Cousin-Florent: compare and contrast

Olivier Cousin: Pur Breton  (vin de France)

Paysan angevin: Vin d'ici

This is lovely juicy, deep coloured, softly black fruited pure Cabernet Franc from Olivier Cousin. Although it isn't complex, this is certainly a wine to share with friends. This bottle was supplied by Les Caves de Pyrène. 

Olivier Cousin@The Real Wine Fair 2013

Olivier will be at the RAW wine fair  on Sunday 19th and Monday 20th May. He is one of the producers to bring their wine over from France by sailing boat (Mil'Pat), which is due to arrive on Thursday afternoon at St Katherine's Dock.

Cousin-Florent

On October 2nd 2013 Olivier Cousin will be before a court in Angers facing trial in a case brought by the French fraud authorities for having put Anjou Pur Breton on a vin de table label. Undoubtedly a heinous crime and one that if it goes unpunished has the potential to entirely undermine the French appellation system!

It is instructive to compare the zeal with which Olivier Cousin has been pursued by the French authorities, who doubtless find Cousin 'a pain in the arse' and their failure to mount any investigation into the miraculous 79 hectolitres of 2012 'Quarts de Chaume' made by Florent Baumard (Domaine des Baumard). Presumably it is all down to connections! See Florent's frozen miracle here. 

Domaine des Baumard, Quarts de Chaume 2012: grapes on Baumard's vignes larges 

planted on the terraces overlooking the Layon (above and below)

Photos taken on afternoon of 9th October. Baumard's first picking 15th/16th October, 

final tri 25th October

Florent Baumard took objection to my frozen miracle post and replied with What can i say. In his response Florent likened the decision of when to pick to that of a talented chef: 

'The photos posted on his blog purporting to show unripe grapes cannot be conclusive evidence of the average maturity of the parcels in question. The factors that go into the decision to harvest and selectively pick – at least in our vineyards – does not rest solely on theoretical calculations but also more delicate tools: look, taste, local knowledge, observion, and instinct.

This decision is not an easy one to make, and is comparable to when a talented chef instinctively knows to take something out of the oven or start cooking the next part of the meal.'

Declarations of 2012 Quarts de ChaumeDomaine des Baumard: 79 hls from under 5ha (Florent Baumard has declined to answer questions on the precise area declared)  

Château de Varière: 10hls from 1.25ha-1.30ha (picked on 8th November)
Pierre Aguilas: none declared
Patrick Baudouin: none declared
Château Bellerive: none declared (not possible due to weather conditions)
Domaine de la Bergerie: none declared
Domaine FL: none declared 
Vignobles Laffourcade: none declared
Château de la Mulonnière (Guy Saget): none declared 
Domaine du Petit Metris (Joseph Renou et fils): none declared 
Château Pierre-Bise:none declared
Pithon-Paillé: none declared 
Château de Plaisance (Guy Rochais): none declared
Château de Suronde: none declared

What can I say?

 

  

RAW Wine Fair: 19th - 20th May

Trumans Brewery, Brick Lane 

9 days to go. The countdown has begun...

You know you're nearly there when spittoons start arriving and you sign off on catalogue proofs. We are now officially excited.

Speaker's Corner

Our 2013 talks' pages are up on the site. We are not taking bookings for the talks & tastings this year, instead places will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis so please make sure you arrive promptly to avoid disappointment.

Sunday features the likes of...

 

Fiona Beckett in Montlouis during 2010 harvest

the Guardian's Fiona Beckett, who will be leading a tasting on matching 'RAW Cheese & RAW Wine', followed by...

the FT's Jancis Robinson MW together with her co-authors Julia Harding MW and Dr José Vouillamoz who will be leading a tasting on unsual grape varieties, and will be signing copies of their new book Wine Grapes, which will be for sale at the Pages of Hackney stand at the fair for a discounted rate. This is only the second time that the trio have come together to co-present a tasting!

Dr José Vouillamoz

After the huge success of last year's appearance, the reknowned chocolatier paul.a.young is back for another chocolate & wine pairing with our crazy French woman, Isabelle Legeron MW.

Isabelle Legeron MW

Monday is awash with fascinating talks that are already causing a bit of a stir in wine circles.

First off, we have a talk by Europe's only importer of pure rice sake, explaining the ins and outs of this grossly misunderstood drink. Come & explore to find out what constitutes pure sake and why it is so rare.

