Me and the Loire became firm friends over a glass of Chenin Blanc but I’m a fan of the region generally – a great source of fresh, fruity wines, the best with stunning minerality whether sparkling, dry, sweet, red or white. And if you visit Sancerre, no better way to grasp the impact of minerality than to visit the Maison de Sancerre which has a fantastic inter-active model which explains the geology of the region and reason for its different stylistic expressions depending on soil type. Next stop, visit leading producers and taste Sancerre or Pouilly Fume cuvees from each – tough job I know…
The region deserves a lot more love and, with better vineyard practices and global warming making for more consistent vintages, I whole-heartedly recommend getting stuck in. For natural wine lovers, you will find plenty of characterful wines from equally characterful producers who believe wines should express the grapes, the vineyard and not the hand of the maker. Loire specialists include RSJ and St John Restaurants in London who also sell retail, Les Caves de Pyrene and Artisan Wines (www.artisanwines.co.uk) who specialise in natural wines.
These notes are mostly from my Loire trip of August 2008 with intrepid (and award-winning) Loire blogger and expert Jim Budd and the Loire annual trade fair of February 2009. The latter is my annual pilgrimage to check out the latest vintage and 2008 was a cracker with Cabernet Francs showing great potential for the classic, aromatic style which I think it does so well. Great dry/demi-sec Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon and Muscadet too.
Francois Cotat – “the more you work a wine, the less potential it has” and Cotat’s wines are distinctly unworked. Layered and powerful, these characterful wines defy Sancerre stereotypes.
Francois Cotat Sancerre Jeunes Vignes 2007 – very nettley, flavoursome wine, focused and fresh.
Francois Cotat Sancerre Mont Damnee 2007 – ripe fruit, blackcurrant bud and tangy nose, applely and round on the palate, rich and powerful with a mineral spine.
Francois Cotat Sancerre Bejeau 2007 – very concentrated, tight, mineral palate, super racy acidity – needs time but impressive.
Francois Cotat Sancerre Grand Cote 2007 – very nettley, rich, applely quality with hints of gooseberry and a mineral, steely edge, super-powerful, grassy edges, structured acidity.
Francois Cotat Sancerre Mont Damnee 2000 – rich vintage, a little low in acidity, lovely floral nose, with honey and acacia, steely grapefruit behind, ditto on the palate, creamy fruit salad with a core minerality.
Francois Cotat Sancerre Cotes de Bejeau 1995 – very pale, smoky, flinty nose with that tangy, cool clay character, some autolytic notes – lots of complexity. Pronounced citrus with a sweet tangerine tinge. Great structure carries a long finish.
Francois Cotat Sancerre Le Grand Cote 1989 – truffley white truffle notes, liquorice (typical of a hot vintage), round mouthfeel with vanilla/white chcolate, alcohol lends power/weight herer – 15%! Asian food.
Francois Cotat Special Cuvee Beaujeu (one barrel) 1995 – very youthful appearance, calvados and muscovodo sugar/apples to nose and palate with a barley sugar edge – good structure and a levity (lots of wines from this vintage with residual sugar).
Claude & Stephane Riffault – a meticulous, well-equipped winery produces a very modern, clean fruited style with very good fruit concentration.
Claude and Stephane Riffault Sancerre Les Boucauds 2007 (terres blanches i.e. argile calcaire) – fresh herbaceous nose, very fresh and a touch tangy on the palate, with lots of grass cuttings, some body there too; fresh pea pods, very green and lean with an underlying mineral character.
Claude and Stephane Riffault Sancerre Les Chasseignes 2007 – more caillotes – very floral, applely nose and palate, more body and richness, tangy clay note to finish – very flavoursome and fruity with a tangy note.
Claude and Stephane Riffault Sancerre Les Pierrottes 2007 – silex over argile/calcaire – v pale, mineral nose, more gooseberry on palate lots of citrus, steely grapefruit, racy, tangy, quite flinty through the finish, very good length – tres tendue, racy and tight – my start wine.
Claude and Stephane Riffault Sancerre Antique 2007 (tank sample) – terres blanches, old vines (c50yo), 30% oak – 400-600l, 12 months with boattonage. Very mineral nose and palate, steely grapefruit, gooseberry, blackcurrant bud – powerful palate, lots of fruit here, plenty of fruit power in a driven style, nice length.
Claude and Stephane Riffault Sancerre Antique 2006 – pure mineral nose, some elderflower, very fruity with ripe, sweet gooseberry, a chalkiness and very juicy acidity.
Claude and Stephane Riffault Sancerre Rose 2007 – terre blanche with some silex; wild strawberry and cherry nose and palate with a savoury tang; quite mouthfilling.
