna (Sicily)

Pierre-Marie and Marie Luneau (Domaine Luneau-Papin)

 Pierre Luneau with the new Stockinger wooden vats

 Monique Luneau – le grand chef with 

vegetables from the garden

 In the cellar of Fred Niger van Amphore 

Three of the Lieubeau family, who work on the domaine 

Right to left – Chantal, Marie her daughter 

and Vincent, her younger son

 Local priest to give blessing? 

With François Lieubeau, Vincent's elder brother

The local priests did bless the vignoble 

but unfortunately it was in late May/earlyJune.

In 2018 it will need to be in late March 

before the threat of April frosts

Lieubeau – Melon for their 2017 Cru Château-Thébaud

Arrival of the Lieubeau's 1st load of Gros Plant 

Le Ban des Vendanges was issued today.

Playing around with the ISO speeds

 

@ 20000 ISO

 

@ H2 – 102,400 ISO

The 2013 Real Wine Fair - 17th-18th March: further news

Naturally an impressario Douglas Wregg: May 2012

A press release giving further details on the 2013 Real Wine Fair:

'The Real Wine Fair is a growers’ tasting supported by the following merchants: Les Caves de Pyrène, Passione Vino, Roberson Wines, Indigo Wines, Tutto Wines, Eclectic Wines, Ethical Edibles and Modern Portuguese Story.

Over 100 artisan growers will be present to pour and talk about their wines. Amongst those featuring will be Domaine Réné Mosse, Pierre Breton, Clos du Gravillas, Domaine Plageoles, Domaine Pierre Frick, Champagne Francis Boulard, Domaine Gramenon, Sandro Fay, COS, Eugenio Rosi, Paolo Vodopivec, Montevertine, Cascina degli Ulivi, Afros, Zarate Family, Bodegas Mengoba, Recaredo, Pheasant’s Tears, Testalonga & Lammershoek and Pyramid Valley.

Eleven growers will come over from Georgia to show their unique wines at the fair. On Tuesday 19th March there will be a celebration of Georgian gastronomy at Terroirs with food, wine and song. Details to follow in a further press release.

The food and drink exhibitors will be Ham & Cheese Company, Zucca, Duck Soup, Donostia, Caravan Coffee, E5 Bakehouse, Wright Brothers, Hoxton Beach, Handmade Food, Androuet Cheese, Original Beans, Paff Ices, Camden Town Brewery and Sacred Microdistillery.

There will be a pop up restaurant in the evening at the venue hosted by Ed Wilson.

Ed Wilson 

The Real Wine Shop will be run by Roberson Wine Merchant.

The Real Wine Fair is part of The Real Wine Month featuring a promotion of organic, biodynamic and natural wines in restaurants, bars, bistros as well as independent merchants and retailers. Confirmed participants include  Galvin, Club & Cellar Gascon, Fifteen, The Modern Pantry, Moro, Newman Street Tavern, The Green Man & French Horn, Duck Soup, The Nut Tree Inn (Oxon), Henri’s (Edinburgh), L’Art du Vin (Edinburgh), Origin Wines (Wigan), and Solent Cellar (Lymington).

Tickets for the consumer day are now on sale for £15 (+ £1.55 booking fee) per ticket at www.therealwinefair.com or £20 on the door.'

Eric Narioo: le grand fromage au lait cru

News flash: 12th February – RAW not Real

Two more Loire domaines have signed up for RAW (May): Clos Cristal (Saumur-Champigny) + François Saint-Lo (Anjou).

Loire bar to open in London 24th September

Eric Narioo: le grand fromage of Les Caves de Pyrène

The Green Man – a fourth restaurant wine bar in the Terroir/Caves de Pyrène chain will open on Monday 24th September and will be devoted to the wines and food of the Loire.
 
  

'The Green Man will be officially opening on the 24th September. London's first natural Loire bar will be serving volcanic mountain Gamay from the Auvergne to seaside Gamay from the Vendée. But it is more the gamut from G to G. Great Chenin from sparkling to sweet, Cabernet Franc new and old, recondite wonders such as Menu Pineau, Gascon and Romorantin and fabulous Muscadet from a multifarious terroirs and vintages dating back way back when. And to eat? Expect great seafood and fish, as well as some traditional Loire dishes and friendly service from Ed, Oli, Cecile, Max et al...'

