Weekend wines – L’Arpent Rouge 2007 Clos Roche Blanche and a cousin of Vouvray

2007 L'Arpent Rouge, AC Touraine, Clos Roche Blanche

One of my favourite Clos Roche Blanche wines is their L’Arpent Rouge made from Pineau d’Aunis (also called Chenin Noir). Unfortunately they don’t make it every year as the Pineau d’Aunis rosé has first call. Light bodied, juicy and spicy L’Arpent Rouge is a great summer wine. The 2007 is drinking really well now and has a particularly spicy character – certainly pepper, which is the signature note of Pineau d’Aunis – but also nutmeg and cinnamon. Delicious but I fear this was out last bottle and there was none made in 2008. Let’s hope Didier is able to make some in 2009!


1986 Clos Uroulat, Charles Hours, Jurançon
Made from Petit Manseng this has some similarities with a sweet Montlouis and Vouvray, especially with its clean and refreshing acidity in the finish and its ability to age. Sweet Jurançon is made through passerillage – the sun concentrating the grapes on the vines. The area does not get botrytis. The 1986 has a lovely bright mid-golden colour, rich apricot and honey flavours – perhaps softer toned than a Loire sweet Chenin of the same age. The finish is long and clean.

I’ve never had the chance to taste a really old Jurançon but there is no reason to believe that the 1986 wouldn’t go on for at least another 20 years at least. Served blind I’m sure I would confuse it with a Vouvray or Montlouis.

Charles Hours, Clos Uroulat

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La Grande Maison blogspot has an encouraging report on the green and vibrant vineyards around Le Puy-Notre-Dame.

A thoroughly modern wine!

19th March 2009

2007 L’Arpent Rouge, AC Touraine, Clos Roche Blanche

Only occasionally do Catherine and Didier make a red from their Pineau d’Aunis. This partly depends upon whether the grapes are good enough but also, probably more importantly, is there enough Pineau d’Aunis to make both their rosé and a red. If there is a shortage, the rosé gets first call. In fact I think they have only made three vintages of L’Argent Rouge. I forget which were the other two vintages – I’ve tried to check but the answerphone is on in Mareuil, so will have to add the details later.

Anyway the 2007, which I opened last night as delicious as indeed the other vintages have been. Typically light coloured with the characteristic, spicy peppery nose of Pineau d’Aunis, this is just a delicious and refreshing drink with a reasonable 12.5% alcohol. It’s one of those bottles that surprise you by how quickly it becomes empty!

Long out of fashion, Pineau d’Aunis has of late been making a comeback and not just in the valley of Le Loir, which has tended to be its recent heartland. It is also called Chenin Noir and is one of the oldest grapes of the Loire Valley. Catherine and Didier used to make the L’Arpent from Chenin Blanc, which was decidedly minerally and quite austere. Hence it made sense to call the Pineau d’Aunis – L’Argent Rouge. Unfortunately their Chenin has now been pulled out.

Though made from an old variety, this is a thoroughly modern wine that works with food but also by itself.

Domaine Les Maisons Rouges (Jasnières)

(1st August 2008)

Domaine Les Maisons Rouges: Elizabeth and Benoît Jardin (Jasnières, Coteaux du Loir)
Staying overnight in the Hotel de France in the centre of La Chartre-sur-Loir, we head off to Ruillé, on the north bank of Le Loire and about five kilometres away, for our late afternoon appointment with Elizabeth and Benoit Jardin, who make bith jasnières and Coteaux du Loir. Domaine Les Maisons Rouges is on the hillside to the east of Ruillé and has a peaceful view over the pastoral valley of Le Loir.

Jasnières is one of those small Loire appellations that nearly died out between the 1960s and 1980s, despite its renown when the first appellations were being agreed that ensured that it got its AC status in 1937. Furthermore The famous gastronome Curnonsky (1872-1956) declared that "three times a century, Jasnières is the best white wine in the world". As far as I know he never explained how the other 97 vintages might rate. Le Loir is at the extreme north to ripen Chenin Blanc. In cool, difficult years Jasnières can be very austere and can present a challenge even to the most rabid Loire Chenin enthusiast. The vineyards of Le Loir are also now the most northerly of Western France, although in the 19th century vines were grown as far north as Argentan, some 120 kilometres further north. Jasnières stretches in the west from Les Molières above L’Homme eastwards to Sous les Bois, just east of the hamlet of Dauvers.

