2015 Les Poyeux, Saumur-Champigny, Domaine la Bonnelière

2015 Les Poyeaux, Saumur-Champigny, 

Domaine de la Bonnelière

Thanks to Charly and Nady Foucault Les Poyeux is now one of the most famous vineyard sites in the Loire. As well as the Foucaults there are a number of other producers including Antoine Sanzay and the Bonneau family – Domaine la Bonnelière. 

The 2015 Les Poyeux, Domaine de la Bonnelière is very promising: very enjoyable to drink now it will surely repay keeping. It is still youthful with a rich concentration of pure black fruits, softly textured but with structure and some complexity along with good length. Reasonably priced this is a bargain.    

Clos Rougeard – a brief update

The late Charly Foucault 
during the 2011 harvest 
checking the flow of Cabernet Franc

I understand that the domaine is now definitely up for sale with the required notice has been lodged with the Mairie de Chacé. It is understood that the price may be as high as 8 million euros, as there are several years of stock. The price means that the buyer will be someone like Martin Bouygues, who has been frequently cited as the favourite to purchase Clos Rougeard. 

It remains to be seen whether any of the Foucaults will have any involvement in the domaine once it is sold. It was the late Charly Foucault who made the wine, rather than his brother Nady who is now retiring. Antoine Foucault, Charley's son, made the 2016 vintage.

It could well make sense for any purchaser to retain a link with the Foucaults as it was their skills, knowledge and personalities that made their wines special and latterly in such high demand. After all, for instance, Les Poyeux covers 15 hectares and there are a number of good vignerons who have parcels of vines here and none of them have the renown of the Foucaults nor do their wines achieve anything like the same price. 

Nady Foucault at the 2010 harvest

Two Saumur-Champignys from Domaine la Bonnelière

2011 Les Poyeux, Saumur-Champigny, 

Domaine la Bonnellière

Over the last two nights we have tried a couple of Saumur-Champignys from Domaine la Bonnelière in Varrains. Their 2014 Les Poyeux was one of the top wines in Decanter's last year's Saumur-Champigny tasting. Thanks to the Foucault brothers the 15-hectare south-west facing Les Poyeux has become one of the appellation's most famous, if not the most famous, single vineyard. if you take the road from Chacé to Champigny it is on your left. Anthony and Cédric Bonneau age 30% of their les Poyeux in oak and the rest in stainless steel.

The 2011 has a good concentration of black fruits and is drinking very well now.

The dense and concentrated 2010 Franc 100%, however, needs more time in bottle to show its best. Franc spends 36 months in new wood. Unfortunately it uses an unnecessarily heavy bottle. I hope the Bonneaus will go for a lighter bottle for future vintages as the fashion and acceptance of heavy bottles has now past.  

Although the Franc is interesting and a small production cuvée I'd opt to buy their very good value – just 8€ retail – Les Poyeux any day.  

 

 

Anthony and Cédric Bonneau  

2015 Les Grands Tablées du Saumur-Champigny – great first day

Les fenêtres Jack Hibbeard 

Very good to retrace my steps from my last visit to Les Grands Tablées in 2005. Our small press trip – Christine Austin, Juel Mahoney and myself – are staying at the same hotel as a decade ago – Le Hotel Cristal. I looked for the blue plaque that would commemorate Jack Hibbeard's feat of climbing up the drainpipe to his first floor room in the early hours of the morning, having forgotten his key to the main entrance. Unfortunately I could find no trace of a plaque – either the town of Saumur have yet to get round to putting one up or, perhaps more likely, some souvenir hunter has made off with it.      

Les fenêtres Jack Hibbeard 

Marie-Anne Simonneau serving a blind sample 

of Saumur-Champigny in the vines

During the afternoon we stopped at three vantage points in the Saumur-Champigny vineyards to taste wines from each particular terroir. The first was by the Cave Cooperative de Sy Cyr, the next above Les Poyeux – the single vineyard made famous by Les Frères Foucault – and the last by the Clos des Murs in Parnay. 

It was interesting to see that there were indeed differences between the styles of wines tasted in each location, particularly in the first two. Overall the wines from Les Poyeux had attractive texture and finesse.    

 Parnay: Clos des Murs: vines planted on the north side, 

trained through the wall to enjoy the heat and the sunshine from the south

 

First signs of the véraison on Chenin Blanc in the Clos des Murs

with the grapes starting to become translucent