The Green Man & French Horn, 54 St Martin's Lane, WC2N 4EA.
Phone is now in place: 020-7836 2645.  


Late flash: the soft opening is this evening.

Loire wines@Soif – 27 Battersea Rise, London – opens Monday 21st November

Stéphanie Caslot, Domaine de la Chevalière, Bourgueil on red on Soif list 

Soif, the latest wine bar in the Terroir chain (Terroir and Brawn), which involves Eric Narioo and Les Caves de Pyréne, is due to open on Monday 21st November at 27 Battersea Rise, Battersea, London, SW11 1HG.

Loire wines are well represented on the wine list (still in draft form, however). They include a range of PetNats from producers like Catherine and Pierre Breton (Vouvray), Olivier Cousin (Grolleau from Anjou), Hervé Villemade (Cheverny) and François Plouzeau (Touraine). Dry whites include wines from Pierre Luneau, Joseph Landron, Thierry Puzelat, Frantz Saumon, Thierry Michon, Damien Laureau (Savennières), Thierry Germain and Le Briseau.

There are examples of red Loires from Clos Roche Blanche, Thierry Puzelat, Emile Heredia (Vendômois), Sébastien Riffault (Sancerre Rouge) and Domaine de la Chevalerie (Bourgueil, Pierre Caslot and family).

Amongst the small selection of sweet wines is the Coteaux du Layon de Saint Lambert from Vincent Ogereau.     

17th November 2011: Alice Feiring@Soif

Naked Wine and Real Gamay in London

As a pre-launch Alice Feiring will be at Soif on Friday 18th November.

Notice from Alice's site: 

'If you're at the VinNatur tasting in Zurich next week, please say hi. And if you're a reader of mine in London, come hang on November 17th. The event will be staged at  Soif, the newest winebar in London.  Buy a book, let's talk and drink and Q&A, and schmooze, because I tell you, Kate Thal knows how to put on a show. It's going to be terrific! And in the spirit of Nouveau Day, come and take back Gamay! The real deal for real people.' 

•

The Loire project in St Martins Lane, which had been due to open this autumn, has been put back to to next Spring.

Les Grandes Fromages@Natural Wine Fair

Isabelle Legeron and Eric Narioo (Les Caves de Pyrène)

Following the success of Terroir and Brawn, Eric will be opening a new wine bar/restaurant in St Martin's Lane, London in October which will be dedicated to the wines and food from the Loire. 

Narioo to bring the Loire to London

Loire near Sancerre: Narioo will change its course for London!

I saw Eric Narioo, le grand fromage of Les Caves de Pyrène and also one of the movers behind restaurants/wine bars Brawn and Terroir, at the Oddbins CVA meeting. Eric arrived slightly late, heard the announcement that HMRC were not supporting the CVA and left. Fortunately Les Caves are only in for £7138.87.

As Eric left he told me briefly about a new eating place venture that they plan to open in October, which will feature only food and wine from the Loire. "We will be bringing the Loire to London from the Auvergne right down to Nantes.'

I hope to get more details from Eric soon.

Further downstream: Loire@Saumur

Take a pew – the ayatollahs are circlin' over Guildford

Eric Narioo: jihadism is the problem not sulphur!

France under one roof – part 4

'Phwoarr wines at FUOR

France Under One Roof

This was mini Real Wine event for us. We racked and stacked some seriously good kit on our two tables. Scrolling through the FUOR catalogue I couldn’t see a table in the room which wasn’t stuffed with anodyne, manufactured, sulphured, blancmange wines. More than ever I feel that real wine accurately describes our approach; we source wines that have a soul, for want of a better word, a communicable spirit of terroir, and whether you like them or not, a strong identity.'

