Emerging from social confinement...

Aynard de Clermont-Tonnerre, the new general secretary of AREV  

After weeks of no social interaction with friends during France's strict lockdown, we welcomed our first two guests to have passed our front gate since early March last Thursday for an apéro à distance sociale.

Fortunately it was a lovely warm evening and we sat outside in the garden, while maintaining a social distance with no handshakes or embraces, of course.  Our two guests were Aynard and Isabelle de Clermont-Tonnerre of Clos du Porteau in nearby Saint-Georges-sur-Cher.

It turned out to be a double celebration – not just for a restrained lifting of social confinement but also an unexpected celebration of Aynard's important new job as general secretary of AREV: the Assemblée des régions européennes viticoles. Aynard took up the initial post as Deputy General Secretary on 1st April. On Monday (1st June) he will take over as General Secretary when the current holder – Alain d'Anselme – retires. 

Aynard is naturally delighted and excited by his new job, which in normal times would be a challenge but it will be made all the more challenging by COVID-19. There will be a a full interview with Aynard soon.

I had decided that for our apéro evening would be restricted to white wine and would feature a trio of wines from Jacky Blot – all from Montlouis.

Triple Zéro, Montlouis, La Taille aux Loups, Jacky Blot

This bottle had considerable bottle age as the cork remained in its tight mushroom form without splaying out. Along with many Loires, well made sparkling wines – Triple Zéro is a pétillant – have the potential to age well if you can resist opening them when they are young. Thursday's Triple Zéro had retained its purity and freshness along with a developed honeyed complexity. A perfect start for our double celebration.

 

2012 Rémus Plus, Montlouis, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups 

2005 Rémus, Montlouis, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups 

We followed the Triple Zéro with a duo of Rémus – the 2005 was a straight Rémus, while the 2012 was a Rémus Plus: a more severe selection than Rémus and from vines aged between 80 and 100 years old. This was also a contrast of vintages. 2005 had a long hot dry summer with fine weather continuing into the autumn. In contrast 2012 was a more difficult year, although bud-break was early, the vines were badly hit by an April frost on the night 16th-17th April. There was heavy and continuous rain from early October.

The 2005 was noticeably richer than 2012 and naturally more evolved but still with good freshness in the finish, while the 2012 was tighter, very clean and precise with an attractive austerity in the long finish with a clear potential to evolve and age for a long time yet. The majority preferred the 2005, while I had a slight preference for the 2012. Both fine wines with differences that reflect the different ages and climatic differences of these two vintages.

Le Mercy, Saint-Georges-sur-Cher – an excellent lunch

 Le Mercy, Saint-Georges-sur-Cher

 A good motto that Le Mercy certainly follows

Today we had an excellent celebratory lunch at Le Mercy in the square at the centre of Saint-Georges-sur-Cher. This was our first visit to this restaurant, which recently changed hands reopening on the 19th May 2017. Previously it was called Le Delice des Mets, which didn't have very encouraging reports so I never ate there.

However, having had very good reports from friends who have eaten at the new restaurant we decided to try it out. Not only has the restaurant now got a new name – Le Mercy – but also a new, ambitious and refined style of cooking. It is run by Christine, who manages the front of house, while Erwan very effectively rattles the pots and pans.

The three of us were very impressed with the welcome and service, the high quality of the food along with an interesting and well chosen selection of Loire wines.  The only negative point about the wine list is that it does not include vintages.

We started with a glass of sparkling Vouvray from Bernard Fouquet, one of Vouvray's best producers. We chose from the 23.50€ menu that offers three course with four choices for each course. During the week there is a two course lunch at 15.90€.

 Part of the dining room 

First courses:

 Gâteau de truite

Pumpkin soup

2016 Pyros, AC Touraine, Les Pierres d'Aurèle, 

Saint-Georges-sur-Cher 

After the Vouvray we chose the 2016 Pyros from Les Pierres d'Aurèle. This is the domaine where Vincent Roussley used to be based before he moved back to Angé once he got back the family vineyards and cellars that had been rented out. Pyros is 100% Gamay and it was deep coloured with an attractive concentration of black fruits. 

Main courses 

Perfectly cooked, succulent salmon 

Beef marinated in saké with salsify 

Desserts:

Crème brulé

Seasonal fruit salad in Vouvray

We will certainly be going back to Le Mercy and wish the new owners every success. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from Wednesday through to Sunday – closed Monday and Tuesday. The restaurant is very accessible for anyone in a wheelchair and has disabled toilet facilities. 

Le Mercy, 15 Place Pierre Fidèle Bretonneau, 41400 Saint-Georges-sur-Cher
Tel: 02.54.32.04.14 / le-mercy@orange.fr

Touraine – two dates for your diary – Bléré (October), St Georges-sur-Cher (November)

Monday 9th October to Saturday 14th October 

– La Foire aux Vins de Beaujardin 

The Cave is open at Bléré from Monday to Saturday, while the branch at Athée-sur-Cher is open from Tuesday to Saturday morning. 

