A creative response to Covid-19 + 1992 M de Marionnet

Prowein 2020 was initially postponed but has now been cancelled
The next edition will be in March 2021

Covid-19 or Coronavirus has brought chaos to the wine world with the cancellation of Prowein, Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne, RAW London along with the postponement of Vinitaly (now 14th-17th June – will it happen?) and Bordeaux's en primeur week (30th March - 2nd April). For the moment the London Wine Fair (18th-20th May) is still going ahead but this looks increasingly unlikely with a number of European countries closing their borders along with limits on the number of people who can gather together. 

In the absence of Prowein Adegga, the Portuguese company that organises consumer wine events and  other activities, has set up a live streamed two-day virtual trade event called Portugal Wine Week  on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th March.

"In the aftermath of Prowein’s cancellation, we’re doing a live streamed two-day virtual trade event to help Portuguese wine producers present the wines they were going to bring to the international trade fair.

Aimed at you, the trade from around the world (importers, sommeliers, retailers, etc), the digital event consists of a series of interviews with dozens of wine producers, hosted by André Ribeirinho as a Portuguese wine correspondent and including some guest speakers."

Portugal Wine Week (on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook) is free to both producers and wine professionals. Registration is now open.

I continue to be impressed by the creativity and inventiveness of the trio that run Adegga. Portugal Week is such an example of thinking creatively and realising the positive possibilities of social media and the internet.

Yes the spread of Covid-19/coronavirus is a crisis but it is also presents an opportunity and incentive think differently and to look for and find alternative solutions.

I hope Portugal Week will be a success and will assist Portuguese producers, who will have missed out on the potential opportunities that Prowein 2020 would have offered.

Update:

Article by Richard Siddle on Portugal Wine Week in The Buyer.

Update: 16th March 2020
List here of the Portuguese producers involved.

Saúde !!

Declaration:
For the sake of transparency I am good friends with the three people who run Adegga – André Cid, André Ribeirinho and Daniel Matos – and have attended their Adegga Wine Market events without charge. Adegga has not requested that I write this post nor are they aware of this post. I have no commercial interest in Adegga.

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1992 M de Marionnet, AC Touraine 

Having cancelled my place at the Concours Mondial de Sauvignon Blanc, which was held in Blois in the latter part of last week, on Saturday night we tried an old bottle of Henry Marionnet's latish harvest M de Marionnet. 1992 was not a particularly auspicious vintage – large volume due to many vines having a year off due to the 1991 April frost and probably a number of producers not pruning hard in order to compensate for their losses the previous year. So I thought the 1992 might make an interesting apéro as we had friends coming to dinner.

As it happened Marionnet's 1992 had held up well with citric and honeyed aromas, good concentration of ripe fruit and some sweetness on the palate but with enough acidity in the finish to carry the richness off. We tried it again with the cheese by which time it had developed a slight mustiness, so the bottle wasn't finished. However, when we finished it on Sunday the slight mustiness had departed leaving a clean and enjoyable wine.

Nearly 28 years on, a demonstration that Loire Sauvignon Blanc has the potential to age – admittedly in this case from a later than customary harvest.

 

2012 Chez Marionnet

Gamay de Bouze: a cépage teinturier  

We also saw Jean-Sébastien Marionet (Domaine de la Charmoise, Henry Marionnet) briefly last Wednesday on our way back from Sancerre. Jean-Sébastien: "We started picking on Monday 17th September. We have still to pick the Chenin, Romorantin and the Côt. The grapes are very healthy but like everywhere around here the harvest is small. We have around 30hl/ha across our red and white grapes."    

Deep coloured juice from the Gamay de Bouze.

2011 Salon des Vins de Loire: some more photos

Abel Osorio (Nau Frères, Bourgueil)

The very fine 2008 Vieilles Vignes, Bourgueil, Nau Frères

Alphonse Mellot, jnr with Génération XIX

Edouard de la Palme with his AC Touraine Blanc (100% Chenin) 

Sebastien du Petit Thouars with the 2008 Reserve AC Touraine (100% Cabernet Franc)

Both the wines pictured from Edouard and Sébastien will be outlawed from AC Touraine if the idiotic reforms of the appellation come into force. Why you might ask. Simple! They are made respectively from 100% Chenin Blanc and 100% Cabernet Franc. The new regulations will not permit Touraine wines to be made from pure Chenin or pure Cabernet Franc. That these wines come from very close to  the birthplace of François Rabelais, the great promoter and lover of wines made from these two varieties, and that they are archetypal Loire varieties doesn't matter a jot to the Ayatollahs of eastern Touraine!