Grapevine posted 11th March 2010 on Les Caves site

Predictably Les Caves de Pyrène was one of the busiest tables at the tasting and deservedly so, as Eric Narioo and his band import lots of interesting wines, are happy to take risks and go out on a limb. It is good to see that this approach has brought Les Caves success, which is why I'm so disappointed to see such fatuous triumphalism posted (see extract above) onto Les Caves' Grapevine blog. It is arrant and arrogant nonsense to claim that of all the 90 exhibitors present only Les Caves were showing wines with a strong indentity and that all the rest were 'anodyne, manufactured, sulphured, blancmange wines'.

Marc Kreydenweiss and Michel Chapoutier, to name but two, – anodyne, blancmange wines?! Or Domaine Fouassier with 53 hectares in Sancerre currently in conversion to biodynamics. It is good to see Les Caves promoting wines from small scale producers like Sylvain Martinez etc. but they don't carry the same responsibilities as a large domaine with 50 hectares of vines. If Sylvain stuffs up with his two hectares there will be many fewer losers than if the decision by the Fouassier family to go biodynamic turns out to be disastrous. They have a number of employees whose livelihoods are dependent on their decisions.

All wines are manufactured. Some of the best wines I have drunk are what you call 'natural' or 'real' wines. Equally some of the most disgusting have also been 'real' wines. Faulty wines that shelter under the 'real-natural' wine label – often sold at ludicrously high prices to 'sophisticates' in Paris and London. Wines that could well do with a bit more manufacture and probably a discreet dose of sulphur. Or perhaps I just like 'blancmange' wines – nothing wrong with chocolate blancmagne in my opinion.

I fear a tendency to jihadism is starting to take root at Pew Corner. Remember that Mark Angeli, not a man who could be accused of making 'anodyne' wines, decided a number of years ago that unsulphured wines were too dangerous and that he would use a small dose of sulphur at the moment of bottling. His wines are the better for it.

It would be a great shame if Les Caves became Fatwa Wines.

*

Notes on wines tasted to follow...

Eric Narioo and Le Petit Curieux

I rather assume that the sales force of Les Caves de Pyrene must feel a certain sense of trepidation when Eric Narioo, their boss man, heads off on one of his now legendary wine buying trips. What amazing find will Eric come with this time to test their wine selling skills?

Take the 2007 Le Petit Curieux, VDP de l'Aveyron from Patrick Rols of Le Colombier, Conques. I can imagine Douglas Wregg, Les Caves' resourceful sales director, taking a call from Eric deep in the Lot Valley.

"Bonjour, Douglas. I've just found this fantastic wine."
"Where are you Eric?"
"In the Aveyron, Douglas. I'm with Patrick Rols, a great producer near Conques and he's got this barrel of sweet Chenin or, at least, it was supposed to be sweet?"
"Supposed. Eric?" (Douglas looks concerned.)
"It was sweet, Douglas, but it refermented in barrel."
"So now it's sparkling, Eric?"
"No, just slightly pétillant." (Douglas looks more concerned – another looming challenge! ) "I asked the producer," continues Eric, "what he was going to do with it. He didn't know, so I've bought it."
"Well at least it's just one barrel, Eric!" replies Douglas as he looks around for a very stiff drink!

The classic Sir Walter Raleigh telephone sketch here will give a flavour of this imaginary call between Eric and Douglas.

So what about the 2007 Le Petit Curieux? Chenin is the white variety planted in this part of the Lot Valley and is found in nearby Entraygues et du Fel and Estaing. Due to the refermentation the wine is dominated by yeasty aromas and flavours – certainly for me on the cusp between drinkability and fit to be poured down the sink.

I was intrigued to see how Douglas and his resourceful team dealt with Eric's Curieux purchase, so below is the tasting note from Les Caves' Weird and Wonderful tasting – a showcase of our "Natural" wines held on 30th October 2009.

'This wine resists easy categorisation. Light gold, it conveys a touch of funny honey on the nose giving way on the palate to ripe, almost tropical-fruit-like pineapple chunks in syrup, followed by full throttle tartness. Not for beginners!'

'Funny honey' is a stroke of genius!