Kevin Vigné - director of the Cellier du Beaujardin 

•••

Earl Paris-Simoneau

Porte Ouvert: Saturday 25th November 2017

9.00 - 18.30

 

Vincent Lacour (AC Touraine) on 2017 vintage

 Vincent Lacour's modern winery in Saint Georges sur Cher

"Last year was a short vintage due to the frost and mildew and I made 700 hls," Vincent Lacour explained on Friday afternoon when I dropped in to see him during my mountain bike ride through the local vineyards. "However, I doubt if I will even make that this year because of the April frosts. Also there is little juice in the grapes this year." 

It is not clear whether this is due to the dry weather in the early summer or whether bunches that appeared to survive the frost were actually affected and this damage reduced the amount of juice in the berries.

Fortunately the quality of the fermenting juice appears good – we tasted from a couple of vats – with good weight and very clean. Vincent has still to pick his Cabernet and Côt. 

Two Cher Valley dates for your diary

Le Grand Désherbage

Dimanche 16 octobre à 16h  – salle des fêtes de Luzillé

GRATUIT – à partir de 7 ans

Thème : noir et blanc

Imants Ziedonis est l’auteur de contes qui ne le sont pas vraiment. Nous sommes là loin des histoires traditionnelles de notre enfance pleines d’ogres et de fées, même si, grâce à sa sensibilité et sa poésie, il emmène le lecteur vers des pays de rêve et de nostalgie.

Entre la forme théâtrale et celle du conte, CONTES DES COULEURS est un spectacle intemporel qui crée son propre monde, sa nuance de lumière, sa tonalité musicale.

Un spectacle à voir, à écouter, à rêver.

Ce spectacle a bénéficié du soutien du Centre National du Théâtre, de la SPEDIDAM et de la Ville de Chinon.

Auteur : Imants Ziedonis
Traduit du letton par Hélène Challulau, Gita Grinberga
Adaptation et mise en scène : Denis Wetterwald
Musique : Rénald Fleury
Lumières : Magali Pibaleau
Décors : Jean Vindras

Intervenants : Denis Wetterwald, comédien et Rénald Fleury, contrebassiste

Dans le cadre de la saison culturelle de la CCBVC, en partenariat avec les communes et les bibliothèques d’Epeigné-les-Bois et de Luzillé

•••

La Cave Paris-Simoneau – Portes Ouvertes: Samedi le 26 novembre: 9.00-18.30

21 rue des vignes, 41400 Saint-Georges-sur-Cher 

Tel: 02.54.71.36.14 

2016 Loire harvest – brief updates inc Sancerre + Pouilly

The cross above Chavignol 
looking towards Sancerre 

La Loire and Pouilly-sur-Loire

The Ban des Vendanges for Pouilly-Fumé/Pouilly-sur-Loire is on Friday 30th September.

Even though Sancerre is further west, so closer to the Atlantic Ocean, their Ban des Vendanges is a day later – Saturday 1st October.

Elsewhere in the Central Vineyards picking in Quincy and Reuilly started at least a week ago. 

Had time today for a quick VTT (mountain bike – technical term but a considerable misnomer in this part of the Loire) ride through some of the vineyards of Saint-Georges-sur-Cher (Loir-et-Cher) dropping in briefly on Vincent Lacour in in the hamlet of Vrigny.   

Vincent was just finishing his last bin of Sauvignon Blanc. "Our Sauvignon Blanc is very variable this year but it is too soon to know the level of quality."

 Sign in Vrigny for the Vincent Lacour winery

 Pressed Sauvignon Blanc skins

Watching progress 

Vincent's father finishing  

helping to empty the trailer 

#2015Loire: harvesting Côt (Malbec) @Vincent Roussely in Angé

After taking photos of the Marchais family and harvesting in Epeigné-les-Bois on Saturday we headed to Angé a little further east in the Cher Valley to see Vincent Roussely receive his first trailer load of Côt (Malbec). Vincent's Côt is in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher – around 10 kilometres to the west. 

The first load of Côt arriving

Backing the tractor and trailer in through the 

narrow entrance to the cellar

Impressively Vincent has time to talk to a group of visitors 

at the same time as harvesting

Vincent with a small quantity of dry ice 

– used to protect the juice in the vat

Vincent chucking the dry ice into the underground vat

The newly hand picked Côt

The fermenting vat 

 Grapes heading up thr conveyor belt to the destemmer

 Grapes dropping into the destemmer 

(above and below)

Côt juice falling into the vat

made cloudy by the dry ice 

Vincent's Côt in his Saint-Georges-sur-Cher vineyard 

(above and below) 

 Pickers (some from Bulgaria) in the Saint-Georges vineyard 

(above and below)

Saint-Georges-sur-Cher: some dates for your diary

Sunday 16th March: Rando du Printemps 08.00h – départ à partir de 8h pour 8 ou 12kms. Ravitaillement au mileu de parcours et pot d'amité au retour. Inscription 3€ organisée par le Comité d'Animation de Saint-Georges-sur-Cher.

Tuesday 1st April: Give blood  – Don de sang, 15-19h Salle des Fêtes

Sunday 13th April: Fête Champêtre de Printemps – Paris-Simoneau (Domaine de la Rablais) 9h à 19h. A chance to see how the younger generation, who took over in September 2013, is faring.

Carine Simoneau

Sunday 13th April: Thé Dansant 15h-20h, Salles des Fêtes.