“Completement fou! Catastrophic!’ Jacky Preys

Jacky Preys during the 2009 harvest

I’m not at all surprised that Jacky Preys doesn’t mince his words about the stupid and nonsensical reform of the Touraine Appellation to make it ready to become an appellation d'origine protégée.

 

Read the rest on Les 5 du Vin here.

(1993) Quadrille (Langlois-Chateau) and a 2007 Valençay (Jacky Preys)

Quadrille, Crémant de Loire, Langlois-Chateau

Enjoyed a bottle of Quadrille over the weekend, which I think I must have had some time as it was attractively evolved – quite golden, honeyed aromas along with a touch of oxidation. The cork has remained straight – not splayed out at all. It appears to be non-vintage. At least I can find no mention of any vintage even on the cork. Quadrille normally has a vintage. Certainly the later editions do but I fancy this is quite an earler example, so perhaps it was non-vintage when Quadrille was launched*.  

The blend is 50% Chenin Blanc, 35% Chardonnay, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Certainly this demonstrated how well Loire sparkling wines can age.

* My guess proved to be right as Elizabeth Ferguson, marketing and PR director for Mentzendorff who are Langlois' UK importers, checked this wine out for me with Langlois in Saumur.

This is their response:

The first cuvée of Quadrille was launched in 1993. At the beginning it was a non vintage cuvée.
Then we decided to add the vintage and the first on was 1995. (we didn’t made Quadrille with the vintage 1994)
The blend is always the same
-       50 % Chenin blanc
-       30% Chardonnay
-       15% Cabernet Franc
-       5% Cabernet Sauvignon 

Therefore this bottle must be from 1993, the first vintage of Quadrille – showing very well at nearly 17 years old.  

 

Well mature: the Quadrille cork

   

2007 La Chatelaine, Valençay, Jacky Preys

From vines planted on flint, La Chatelaine is mainly Sauvignon Blanc rounded out with a little Chardonnay. This blend works well, perhaps especially well in an austere, quite high acid vintage like 2007. The Chardonnay rounds out the grassy and citric flavours of the Sauvignon softening the acidity. Good as an aperitif this would also work well with shellfish as well as goat's cheese. This comes from Domaine Jacky Preys in Meusnes. The Preys family produce both AC Valençay and AC Touraine. 

Jacky Preys' bernache

Looks like bernache but is actually a Sauvignon that has finished fermenting

This is the brief season of bernache – the cloudy drink that is semi-fermented wine from this autumn's vintage. It is often drunk with roast chestnuts and, in the Beaujolais, is called vin de paradis. It can be deceptively strong.

You'll find a full report on bernache at Bertrand Celce's Wine Terroirs site. Apparently we both visited Jackie Preys' winery in Meusnes early Friday evening 25th September. Both arrived unannounced – we left a few minutes before Bertrand arrived. A shame it would have been good to meet up.

Paul Buisse: two more wines

2006 Clos des Ronceveaux, Touraine Sauvignon

L’Exceptionnel de Paul Buisse, Saumur-Champigny 2003



You’ll find the Clos des Ronceveaux just above the cellars of Paul Buisse at the eastern end of Montrichard and facing south across the Cher Valley. The 2006 Clos des Ronceveaux, Touraine Sauvignon is 100% Fié Gris or Sauvivignon Rosé – also called Sauvignon Gris. Although a high quality variety, Sauvignon Rose is now rare having been pushed out by Sauvignon Blanc.

The Clos des Ronceveaux is vinified and aged in barriques for a year and has attractive rich fruit and delicate aromas of yellow plum. It is delicious now and should continue to be very drinkable for the next two or three years. When I visited Paul Buisse in early January, I tasted the 2007 Clos des Ronceveaux which at that stage was more influenced by the wood. If you have the 2006, I suggest you drink this vintage now and wait a year for the wood and the fruit of the 2007 to integrate properly.

Entrance to the Paul Buisse cellars in Montrichard. The Clos des Ronceveaux overlooks the cellars on top of the steep river cliff.

Sauvignon Rose is less aromatic than Sauvignon Blanc – no bad thing as far as I’m concerned especially if it avoids the catty reek of unripe Sauvignon. Its major problem is low yields, which explains why this long-time Sauvignon variant has given way to the more aromatic Blanc. However, Jim’s Loire has already covered the Fié Gris of Jackie Preys (jimsloire.blogspot.com/2009/03/domaine-jacky-preys-touraine-and.html) and the Sauvignon Rose from Eric Chevalier is one of the 2009 Loire Sauvignon Blanc Ambassadors. The Couillaud brothers of Château la Ragotière (La Regrippière, Pays Nantais) also have a Fie Gris in their experimental vineyard. Unfortunately Sauvignon Rose is not permitted in Sancerre, although it has probably long been planted there and a very good prestige cuvée from one of the appellation’s leading producers is 100% Sauvignon Gris/Rose.

It would be amazing if Sauvignon Rose ever makes a real comeback against Sauvignon Blanc. However, I do think there is now enough interest in exploring and rediscovering varieties other than those that are now planted around the world, which will ensure that varieties like Fié Gris/Sauvignon Rose and, I hope, Menu Pineau will now survive.




L’Exceptionnel de Paul Buisse, Saumur-Champigny 2003
L'Exceptionnel de Paul Buisse is the company's top of the range reds – Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny. Bought from good producers and matured in the Buisse cellars in Montrichard and overlooked by a tasting committee that includes oenologist, Anne Blain, and Pierre-Jacques Druet, now famous in Bourgueil but originally from Chissay-en-Touraine just four or five kilometres west of Montrichard. Despite this pedigree I have never been impressed with L'Exceptionnel wines. They tend to be clunky, lacking expression and vibrancy – dumb in a word and often dominated by tannin. L'Exceptionnel wines are aged in concrete and do not see any wood.

I opened this 2003 Saumur-Champigny on Tuesday evening and have tried it over the next three nights. On the first night it lacked vibrancy and the fruit was dumb. Interestingly it has improved over the past two days – during the day the bottle was kept stoppered in the fridge. This evening it showed best with much more vibrancy as well as freshness in the finish. Does the L'Exceptionnel need a little more air during its élévage – a little time in wood perhaps? Not to add wood flavours and tannins but to allow the wine to breathe?

Paul Buisse, 69 Route de Vierzon, 41202 Montrichard
Tel: 02.54.32.00.01
Email: contact@paul-buisse.com
Website: http://www.paul.buisse.com/