Described by many as a cross between the 2003 and 2002 vintage, the 2005 vintage is being widely heralded as a great success with healthy, ripe grapes and a nigh perfect acid/sugar balance. For me, it is certainly the vintage in which one of my favourite Chenin Blancs gets a perfect score - see my rave review of Thierry Germain’s Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Blanc “Insolite” 2005 below!
Many of the wines which I tasted were samples (unfinished wines) but the cream of the crop covered below should give you a flavour of the 2005 vintage and some more mature examples too.
Domaine des Roches Neuves
Thierry Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves is a dynamic yet sensitive winemaker who embraced biodynamics in 2004. Focusing on the health of the vine, biodynamics increases vines’ natural resistance by improving the biodiversity of the soil and the vineyard. This involves using products of animal, vegetal and mineral rather than chemical origin, applying those products in line with natural bio-rhythms and working the soil.
In the winery, Thierry is taking an increasingly hands off approach with his Saumur Blanc. Made from low yielding vines (over 75 years old) with fruit of high phenolic maturity he is striving to preserve the natural balance of his vines and the minerality of the terroir. For these reasons he no longer picks botrytised grapes, has reduced the amount of new oak to 30% from 40% in 2005 and uses bigger (11 hectolitre), oval barrels. He also avoids the malolactic fermentation, saying the vines are in natural balance so there is no need to decrease acidity levels this way. It’s looking like he’s found the holy grail – complex and highly individual Chenin which charms rather than challenges!
Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Blanc “Insolite” 2005 – a perfect expression of Saumur whose soft, chalky tuffeau soils produce a fresh yet supple Chenin Blanc. It sings with a tremendous purity of intense yet delicate white peach fruit, honeysuckle and a hint of aniseed. The oak is already beautifully integrated – it is superbly balanced with the concentration to age.
Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Blanc “Insolite” 2004 (magnum) – not as concentrated as the 2005, but nonetheless a lovely wine with orchard fruits, spicy aniseed, toast and a pronounced mineral finish.
Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Champigny 2005 – beautifully managed, supple tannins, this is fresh and minerally with red and black fruits.
Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes” 2005 – Marginale, the top cuvee must be an absolute cracker in 2005 because this, the middle of the range Saumur Champigny, is in terrific form – superb fruity purity with super-succulent black cherry over a mineral core. Very long.
Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Champigny “Marginale” 2004 – great depth of succulent black cherry fruit with violet top notes and a mineral seam enhancing a long, focused finish – very good.
Langlois-Chateau
Langlois Chateau is owned by the Bollinger family of Champagne fame who bring the same high standards of attention to detail to the sparkling Crémant de Loire and their Loire reds and whites.
I tasted the 2005 “vins clairs” (base wines for the sparkling Crémant) which come from 6 different terroirs, as well as 3 different grapes varieties (Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc) and are vinified separately. Clay-like-chalky soils showed good fruit and body; schistous soils had a much more defined, minerally profile, chalky soils were elegant and aromatic and Saumur’s chalky tuffeau soils showed ripe, supple fruit. Here is my pick of the crop of the finished wines:
Langlois Crémant de Loire Réserve 2000 – attractive, lively mousse with great breadth and depth of the palate – fresh, complex with calisson (almond) and aniseed flavours on the finish. Very good – vinous and invigorating – the hallmark of low-cropped Chenin-based sparklers.
Langlois Crémant de Loire Réserve 1985 – developed porcini notes mingle with quince, apple and pear on the palate – fresh, minerally and complex – very good.
Langlois-Chateau Saumur Vieilles Vignes 2002 – yellow with gold glints, shows a minerally, fresh nose with honey hints followed by smoky oak and vanilla pod on the palate which fills out to reveal citrus and orange peel. Well-balanced and finely honed with mineral traces on the long finish.
Langlois-Chateau Saumur Vieilles Vignes 1998 – a deep gold colour, its expressive honeyed, beeswax nose follows through on the palate together with orange peel. Long, elegant and complex.
Langlois-Chateau Saumur Vieilles Vignes 1990 – this exceptional vintage is reflected in an abundance of honeyed, white peach and apricot fruit of startling youth and seductive ripeness; rich yet balanced it made the perfect match for that Loire classic, fish in a beurre blanc sauce.
Langlois-Chateau Coteaux du Layon Chaume 1990 – developed nose showing saffron and citrus oil as well as an abundance of dried apricot and orange peel. An extremely refined, minerally palate is fresh with pink grapefruit, as well as weightier orange peel notes. Very good.
Jacky Blot: Domaines de la Taille aux Loups & de la Butte
A perfectionist, Jacky Blot discards frightening amounts of fruit in his quest for pristine, perfectly ripened fruit. His wines are sumptuous and it was good to revisit his red Bourgueil which I first tasted in 2004 when he had only recently acquired the estate.
Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Brut Triple Zero, Montlouis Petillant 2002 – this lightly sparkling wine is so-named to emphasise its pure fruit which is unsullied by any addition of sugar to the base wine or during the second fermentation, either at the outset or as a final dosage. It shows great vim and vinous vigour. Good.
Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Brut Tradition – a low dosage (3-5g of sugar) produces a lightly honeyed, fruity, fresh Chenin sparkler with a lively mousse. Very good.
Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Romulus Montlouis 2003 – this sweet, moelleux style shows very rich, exotic fruit with butterscotch; pithy citrus carries the finish and adds balance.
Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Vouvray Clos de la Bretonniere 2003 – another sweet, moelleux style but this Vouvray shows a lifted nose of citrus/citrus peel on a beautifully poised palate – a fine accomplishment in 2003.
Domaine de la Butte Bourgueil “La Butte” 2004 – produced from Cabernet Franc vines grown higher up the vineyard with calcareous clay soils and silex (flint) this is iron fist in velvet glove – very ripe black cherry fruit undercut by a mineral seam. Combining power and elegance, it is very good and will reveal its full potential after some years in the cellar.
Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Montlouis-sur-Loire & Vouvray wines – various – 2005 – I tasted my way through several barrel samples ranging from dry to sweet all of which shared the hallmark of this vintage – gorgeous ripe fruit. Less quince and apple, more pink grapefruit and almost tropical like the 2003s but with much better balancing acidity, so should keep everyone happy! The sweeter styles showed a very attractive caramelised note.
Chateau Gaudrelle
Chenin has naturally high acidity and, when ripe, high sugars. Gaudrelle’s winemaker Alexandre Monmousseau’s finely honed winemaking achieves excellent acid/sugar balance to reveal crystal clear fruit. His 2005 wines (samples) are showing extremely attractive, pristine fruit (lots of pithy pick grapefruit) with a tropical edge (as he puts it “a touch of mango with rum”) undercut by a well-judged refreshing zip of acidity. Alexandre makes the La Grille Classic Vouvray reviewed below. Waitrose stock Chateau Gaudrelle wines.
Domaine Jo Pithon
Pithon’s dry, single vineyard, barrel-fermented and matured AC Anjou wines are highly expressive of their terroirs and the 2004s showed well:
Anjou Les Pépinières 2004 – very lively, mineral, savoury-edged white peach and quince fruit with brisk acidity.
Anjou Les Bergères 2004 – super-mineral, tightly structured with a kiss of oak.
Pithon’s rich and complex sweet Coteaux du Layon are always a real treat:
Coteaux du Layon St Lambert Les Bonnes Blanches 2003 – an explosion of caramel/tarte tatin-edged fruit; concentrated but balanced with a long, textured finish.
Coteaux du Layon Quarts de Chaume Les Varennes 2003 – very expressive nose and palate with ripe apricot, butter, maple syrup, and caramel popcorn. Despite its richness, it manages to retain a sense of poise. Very good.
Chateau La Grille Classic Loire
If you want to get a handle on Loire wines, my top tip is to check out Chateau La Grille Classic Loire. The brains behind the range are Charles and Philippa Sydney. Based in the Loire they work with many of the Loire’s best producers putting them in touch with overseas buyers and journos. In 2004, they decided to launch their own umbrella brand – said Chateau La Grille Classic Loire – to show off wines from some of their favourite producers across the region (whose names appear on the label). As Charles puts it, “it’s about entry point wines made from ripe fruit which we’d like to drink.”
Chenin Blanc, Gwenaël Guihard 2005 – fresh, ripe pear and pink grapefruit with a tangy, tropical edge.
Muscadet Rémi & Jean Jacques Bonnet 2005 – plenty of palate weight and ripe citrus fruit makes this a very modern, user friendly Muscadet.
Sauvignon Jean-François Trouvé 2005 – zippy, tight Sauvignon with lots of gooseberry and leafy blackcurrant bud flavours.
Sauvignon Henri Bourgeois 2005 – crisp, nettley, fine; very good (incidentally the famous M. Borgeois’ own domaine label Sancerre Le Mont Damnée is mighty fine in 2005 – very grassy, with a pithy concentration of flavours and lively long finish).
Chinon Couly-Dutheil 2005 – good depth of black cherry and plum fruit with a touch of pencil shavings.
Barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc, B. Germain 2004 – lovely charge of lively, rich orchard and grapefruit with attractive toast; long, mineral finish. Very good.
Vouvray Alexandre Monmousseau 2005 – seductive nose and palate dripping with papaya and pink grapefruit on a super-lively palate – great verve.
These new vintages should hit the UK market soon. In the meantime stockists of La Grille Classic wines include Thresher / Wine Rack (Muscadet 2004 J Douillard & J-M Boussonnière – also very good), Oddbins (Chinon 2003 at £7.99 and a very good Haut Poitou Sauvignon 04 which I show on my Introductory Courses), Waitrose (Sauvignon Henri Bourgeois & Rosé de Loire 2005 Gwenael Guihard), Sainsburys (the Bonnet Muscadet and the Sauvignon).
Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective
February 2006