Frédéric Filliatreau (Domaine Filliatreau, Saumur and Saumur-Champigny)

Gérard Cherrier (Château de Sancerre)


Comte Henry d'Assay pouring his Château de Tracy (Pouilly-Fumé)

Henry Marionnet (Domaine de la Charmoise)

 

2000 Les Cépages Oubliées Gamay de Bouze

2000 Les Cépages Oubliées. Vin de pays Jardin de la France, Henry Marionnet

This 2000 from Henry Marionnet is still remarkably youthful with a full rich, deep colour – Gamay de Bouze is a teinturier (red fleshed grape) so it naturally has plenty of colour. It has plenty of ripe, black fruits, especially blackberry, and is very much a wine to enjoy with friends. Tasted blind I would be surprised if anyone guessed that this is now ten years old.

It is also difficult to see why on this evidence Gamay de Bouze is considered to be of lower quality than 'normal' Gamay de Jus Blanc' – the white fleshed variety that is now today's standard in Beaujolais, Touraine, Côte Roannaise etc. Gamay de Bouze has partly become a forgotten variety, I think, because it is not a permitted variety in AC Touraine. Although it is understandable that the French wanted to move away from the widespread use of hybrids following the devastation of phylloxera, it has reduced the diversity of grape varieties and given wine drinkers a more limited range of flavours. 

2007 Chenin Blanc Non Grefé Domaine Henry Marionnet

Henry Marionnet has around 5 hectares of ungrafted vines (in most of the world's vineyards the vines are grafted as a protection against phylloxera). This 2007 Chenin is decidedly austere and minerally – if I had any additional bottles it would interesting to see how it will age further. It may be that this Chenin is in its dumb stage and may open up again in a few years time.

2009 Loire vintage: some more reports: Anjou, Touraine, Le Loir

Chenin Blanc in Anjou 2009

Philippe and Catherine Delesvaux, Saint-Aubin, Anjou
2009, chez nous c'est bien, pas de stress hydrique gràce au travail du sol depuis 10 ans maintenant. La bio et biodynamie portent leur fruit dans ce style de millesime.On a atteint les maturités optimums assez rapidement avec une vendange très saine.On a ainsi pu finir les vendanges dès le 20 octobre avant les pluies qui ont délavées les raisins.

Beaucoup de viticulteurs ont ramassé très tard les raisins, car ils n'étaient pas mûrs: trop de rendements et stress hydrique= raisins verts. Ce n'est pas en les laissant sous les pluies continues de fin octobre et début novembre que les choses se sont arrangées.

Domaine Philippe Delesvaux, Les Essards, La Hair Longue, 49190 Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné
Tel: 02.41.78.18.71
Email: dom.delesvaux.philippe@wanadoo.fr
(No website so address given.)

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Jean-Sébastien Marionnet

Henry et Jean-Sébastien Marionnet, Domaine de la Charmoise, Soings (AC Touraine)

'Magnifique 2009

Les Vendanges sont désormais terminées et on peut maintenant dresser un premier bilan de cette riche année.

Si l'hiver fut assez froid, avec des températures qui descendirent à -10°, il dura malheureusement assez longtemps, car la végétation commença à apparaître avec quinze jours de retard, vers la fin avril. Le Printemps fut moyen, sans réel beau temps, et l'été commença dans la difficulté car, un orage de grêle, heureusement peu important, martela une petite partie des raisins qui venaient juste d'être formés. Mais la situation changea complètement avec le mois d'août, et surtout septembre qui furent très chauds et secs. Ce fut une véritable rédemption. La vigne caressée par le soleil, nous offrit une vendange d'une qualité extraordinaire avec des raisins parfaitement sains et mûrs. Nous avons eu la plus grande liberté pour cueillir chaque parcelle au bon moment.