Second, there's a fascinating talk about the relationship between biodiversity and quality in wine. Hans-Pieter Schmidt, founder of the experimental vineyard Mythopia, is giving the talk and will even be releasing exciting new research into vineyard yeast populations, including extraordinary insights into where they come from...

Third, there's "Clay Pots"! A talk/tasting on the wonders of producing wine in clay - be it kvevri (or 'qvevri'), amphorae or tinajas. This tasting will feature some of the world's clay pot maestros, including Foradori, Bannwarth, Mathier and Barisashvili, and will be chaired by Steffen Hansen, founder of kvevri.org. (This tasting is kindly sponsored by the Georgian National Wine Agency, part of the Ministry of Agriculture).

Finally, last but not least, the much-talked about 'No-added SO2', myth-busting talk/tasting, featuring world authorities on the subject as well as mature examples of wines produced without the use of SO2, including one from 1983... As you will find out, no-added SO2 wines are stable, they do age and do travel.

  

Booksigning

As well as the Wine Grapes trio who will be signing copies of their magnum opus at stand 2, there will also be an exclusive booksigning by reknowned British artist Hannah Collins at the Large Glass stand. The space will feature examples of Hannah's work that resulted from her explorations into the art of cooking, as well as copies of her book The Fragile Feast - Routes to Ferran Adrià. Hannah will even be making an appearance herself at 3 pm.

The Fragile Feast is a behind-the-scenes portrait that traces thirty emblematic elBulli ingredients back to their source. The project saw Hannah journey through Europe, Latin America and Japan, photographing still lives of RAW produce such as Japanese kudzu, Italian honey from nomadic bees and Pyrenean pines. As Ferran Adrià says “looking at the astonishing and powerful images Hannah took of the anemones, I ask myself: are they really so bizarre? But I don't think there is anything strange about food, more that people have become estranged from it”. Hannah's images reconnect place and dish by illustrating the provenance of products, each "with its own specific area, or people who ahve worked with it for a long time, very often following techniques and processes handed down from generation to generation" (Adrià).

We have also announced the artisan food producers from around London, who will be part of RAW this year. Jamie Oliver’s favourite cakemaker Claire Ptak & her Violet Cakes are back again this year, as well as Stokey's smoked salmon by Hansen & Lydersen and the Spa road & Maltby Street favourites: Coleman Coffee and Neal’s Yard Dairy, the British cheese specialist. New additions this year are Mons Cheese from Spa Road, Antidote - London's oldest natural wine bar & Soho stalwart, and Wapping's Victualler, who will be shucking British oysters. 

This year the Elliot's team is moving onto the outdoor patio and are hosting their very own pop-up wood-fired grill, complete with single species wood & Lord Logs too...

RAW 'Offs'

Given that nearly 170 of the world's best growers are descending on the capital, it is somewhat inevitable that mini RAWs, or rather RAW Events, featuring the growers in various ways, are taking place around the capital.

On our side, we are ourselves involved in two (see below), and we are delighted to announce that early next week we will be publishing a blog post that lists all the 'offs' that we know are taking place around the capital either side of RAW. So if you are a shop/importer/restaurant/grower/or general wine aficionado hosting a RAW related event - perhaps you are throwing a grower's dinner, or featuring particular wines on your list or are just generally having a party - let us know and we will include you on the blog. You have until Tuesday to send us your event.

Our new blog posts are announced on our twitter and facebook feeds, so if you want to know what RAW-ness is taking place around London, make sure you 'like' or 'follow' us on social media.

Falling Leaves

Award-winning film screening at the Institut Français, with guest appearance by legendary director.

We are delighted to present a screening-cum-wine-tasting, of the Georgian classic 'Falling Leaves' (Winner of the FIPRESCI critics award at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival), which tells the story of young idealist winemaker and his first job at the local state winery. This charming, humoristic coming-of-age film is extraordinary not just as commentary on Soviet bureaucracy, or  as an ode to those who stick by their convictions, but because it is unbelievably avant-garde for being far ahead of its time in questioning production practices that are all to familiar to wine around the world today.

The screening will be accompanied by a glass of Georgian wine and most importantly, by a Q&A with the film’s award-winning Director, Otar Iosseliani, who is travelling from Paris specifically for the occasion. For further information & tickets, visit the Ciné Lumière website, part of l'Institut Français.

Don't forget to buy your tickets to RAW in advance. They're cheaper online & you can WIN a set of fine, crystal, mouth-blown, Zalto glasses worth £250...