Claude and Stephane Riffault Sancerre Rouge La Noue 2006 – average 21 year old vines – vibrant cranberry/bright cherry; nose of crushed red berries, cherry and bilberry – vibrantly fruity. Intense palate shows red and blackcurrant/berry flavours, very fruits of the forest with bilberry, cinammon spice. Fresh with savoury, textured tannins.
Claude and Stephane Riffault Antique Sancerre Rouge 2006 – 40 year old vines (first Antique in 1996) – riper nose with hints of preserve, strawberry/raspberry cherry with black cherry and bilberry notes. Bigger tannins on the palate, this is very savoury with fleshy fruit behind, cinnamon and liquorice hints – a big wine – needs time.
Henri Bourgeois – a big producer also making negociant wines but quality is high across the board at Henri Bourgeois and the top wines are excellent.
Henri Bourgeois Petit Bougeois VDP 2007 – lots of blackcurrant bud, leafy and very down the line clean, with good flavour/line – mostly fruit from Cheverny and Cher, Touraine, some Sancerre, mostyly argile, silex, sand.
Henri Bourgeois Pouilly Fume 2007 – part own vineyards/part bought in fruit. Flinty nose and palate – very classic.
Henri Bourgeois Grande Reserve/Le Baron Sancerre 2007 – argile calcaire from Le Grande Cote – good body, juicy acidity, lots of power, very clean, modern fruit led, good balance, accessible wine – very well done.
Henri Bourgeois Mont Damnee Sancerre 2007 – very grassy, chalky, mineral nose, tres tendue on the palate, complex, mineral, salee, very long and tight, focused finish.
Henri Bourgeois Mont Damnee Sancerre 2000 – lime, white aspargus and on the palate, very youthful still, mouthfilling, mineral limpid quality – very fine and long…
Henri Bourgeois Jadis 2006 – 3-4 yo barrels, no filtration. Very pale, lots of power here, rich, mineral, very subtle with a coiled power. Super-long, the palate is a wash of minerals – a fabulous and unusual Sauvignon Gris from the heart of Mont Damnee.
Clos Henri 2007 Marlborough Sauvignon – yes Bourgeois have an NZ outpost! Mega asparagus and cats pee with good texture for New Zealand – bottled later than most with a longer elevage.
L Bourgeois Sancerre 2006 – old vines (50yo plus), silex and oak (50% new oak) create a very rich wine with custard creams on the nose, ditto on palate but an unmistakably tight, mineral core – very iron fist in velvet glove.
Henri Bourgeois Sancerre d’Antan 2006 – same vinification as Jadis this sports a lime/citrus nose and has a tight knit, very tensile palate – flushed with minerals, as if it’s been filtered through rock – terrific structure, length and mineral complexity, yet to fully unfurl,
Henri Bourgeois Les Bonnes Bouches Sancerre Rouge 2005 – lots of black cherry, succulent, very good ripeness of black cherry with smooth tannins – pleasurable, approachable wine,
Silex La Bourgeoisie Sancerre Rouge 2005 – spicy, ripe, dark fruit nose, dark, subtley smoky, with firm but ripe tannins, savoury but fresh, young and tight – perfect for duck/game.
Henri Bourgeois Vendange de la Saint-Charles 1997 – a Sauvignon sweetie from the glorious 1997 vintage – golden with a honey, saffron, barley sugar, calvados nose and palate- very good freshness comes from passerilllage (dried rather than botrytised fruit).
Francois Crochet – very precise, structured wines from this young vigneron.
Francois Crochet Sancerre Rouge 2006 – very ripe plum, black cherry, kirsch, lots of bilberry – impressive.
Francois Crochet Sancerre Reserve de Marcigue 2006 – from calcaire this is feminine and elegant like a Chambolle Musigny. Blackberry and cherry fruit with a pronounced minerality.
Francois Crochet Sancerre Blanc 2007 – juicy, vibrant, very good definition/precision, blackcurrant bud/gooseberry, lots of vivacity with a mineral core – excellent.
Francois Crochet Sancerre Les Amoreuses 2007 – calcaire – (open 10 days) still lots oomph power, push and length with a persistent mineral charge and salty edge.
Francois Crochet Sancerre Le Chene Marchand 2007 – calcaire – very pretty, floral, fruity with juicy acidity, citrus and apple bite, quite long, persistent and mineral – a little restrained right now because just bottled.
Francois Crochet Sancerre Le Chene Marchand 2006 – rich with white peach, creamy stone fruits/fruit salad, a touch warm – reflects the vintage.
Serge Dagueneau et filles – good fruit weight, accessible wines, well made.
Serge Dagueneau et Filles Pouilly-sur-Loire 2006 – the region has only c40ha in total of Chasselas, spread amongst lots of producers. Soft, ripe nose of peach and hazelnut, apricot kernal with a soft, creamy noisette, textured palate.