Lire la suite – read the rest here

Website: www.henry-marionnet.com/

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Elisabeth et Benoît Jardin, Domaine les Maisons Rouges, Ruillé-sur-Loir

‘Nos vendanges 2009

Les vendanges 2009 se sont très bien passées grâce à une arrière saison superbe jusqu'à fin octobre.

Les raisins de très belle qualité, nous ont donné la possibilité de faire des secs et des moelleux en Jasnières et en Coteaux du Loir comme en 2005. Ce millésime 2009 sera très proche du magnifique millésime 2005, à nous de le vinifier tranquillement en conséquence avec des élevages sur 1 et 2 ans.

De même, la récolte de Pineau d'Aunis, plus abondante que les millésimes précédents nous permettra de répondre à toutes les attentes, avec un excellent niveau de qualité. Nous envisageons deux cuvées, "Garance - Pineau d'Aunis" avec les vignes de moins de 50 ans et un élevage en cuve disponible en mai 2010 et "Alizari - Pineau d'Aunis" pour les vignes de 50 à plus de 100 ans en élevage barrique de un an ou plus si nécessaire.’

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‘Notre évolution vers la biodynamie
Cette première année en biodynamie a nécessité du travail supplémentaire mais nous semble positive pour le comportement des vignes et la qualité des raisins. Maintenant il faudra un peu de recul sur d'autres millésimes pour vérifier les progrès en qualité des raisins à la vendange indépendamment d'un millésime exceptionnel.’

Date for Parisian’s diaries:
Prochain rendez-vous en région parisienne à la Cave du Moulin Vieux, 4 rue de la butte aux cailles Paris 13ème le 28 novembre 2009 toute la journée.

Website: www.maisonsrouges.com

Soings meets Mendoza!

2005 Côt Franc de Pied, Henry Marionnet, Domaine de la Charmoise, Soings-en-Sologne

This deep coloured and concentrated 2005 Côt or Malbec from ungrafted vines planted in 2000 is very much a wine made in Touraine but with a distinct echo of Mendoza – Argentina's largest and most important wine growing region. Lots of black fruits – cherry, blackberry and mulberry here – but lacking a little acidity that would have helped to carry off this concentrated fruit. Perhaps if I had kept it longer Touraine's customary acidity would have come through.



Henry Marionnet now has a significant holding of ungrafted vines – on original root stock and therefore open to being attacked and devoured by phylloxera. There are other patches in the Loire, or were because eventually phylloxera appears and does its deadly work. Over the past two or three years parcels owned by Mark Angeli (his Vignes Vignes Françaises in Anjou) and at Domaine Charles Joguet (Les Varennes du Grand Clos Francs Pieds, Chinon) have had to be grubbed up. So far, Marionnet has been spared ..............

2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Henry Marionnet

Opened this last evening. It is quite typical of 2006 with rich grapefruit flavours and a touch minerality in the long finish. Considerably better balanced than some 2006 Pouilly-Fumés and Sancerre currently are as some are just too fat for their own good. Still nice and fresh, so no hurry to drink up – should easily last another couple of years. In a blind tasting could I pick this out from several Sancerres? Answer: probably not.

Although Henry Marionnet is now known, at least in part for his ungrafted cuvées, he originally made his name by concentrating on Sauvignon Blanc and Gamay.

Henry Marionnet, Domaine de la Charmoise, 41230 Soings
Tel: 02.54.98.70.73
Email: henry@henry-marionnet.com
Site: www.henry-marionnet.com

Credit-scrunch dinner

(7th December 2008)

Last Sunday a dinner to ‘celebrate’ or perhaps mark the current economic woes featuring a menu with suitable dishes. The main dish was loin of pork – ‘you’re for the chop’. I was responsible for the first course – shrimp and save salad with shredded cabbage and king prawns – actually should probably have been prawnbrokers’ salad (la salade du préteur). With this we drank HenriyMarionnet’s 2005 Vinifera Sauvignon Blanc AC Touraine. Made from ungrafted vines planted in 2000, it was quite rich and full reflecting the warm and fine 2005 vintage. It proved to be a good foil to the sweetness of the prawns.