Sketch map of Jasnières and Coteaux du Loir@Les Maisons Rouges
Yellow is Jasnières and orange: Coteaux du Loir.
Jasnières starts just under the green in line with the MasterCard sign
and describes a crescent westwards stopping just before the nearly vertical road.

The Les Maisons Rouges farmhouse dates from the beginning of the 19th century when it belonged to the Château de Ruillé. It would have been a mixed farm. We were met by Elizabeth Jardin, who explained how they came to be making wine here.

Benoît comes from Flers in the Orne department in Normandy. His training in Tours was in raising horses but he was seduced by wine and he and Elizabeth moved to Les Maisons Rouges in Ruillé in 1994. Today they have seven hectares of vines – three of Jasnières and four in the Coteaux du Loir. In 2000 they started to convert moved to organic viticulture and two years ago became registered organic. Since 2004 they have practised ‘natural vinification’ only using SO2 at the point of bottling – none beforehand. “It is too risky not to use sulphur when bottling,” they say. They are in good company here as the renowned Mark Angeli of La Ferme de la Sansonnière in Thouarcé came to realize after doing without sulphur for a number of years when his potentially wonderful wines showed extreme bottle variation and were occasionally prone to referment.

View across the valley of Loir from Les Maisons Rouges

Elizabeth: “We have been using barriques Bordelais. However in the future, we are moving to 400 or 600 litre barrels. The potential area for Jasnières is 127 ha but there is between 70-80 ha in production. Normally we vinify parcel by parcel but in 2006 and 2007 we grouped them together as those two harvests were small.”

We talked about the soils, in particular Elizabeth told us about les perrons – large stones and how they are particularly large and prevalent at the top of the hillside. Also about patches of schist as well as white clay and the alluvial soils of the valley floor.

Elizabeth: “Our best vines are in the middle of the coteaux where the vine roots go deepest, especially the old vines.”

We taste outside, starting with the soft textured 2006 Dans les Perrons Coteaux du Loir (€9.50) with a touch of honey and good length. 10%-15% of the wine spent 10 months in new oak. Dans les Perrons comes from four parcels at the top of the coteaux.

Next the rich but more mineral and persistent 2006 Clos des Molières Jasnières (€11) – bottled at the end of 2007. Elizabeth: “As the vineyard is on chalk, it takes longer for the aromas to develop.”

Like 2007 conditions in 2008 are proving to be challenging. “Mildew and oidium are present this year. We work with plants but don’t dynamise them as you do in biodynamics. We use powdered fenugreek against oidium before the flowering.”

On to Sur le Nez 2006 (€17) – this comes from vines in the Clos des Jasnières and the Clos de la Gidonière. The vines are old – a minimum of 70 years old and planted between 1900 and 1935. More golden hued, this has an attractive honeyed texture with some floral notes and good length but less marked by minerality.

2007 Les Vieilles Vignes d’Aunis Coteaux du Loir will be a rare bottle as cold during the flowering and little juice in the grapes reduced the crop of Pineau d’Aunis down to 20% of normal. Coulure (poor setting) is a problem this variety.

Elizabeth: “The maximum yields we want from the Pineau d’Aunis are 35-37 hl/ha. If the yields are too high you can get rot at the end of the season – in 2006 rot spread quickly. That year we had 50% of a normal crop. This year we anticipate that yields will be around 30 hl/ha. As it is easy to extract astringency with the alcohol, we use a long cold soak for about 15 days before the start of the alcoholic fermentation. The total maceration time is three to four weeks.”

The 2007 VV is characteristically peppery and spicy. It needs a little time to soften. We learn that some clones of Pineau d’Aunus have long bunches which makes them difficult to ripen, however there is a version that produces small bunches which do mature properly.

We finished with the attractive, rich quince and apricot 2005 Inclinaison Jasnières (€23), which should have the potential to age well. The grapes were picked at the end of October, has 14% alcohol and 29 grams of residual sugar and is fermented and aged in barriques for 25 months.

Between 20%-30% of their production is exported with Holland and japan being good markets.


I came away impressed with Elizabeth and Benoît’s wines and look forward to tasting them again. After a quick wander around the byways of the Jasnières AC we headed back to the Hotel de France with its long association with motor racing at Le Mans and collection of photos of racing drivers, including Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt and Jim Clark, from the 1960s and 1970s.

Domaine Les Maisons Rouges
26 Route des Hautes Touches, 72340 Ruillé-sur-Loir.
Tel: 02.43.79.50.09
Email: mr@maisonsrouges.com
Web: www.maisonsrouges.com

To come shortly: Joël Gigou and Le Briseau.

