Off on an adventure: Day 16 – Philippe Delesvaux

Philippe Delesvaux, Domaine Philippe Delesvaux, Anjou

As I suspect there will be limited time to post on Jim's Loire while we are away – there are posts prepared in advance that will feature pics of Loire producers and may be from elsewhere plus some recently enjoyed bottles.   

2017 Salon des Vin de Loire + La Levée – some producers present 6th February 2017

Philippe Delesvaux (Anjou)– previously young Turk
now elder statesman

Still producing excellent wine 

 Peter Hahn, Clos de la Meslerie, Vouvray
Peter's Vouvrays vary dramatically in style from vintage to vintage

Tessa Laroche, Domaine Roche aux Moines  

Tessa has substantially improved this estate's wines.

Vincent Ogereau (Domaine Ogereau, Anjou) 

– happy to let son Emmanuel make changes

More to add in morning but internet very slow this evening.

Off to Angers for the court appearance of Olivier Cousin: tommorrow

Support gathering for Olivier Cousin on 2nd October 2013 

The case was postponed until 5th March 2014

Today we leave London to head to Angers for the court appearance of Olivier Cousin on Wednesday relating to the offence of using Anjou Pur Breton on a vin de France, albeit indeed 100% Cabernet Franc and from vineyards in Anjou.   

Eric Morain, Olivier lawyer, Olivier and a couple of horses 

Olivier's wine for your picnic

As on 2nd October 2013 there will be a picnic in front of the court building at Place Leclerc, which will start at 12.30pm. It will be interesting to see who will be present at the picnic. It is too simple to characterise this as a struggle between small organic producers and large 'agribusiness'. At the Renaissance tasting at the end of January Philippe Delesvaux, a vice-president of the Féderation viticole Anjou-Saumur was highly critical of Olivier Cousin – "if he wanted to use the name Anjou he should remain within the appellation system. Otherwise it is fraudulent." Philippe has long been an organic producer making very fine wines. 

A mercredi alors!       

2014 Renaissance tasting - Saturday 1st February 2014

Lunchtime@Renaissance 

Jean-Noël Millon, La Source du Ruault

Kenji Hodgson (above) and Maï Sato (below), Champ-sur-Layon 

I liked their clean and concentrated 2012 Faia, 100% Vin de France

 

Benjamin Joliveau, Domaine Huet, Vouvray (above and below)

I tasted the 2012 Le Mont Sec, which hadn't been released when I bought the bottles of 2012 Le Haut-Lieu and the Clos du Bourg towards the end of September last year. I was much more impressed with Le Mont than I had been with the 2012 Le Haut Lieu and Clos du Bourg. It is a success for the vintage with more weight and complexity than the other two were showing in October 2013. I plan to taste Le Haut Lieu and Clos du Bourg, which have now sold out, at the end of April. It will be interesting to see how they have developed and whether they have taken on more weight. 

Jean-Bernard Berthomé, Domaine Huet, Vouvray (above and below)

Vincent Carême, Vouvray – I particularly liked his Ancestrale Pet Nat

Thibault Ducleux of Les Roches Sèches

Paul Gillet was has taken over Les Maisons Brulées

from Michel and Beatrice Augé

Mme Gillet

Mark Angeli, Ferme de la Sansonnière, Thouarcé

Philippe Delesvaux, St Aubin de Luigné – lovely range of sweet wines 

including a delicate 2012 Passerillé

15%-16% potential picked 29th-30th October

Joël Menard, Domaine des Sablonnettes

Millésime Bio: sweet Loires rare in 2012

2011 Quarts de Chaume, Grand Cru, Château de Plaisance

None made here in 2012 but the fine and beautifully balanced 2011 makes up for this.

 Guy Rochais, Château de Plaisance, with his 2011 Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru

(Unfortunately I misjudged the depth of field required to get clear view of label 

so took a close up of the bottle as well)

Had a good day at Millésime Bio yesterday and managed to see quite a number of the Loire producers present at the Salon. Unfortunately as I have to head back to London today I will have to try and catch up with as many of the rest as I can this coming weekend in Angers.

Naturally conversations often turned to discusssing what a pig of year 2012 was weatherwise, although there are some good wines from the vintage, so it shouldn't be written off. Volumes in many places are low to very low. It is clear that very little sweet wine was made in 2012 or should have been made. A number of producers including Patrick Baudouin, Philippe Delesvaux, Pierre Chauvin and Eddy Oosterlinck said that they hadn't made any due to the October downpour. 

Philippe Delesvaux: "The sugar content actually went backwards. I had grapes that were at 13% natural when the rains started that had dropped to 9% when the rain eventually stopped." Understandably Philippe decided it was impossible to try to leave the grapes in the hope it might eventually be possible to make any sweet wine in 2012.

A few basic Coteaux du Layon cuvées have been made but will be surprising if anyone has managed to make anything more prestigious where the appellation requires a higher level of natural sugar. Even making a generic Layon may well have required the assistance of additional bagged up sunshine! With the recent Quarts de Chaume décret requiring a minimum of 18% potential it will be amazing if anyone managed make any in 2012.

Fortunately there are some very fine sweet wines from the 2010 and 2011 vintages to enjoy. 

  

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

There should be some very good sweet wines to taste here at Les Caves des Greniers de Saint-Jean on Saturday 28th November from 3pm-8pm. I have long admired the wines of Philippe Cady (Domaine Cady) and Philippe and Catherine Delesvaux, although I don't taste the Delesvaux wines as regularly as I should. Alexandre has now joined his father, Philippe, at the domaine.

I don't know the other three vignerons but if they are part of this group I imagine that their wines are good.

It is rather sad and dispiriting that of these five producers only one – Domaine Cady – has a website, which appears to be only in French – no Japanese, Chinese or English versions. Nor does the Groupe Grains Nobles, which appears to be grouping within the Fédération Viticole d'Anjou, have a website, so impossible to easily find out more about the Groupe's aims.

Sad and dispiriting because this is so far removed from the cutting edge of talking directly to your end consumers that was stressed recently at both the European Wine Bloggers Conference and WineFuture Rioja09. The need for producers to talk directly to their customers who pull the cork from the bottle or break the seal of the screwcap. Or is it, perhaps, that the exponents of social marketing have got it wrong – too caught up in their bubble and babble of communication – and that for regions like La Loire the new social media are not an important marketing tool.

Certainly something to explore further and Jim's Loire will be taking a look at various Loire sites and blogs soon.