If you are trade, please do not forget to pre-register online, otherwise you will have to fill out your details on the day, and if last year is anything to go by, there are likely to be queues. 

RAW news (19th-20th May)

 Wine Grapes weighs in at over three kilos

News about 2013 RAW Fair

'Talks. 

Although these have not yet been finalized, we can confirm that Jancis Robinson MW and her two co-authors José Vouillamoz and Julia Harding MW, will be coming to RAW for a talk and book signing of Wine Grapes, Jancis’ most recent publication. This is apparently the first time the magnificent trio will have come together since their book launch back in the autumn 2012 so we are extremely proud to be able to host them at RAW. Details of their talk will follow in due course. Copies of Wine Grapes will be available for sale at the fair.

The Popoff

We are thrilled to let you know that the RAW/TOWT sailboat is definitely coming to the UK! The Popoff will be leaving St Nazaire at the beginning of May and is due to arrive in St Katharine’s Dock a few days later. She will be bringing with her lots of wine (including some from Olivier Cousin, who will also be on the boat) and a handful of vignerons, as well as a few Breton vegetables and some salt from the Breton Marshes.

We will keep you updated as to her ETA in case you would like to come down to the docks to welcome her to the UK. We also have a few spots onboard if you would like to join the crew in Tilbury (Essex), where she will be stopping off to drop wine, and then sail up to the Thames to Tower Bridge on the final leg of Popoff's journey. If you’d like to be entered into the draw for one of the lucky places, visit our ‘Big Boat Appeal’ page. Or if you'd like to find out about why cargo sailing is so important, check out our post on "Why sail?"'

Isabelle Legeron MW – organiser of RAW Fair

RAW wine fair: date for your 2013 diary – 19-20 May

The Truman Brewery in Brick Lane

Isabelle Legeron MW

From Isabelle Legeron MW:
RAW's  2nd edition of its artisan wine fair in Spitalfields, Central London: 19th-20th May:

'Located a short distance from Liverpool Street, Shoreditch High Street (Overground station) and the City, RAW 2013 has a lot to live up to. Described as “pure, unabashed taste bud titillation”, “buzzing”, and “unmissable” by those who attended in 2012, this 2nd edition certainly has a lot to live up to. We are determined to make RAW 2013 even more exciting and thought-provoking than the last.

(Photos from the 2012 edition)

Amy Lillard (La Gramière)

Nicolas Joly in contemplative mood 

Michel Augé (Les Maisons Brulées, Pouillé)

The new dates for your diary are:

Sunday 19th & Monday 20th May 2013. As last year, we have timed the fair to coincide with the London International Wine & Spirit Fair so that wine professionals already attending the trade fair in Excel will also be able to explore the extraordinary world of fine natural wine while in town.

It's not just the wines that are unusual!

• Sunday will be open to all – trade and consumers alike.
• Monday will be open to the trade during the day and will be open to consumers in the early evening. Details to be announced in due course. 

If you are a grower or importer keen to join in, and your wines comply with RAW’s Charter of Quality, then please do get in touch. 

Similarly if you are a restaurant or artisan food producer who would like to join in, let us know. 
For everyone else, watch this space. We have lots of exciting plans for 2013. 
For a sample of last year’s event, why not check out our video online

For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of getting to know RAW, here's a bit about us: 

RAW is a two-day celebration of some of the best natural wine talent in the world, featuring some 200 growers and over 1000 wines.

RAW is committed to empowering all wine drinkers through real, informed choice and transparency. 
RAW is unprocessed. It is about truth, authenticity and frank wine talking, but most of all it's about showcasing really good wine.

Who is behind the fair? 
RAW is an Isabelle Legeron MW creation dedicated to showcasing the extraordinary men and women who produce fine, natural wine. We are a totally independent wine event open to all. 
A fair for professional wine buyers too! 
RAW is a fair for both the general public and professionals. It showcases wines already imported into the UK, as well as new discoveries. Some of the artisans attending will be actively looking for an importer and any buyers looking for new producers will be able to explore those 'seeking representation' online and in the fair catalogue.

www.RAWfair.com' 

It is not yet known whether Isabelle will again be going head to head with the naturists from Guildford – Douglas Wregg, Eric Narioo and the rest of Les Caves de Pyrène equipe. 

Alexandre Bain – Pouilly-Fumé Natural cakes, too   'These bloggers!'