François Chidaine: Montlouis, Vouvray and Touraine

(16th August 2008: Montlouis and the last day of visits with The Wine Detective)

François Chidaine: 16th August 2008

We met at La Cave Insolite, François’ wine shop in Montlouis in the middle of the Quai Albert Baillet that runs along the south side of the Loire. La Cave Insolite stocks the Chidaine wines as well as other like-minded Loire producers. François’ wine making cellar is in the small hamlet of Husseau along with a number of other Montlouis producers like Jacky Blot and Franz Salmon.

In 1989 François Chidaine started working with his father, Yves, on the family vineyards, which then totalled five hectares. Now he has 14 hectares in Montlouis, 10 ha in Vouvray including the historic Clos Baudoin, which he and his partners acquired from Prince Philippe Poniatowski. A long drawn out process that started in 2002 and was finally completed in 2007 with the Prince moving out of his long-time home in early 2008. François also has six hectares in Touraine including 1.5ha in the village of Chissay in the Cher Valley.

The estate has been biodynamic since 1999 and François is now established as one of Montlouis leading producers. In Vouvray he has a big job re-establish the Clos Baudouin as one of the top vineyards in Vouvray after many years of neglect for unfortunately the vines in the Clos are in a very poor state and it is going to take 15 years to put them right. “The Prince was badly advised,” says François. “The wrong clones were planted and the vineyard was not properly looked after. It takes years to rescue a vineyard and put things right. We are not working for us but for the generation to come.” says François.


I remember a visit to Poniatowski a little while before François became involved. It was at the time when Nicolas Renard, who had produced amazing wines in Jasnières, was briefly in charge. It was apparent that the two men had very different views on how to look after vineyards and make wine. Nicolas Renard wanting to reduce yields as he had successfully done previously in Jasnières until Nicolas was forced out through a dispute with the owner of the vineyards he was renting that went to court. It was also apparent that the Prince had huge stock of wines from vintages stretching back at least well into the 1980s. I remember a very substantial stack of 1984, one of the worst vintages of the 1980s.

(See an account by David McDuff on a visit in 2004 to the Poniatowski estate:
http://mcduffwine.blogspot.com/2007/11/last-vouvrays-of-philippe-poniatowski.html)

François looks for purity and minerality in his wines and has a preference for those years like 2002, 2004 and 2007 when his Chenin does not become super-ripe. Like Philippe Alliet in Chinon he is not a great fan of the super rich vintage of 2003. Although he does make some good and delicate sweet wines when climatic conditions insist, François' real interest is in the drier styles of Montlouis and Vouvray. “I prefer difficult vintages that show the Loire’s true personality.” Unlike the majority of the producers in both Vouvray and Montlouis François concentrates on still wines. “90% of my wines are still,” he says, “while between 60%-70% of the overall production of the two appellations is sparkling.”

Vouvray: La Vallée Chartier road destroyed by
the storm of 31st May 2008. Taken on 2nd June.

“2008 has been difficult,” François explained. “Like last year we have had problems with mildew. The big storm in Vouvray on 31st May meant that we couldn’t get into the vineyards for three weeks to treat the vines.”

On the afternoon of the 31st May Vouvray was hit by torrential rain that flooded houses and washed away some of the steep roads that lead down the steep coteaux. The storm got marooned over Vouvray – no rain fell in Husseau just to the east of the town of Montlouis and little in Rochecorbon just to the west of Vouvray.

Vouvray: small van crushed by trees brought downby the torrent of
water on 31st May 2008. The van's owner, who was just
about to get in when it was engulfed had a lucky escape.

Before we start tasting the 2007s François explains the overall differences between Montlouis and Vouvray. The soil at Vouvray is predominantly argile-calcaire (clay and limestone) while Montlouis is mainly argile-silex (clay and flint), which gives Vouvray more power and finesse than Montlouis. The wines are aged in demi-muids (600 litre) barrels of which 10% are new as François is not a fan of new oak.

François in his cellar at Husseau: late January 2008

We start with a couple of 2007 Vouvrays – Les Argiles and Le Clos Baudouin. Les Argiles is very clean and straight, quite ripe with a hint of honey – typically 2007. In contrast Le Clos Baudouin was tight, closed and a little rustic, although the nose was richer. It needs three or four years to come round. Then across the Loire to the powerful 2007 Clos du Breuil, Montlouis – grapefruit flavours and a lot of finesse from 35 year-old vines.