Web: Henry Marionnet

Africa Now and Henry Marionnet’s Vinifera Gamay

(23 October 2008)

Non greffées = ungrafted

Off to the Barbican Centre (London) last night for the amazine Africa Now concert that featured Baaba Maal, Amadou & Mariam, Bassekou Kouyate, Oumou Sangare, Muntu Valdo, Toumani Diabate, Amy Sacko, Souad Massi, Rachid Taha, Sola Akingbola, Daara J Family and others. After an OK first half, the second set that featured a constantly changing group of musicians chiefly around Toumani Diabate was absolutely stunning – amazing haunting sounds. The concert was supposed to have been sold out but there were a number of empty seats near us.

So where does Henry Marionnet’s Ungrafted Gamay 2007 AC Touraine fit in? Well we grabbed a takeaway doner kebab on the way home and drank Henry Marionnet’s attractively black fruited 2007 Vinifera Gamay, which has considerable depth of flavour and is a real success for 2007, which was not an easy year for Loire reds. It certainly matched the doner kebab.


The ungrafted vines were planted in 1992 and, as far, as I know have not yet been attacked by phylloxera. He has around five hectares of ungrafted vines. As well as the Gamay, there is also Côt, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin. It is fascinating to taste grafted versions of the same grape against the ungrafted ones. I was able to do this in early February 2007 and invariably the Vinifera wines had greater depth of flavour and more character.

Report on Henry Marionnet's 2008 vintage now in Sancerre, Menetou-Salon and Touraine (8 October 2008)

Sancerre, Menetou-Salon and Touraine

Henry Natter's vines on the coteaux overlooking Montigny

Our last day in Sancerre and the Central Vineyards. Quite heavy rain overnight starting around midnight and continuing for several hours. Rather cloudy this morning. Activity around Sancerre started today from around 6am and now just before 8am there is a continuous drone of machines and the lights of vans and tractors moving around on the still dark hillsides.

Hand picking near Bué: 8.10.2008

Today’s visits: Sancerre: Vincent Grall, Alphonse Mellot, Domaine Fouassier, Roger Champault, Henry Natter; Menetou-Salon: Henry Pellé; Touraine: Henry Marionnet.

L'equipe Henry Natter – Henry Natter family and team

Once again there is surprise and satisfaction from the vignerons that 2008 is turning out remarkably well after the very indifferent summer.

First stop was a quick chat with Vincent Grall (see posting: Vincent Grall: vintage in Sancerre’s streets). Leaving Vincent we headed out to the vineyards just to the south of Sancerre to take pictures of Pinot Noir in the rather damp vineyards. Looking down across at La Moussière we could see a picking team busy in the vines. As I suspected this was an Alphonse Mellot team and, having established that Les Deux Mellots – snr et jnr – were both the winery at Sancerre we headed off to Porte César.

Alphonse Mellot

Alphonse snr – Salon des Vins de Loire 2006

As we left the vineyard it was good to see that the old cabane des vignes (stone vineyard cabin) in the vines at La Moussière is being restored. Sadly these stone cabins that were once a regular feature of many of the Loire vineyards are disappearing – abandoned and falling into disrepair. They belong to a time when people walked out to their vines – before the days of tractors and small vans.

La Moussière: Cabane des Vignes near Sancerre

Alphonse Jnr: “We are finishing La Moussière this morning and that will complete Sancerre. This afternoon we start on the Coteaux Charitois (Les Penitents). Because of the hail it’s a tiny harvest – only 12 hl/ha for the classic La Moussière Rouge. Two hectares of La Moussière were completely wiped out by hail. It is better for Generation XIX, Grands Champs and Les Les Demoiselles – 27 hl/ha, which is our normal yield for these wines. But we are happy with the quality.”

Tasting the juice, the colour is already dark. Everything here is picked by hand.

“For the white the average yield is 40 hl/ha.”

Alphonse, junior

Alphonse introduced me to Antoine Michon, the son of Thierry (Domaine Saint-Nicolas) – the star of Les Fiefs Vendéens. Antoine is doing a stage with the Mellots, so I get him to tell me about the harvest in the Vendée.

Antoine Michon: “We were hit by the frost of 7th April, so it’s a tiny production this year – only 12 hl/ha. We started on 13th September and will finish this week. However, the quality is very good with the Chenin up to 14% potential.”