Serge Dagueneau et Filles Pouilly Fume 2007 – floral nose with blackcurrant bud, expressive with a flinty edge; sweet, ripe edge to the gooseberry fruit with blackcurrant bud and a core of minerality; dry firm finish – quite traditional -good shellfish wine.
Serge Dagueneau et Filles Pouilly Fume 2006 – tight nose, creamier plate, riper than expected with white peach and honey hints.
Serge Dagueneau et Filles Clos des Chadoux Pouilly Fume 2006 – very open, expressive, textured palate with ripe apple, stone fruits, a creamy note, well balanced, delicious wine with an underlying, mineral thread.
Serge Dagueneau et Filles La Leontine Pouilly Fume 2006 – parcel with more calcaire, oaky nose (though only 3 yr old barrels), spicy rich powerful wine of great purity and precision. Relatively accessible, smoky character, quite Graves-like with fatter semillon notes/yellow plum mirabelle character, stone fruits and honey.
Serge Dagueneau et Filles Les Filles Pouilly Fume 2005 – very mineral nose and palate with ripe yellow fruits a sense of richness and girth wrapped around a mineral core – quince, curry leaf – Savennieres-like – powerful, structured and mineral.
Serge Dagueneau et Filles Les Montes de Saint-Lay Chardonnay 2006, VDP Coteaux Charitois – 12% but good richness, honeyed melon, white peach, nougat with fresh acidity.
Serge Dagueneau et Filles Les Montes de Saint-Lay Pinot Beurrot (Gris) 2006, VDP Coteaux Charitois – 12% – smoky apricot nose and round spicy palate with a Loire skinniness.
Serge Dagueneau et Filles Champagnise Methode Traditionelle, VDP Coteaux Charitois – very simple direct and fruity – easy drinking.
Didier Dagueneau - tragically Dagueneau died in a microlight accident last year; the estate is now in the hands of his son Benjamin. Muscular, tightly wound, powerful wines, almost not Sauvignon in 2006 such is the girth.
Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fume de Pouilly 2006 – 2 parcels of silex – very curry powder nose/fusil, lots of palate presence for the baby – a powerful wine with muscular yellow plum fruit.
Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang 2006 – argilo/calcaire – similar flavour spectrum to the previous wine but with more power and length – yellow fruits, some very concentrated blackcurrant bud in a floral/perfumed backdrop, more blackcurrant than bud.
Didier Dagueneau Silex 2006 – silex driven smoky curry powder/leaf character on nose plus blackcurrant bud. Eye bleeding concentration with a leafier, lifted note so quite floral as well as mineral with stone fruits, chiselled mineral finish, almost short because of its density and power. Massive palate presence, needs lots of time.
Didier Dagueneau Sancerre Le Mont Damnee 2006 – first made in 2005 after Didier cleared land and planted it. Very expressive nose, lots of white peach, stone fruit, some underlying grassiness, supple mouthfeel, yellow plum, very spicy thread/blackcurrabt bud, fresh finish, very blackcurrant bud, grassy with a warmth (14%).
Vincent Grall – a find of the visit, recommended by my B&B host Nadia from the very welcoming and confortable Les Logis du Grillon,at 3-5 Rue du Chantre, Sancerre 18300, France.
Vincent Grall Sancerre Cuvee Tradition 2006 (silex) – lovely juicy acidity, delicious round gooseberry fruit with an underlying minerality.
Vincent Grall Sancerre Cuvee Tradition 2007 (silex) – a very different experience and dramatic indication of the vintage – gunflint minerality, nettley acidity and super linear, tight knit white.
Vincent Grall Sancerre Le Manoir 2006 (argilo) – fermented but not aged in oak; floral nose with spice and vanilla; powerful palate with a real sweetness/richness to the fruit, supported by balancing, mouth cleansing acidity and a grassy freshness making for a lithe palate – precocious with potential.
Vincent Grall Sancerre Le Manoir 2007 (argilo) – much less batonnage in this vintage to reflect the more classic, mineral style of the vintage. Dry with steely grapefruit, serrated acidity and a kiss of oak.
Domaine Fouassier Sancerre Les Grands Groux 2007 (calcaire) – quite restrained with blackcurrant bud, very persistent, long and elegant with nice fruit weight.
Domaine Fouassier Clos Paradis Sancerre 2007 (argile/calcaire) – restrained, tight nose, steely grapefruit nose though rounder and tangier on the palate. Lots of flavour and persistence with its grassy, juicy acidity.
Domaine Fouassier Sancerre Les Romains 2007 (silex) – very mineral with more than a whiff of gunflint; racy palate – fine, tight and long with salty minerality – cries out for oysters – my pick of a great bunch.
Domaine Fouassier Sancerre Les Chailloux 2007 (silex) – minerals and juicy grapefruit and citrus notes mingle on nose and palate. Doesn’t have the depth or length of Romains but the vines are only 10 years old.