Next up Les Bournais that comes from a 2.5 ha parcel on argile-calcaire in Husseau that was cleared of scrub during the 1990s and planted in 1998-1999 using massale selection. The resulting wine is powerful, pure, long and honeyed. “The vineyard is well ventilated. At the beginning I didn’t know the potential of Les Bournais,” François admits. The rich, powerful and honeyed 2007 Choisilles (named after local black flint) has four grams of residual. All of the 2007s so far have around 13% alcohol.

The Clos Habert with 15 gms of residual is from the argile-silex plateau comes from 25 year old vines and is all understated finesse and purity as is the Clos du Breuil. The quite rich, softly honeyed but also mineral Les Tuffeaux has 17 gms rs and comes from a second passage through the vines picking over-ripe Chenin. “Liquroice and smoky,” comments François.

Le Bouchet (Vouvray) ended the 2007 Montlouis and Vouvrays. “An extraordinary terroir on the premiers côtes,” enthuses François, “classic Vouvrays – minerals and truffles. You really need to be on the premiers côtes as the vines behind the côtes produce more rustic wines with less finesse.” Le Bouchet is rich and honeyed with passion fruit, a touch orange rind and other citrus flavours. This should have a considerable life ahead of it. Similarly the other 2007s should age well.

Then we tasted a couple of sparkling wines – a Montlouis méthode traditionelle 2005 and a Vouvray Pétillant 2004. Both wines have no additional dosage. The Vouvray was honeyed, yeasty and a little rustic, while the Montlouis was ripe, quite delicate and easy to drink. However on the evidence of this small sample, it is clear that François' still wines are the ones that stand out.


Time before we left to have a quick look at François’ Touraine wines. At Chissay he has Sauvignon Blanc, Côt and Pineau d’Aunis – with Eric Nicolas of Jasnières and Coteaux du Loir as the ‘reference’. First the crisp, grassy and nettley 2007 Sauvignon picked between the 13th and 17th September. “This year we may be picking a week later – around 20th-25th September. The 2007 Rosé de Touraine is two-thirds Grolleau and one-third Pinot Noir has attractive freshness and length. We ended with the rich, spicy and powerful 2006 Pineau d’Aunis (17%)/Côt (83%), which is aged a year in barrel. "Fabulous variety," said François. Obviously too young it will be interesting to taste this gain in a couple of years – unfortunately only 4000 bottles are produced so this may well not happen.

La Cave Insolite – Chidaine, 30 Quai Albert Baillet - 37270 Montlouis-sur-Loire.

Tel: 02 47 45 19 14
Email: francois.chidaine@wanadoo.fr
Web: www.cave-insolite-chidaine.com

Auberge du Château du Montpoupon

(8th August 2008)

Dinner at the Auberge du Château du Montpoupon (02.47.94.25.53). Montpoupon is a hunting property on the road from Monbtrichard to Loches. Parts of the present château date from the Middle Ages but the spot has been inhabited since the time of Charlemagne. The Auberge has been through a number of hands. The last proprietor was Belgian with a Russian wife. It changed hands earlier on this year and reopened at the beginning of July. The present owners used to run a restaurant in Arcachon and the wife comes from nearby Epeigné-les-Bois and Luzillé.

There are menus at €19 and €26 with a lunchtime one (three courses for €15). The restaurant is closed on Monday. We had an enjoyable meal (the gambas in garlic sauce being the stand-out dish), although the €26 menu is quite pricey for what you get and it is not difficult to get better value elsewhere. We tried several wines from the 25 ha Le Clos Roussely in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher. We started with the easy drinking Temps Danse 2007, a Pineau d’Aunis Rosé, before moving onto Canaille 2007, a well-made 100% Gamay and not dilute as Touraine Gamay can be, and finished with the 2006 Anthologie du Clos. This is a fairly full-bodied, ripe blend of Cabernet Franc and Côt, which can be drunk now but will improve over the next three to five years. Le Clos is now run by Vincent Roussely, who took over in 2000 after working in a number of places including Australia, California and South Africa.

Postscript: A return visit on 30th August 2008 was less successful. The main course of confit de canard had an unnecessary sauce, a mound of roasted vegetables shoveled onto the plate and a curious potato mould. It did, however, confirm the pleasing quality of the 2006 Anthologie du Clos. Although the young staff were attentive, the owner couldn’t be bothered to come over to say hello – easily and quickly done as there were only ten people in the restaurant on this Saturday night. Doubt if we will be rushing back.