Next we visited Domaine Fouassier (see post: Domaine Fouassier (Sancerre) to go biodynamic 15th October 2008) and then headed to Champtin:

Roger Champault et fils
(8th October 2008)
Late morning we dropped in on the Champaults in the hamlet of Champtin, which is just a couple of kilometres west of Bué. We saw Claude Champault and his father, Roger. Laurent, the other brother, was out in the vineyards.

A delivery of grapes – note conveyor

“We started last Thursday,” said Roger, “and there are about three days harvesting left.” While we talked Claude and a couple of workers were trying to fix the belt of the conveyor that takes the grapes into the press. Machines breaking down at vintage time are always a problem. So much of the equipment, like presses and conveyors, needed during the vintage is only used for a maximum of two or three weeks in the year. Only after their long lay-off to be used almost continuously, so breakdowns are inevitable.

Using conveyors means that the fruit is treated much more gently than pumping it in through a pipe. It is very noticeable how much more care now take over the handling of grapes.

Claude had time to let me taste some of the 2008 juice, which was very clean – just as it has been with all the producers visited in Sancerre and Pouilly. “We picked the Pinot Noir in Menetou-Salon yesterday,” said Claude. “We harvest about two hectares a day and I expect that we will finish on Friday. Yields are averaging 60 hl/ha.”

As we left Claude pointed out their shiny new Italian Defranceschi pneumatic press. Just a few more days work before it gets a long rest before the 2009 vintage!

View from south-west towards Champtin and its vineyards

Henry Pellé, Menetou-Salon
Following a memorable few hours spent with the Natter family, we headed off to Morogues to drop in on Anne Pellé and her son, Pierre-Henry, of Henry Pellé. They were in the middle of their harvest.

Pierre-Henry: “We started picking in Menetou on 30th September. We are taking our time waiting for fully ripeness. Our Sauvignon Blanc from Morogues is coming in at 13-13.5% potential. Our yields this year are 40 hl/ha for the Pinot Noir and 45-50 hl/ha for the Sauvignon.“

Anne and Paul-Henry Pellé

From Morogues we cut across country avoiding the speedier route via Bourges and on to the autoroute. It was well worth the extra time – driving mainly through forests with sensational autumn colours. Cutting across country always emphasises the sheer size of France in comparison to the UK. We reached Soings-en-Sologne around 5.30 pm.

Henry Marionnet, Touraine
Henry and his son, Jean-Sébastien, were decidedly relaxed as they had finished their harvest.

Jean-Sébastien

The office at Domaine de Charmoise

Henry: “We started on Wednesday 17th September, finished on Saturday 4th October and harvested quicker than usual. The harvest is small – we were hit by hail on 30th May and the flowering was difficult – the Côt suffered from coulure. Yields for the Sauvignon are between 20-35 hl/ha with the Sauvignon Vinifera at 20 hl/ha. However, the Gamay is at 50-55 hl/ha.

“Although there was a little rot, the quality is very good. After the poor summer, the weather in September 2008 is proof that God exists!”

Henry recalled vintages when nature had destroyed the harvest. “In 1988 we were hit by hail in August, then in 1991 there was the April frost and we only made 2-3 hl/ha.”

Together Henry and I tasted various 2008 juices. The depth of the Gamay’s colour stood out – “similar to 2005 with a pronounced black cherry flavour,” said Henry. The Vinifera Côt was even darker – almost black, while the ungrafted Romorantin planted in 1850 was a floral and peachy. Only 10 hl/ha from 36 ares, the final wine will be fascinating to taste.

Romorantin: pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1850

Romorantin: pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1850

I asked Henry about the Place Alexander Marionnet in the centre of Soings-en-Sologne that showed up on the GPS. Apparently Alexander was a nurseryman. Henry explained that his paternal ancestor was a master carpenter from the Vendée, who arrived in the area 150 years ago and found work here. Curiously this would have been around the time that the famous parcel of Romorantin was planted. Despite being left-wing and his boss right-wing, he married his boss’ daughter. At that time and until the 1960s the Domaine de la Charmoise practised polyculture – the pattern of cultivation found throughout the Loire with very few people concentrating solely on growing vines. Today the Marionnets have 60 hectares of vines.

That evening we opened a bottle of the straight Henry Marionnet’s Touraine Gamay 2007 – deliciously easy drinking with bright red fruits and considerable concentration.