Domaine Fouassier Sancerre Le Clos de Bannon 2007 (silex/argile) – super mineral gunflint/ curry powder nose; both rich and mineral on the palate with lots of round, juicy fruit on the mid-palate, though the finish remains quite closed suggesting a long life ahead.
Domaine Fouassier Sancerre Les Chasseignes 2007 – very tight, firmly structured with chiselled minerality – needs time.
Domaine Vacheron – an exciting tour of Vacheron’s certified biodynamic vineyards, followed by a tasting of work in progress and the finished article – or rather articles – an impressive vertical of Les Romains and Belle Dame.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Blanc 2007 – very good intensity, chalky texture with 07 taut citrus fruit; persistent finish.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Les Romains 2006 – tight, gunflinty nose gives away the silex soils though the palate is 2006 rich with white peach noses; good length.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Les Romains 2004 – stunning wine – a honeyed floral nose leads onto a steely fabulously strucvtured palate with honey tinged grapefruit. Superb with turbot in a “lite” beurre blanc with fresh-picked peas and beans.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Les Romains 2003 – rich, harmonious nose and palate with frangipan and acacia honey delivers lots of pleasure.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Les Romains 2000 – yellow gold with green glints, expressive nose with flowers and brasso (!); round, ripe palate.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Rouge 2006 – good structure and delicate bite with red and black cherry, cherry stone fruit. Quite tight now (Aug 08) but had opened up by the Salon in February 2009 to show vibrant fresh fruit.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Belle Dame 1996 – developed rich and ripe with a smoky, gamey nose and palate and good depth of sweet cherry and plum flecked with chocolate and liquorice.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Belle Dame 1999 – fresh, mineral nose and palate, quite lean but attractive with red berry and cherry, spice.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Belle Dame 2002 – lovely nose with dried spice/incense; plenty of sweet edged red and black fruits on the palate with liquorice notes; firm tannins suggest will keep.
Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Belle Dame 2005 – a big vintage and a big wine that provided the opportunity to push the envelope in terms of extraction. It has a dark sheen with spicy mulberry and bilberry fruit, touch grippy “short” tannins need time to mellow and expand to support rather than mark the fruit. Intriguing mineral undertow suggests it will be worth the wait.
Frederic Mabileau – St Nicolas de Bourgueil/Bourgueil and now Saumur producer – impressive bright, modern finely honed wines, Frederic Mabileau farms biodynamically.
Frederic Mabileau Saumur Blanc 2007 – this, the debut white from St Nicolas de Bourgueil producer Mabileau, is as impressive as it is ambitious – when Frederic says “j’adore Chenin Blanc,” he means it! 40 year old vines located in Puy Notre Dame produce an impressive depth and concentration of quince and apricot fruit, though true to the vintage, it is tensile and focused with a fresh, chalky finish.
Frederic Mabileau Anjou (Cabernet Sauvignon) 2007 – lovely fruit purity with cherry, cherry stone and warm gravel; hint of violets to the finish. Supple tannins – very accomplished.
Frederic Mabileau St Nicolas de Bourgueil Les Rouilleres 2007 – very direct, fruity and fresh Cabernet Franc with bright red and yellow cherry fruit and violet notes – easy drinking.
Frederic Mabileau St Nicolas de Bourgueil Les Rouilleres 2006 – a hotter year produced a deeper colour and greater depth of red and yellow cherry/cherry stone fruit and violets; ripe but textured tannins.
Frederic Mabileau Bourgueil Racines 2007 – argile and silex soils produce a denser style, tight and structured. The nose reveals oak with an underlying fresh fruitiness; lots of sweet oak on the attack on the palate with a deep seam of pure, ripe, perfumed cassis beneath.
Frederic Mabileau St Nicolas de Bourgueil Couture 2007 – impressively structured wine with confident floral-edged, fresh fruit – great finesse and potential.
Frederic Mabileau Bourgueil Racines 2006 – inky, floral nose with warm, gravelly black fruits – very mineral, with firm, slightly grippy tannins suggesting a long life ahead.
Frederic Mabileau St Nicolas de Bourgueil Couture 2005 – rich, sweet bilberry fruit, yet this is fresh with ample supporting tannins.
Frederic Mabileau Bourgueil Racines 2006 – inky depth with dark, ripe fruits – cassis – to nose and palate; fine powdery tannins and very good balance; modern, finesseful Cab Franc.
Frederic Mabileau St Nicolas de Bourgueil Eclipse 2005 – a mere pup and, at the moment, on a tight leash but it typifies Frederic’s elegant modern style – excellent depth and purity of fruit, streamlined and fresh.
Domaine de la Cotelleraie/Gerard Vallee – another leading St Nicolas de Bourgueil whose wines tend towards more black fruits, though the alcohol levels generally remain quite low.
Domaine de la Cotelleraie/Gerard Vallee St Nicolas de Bourgueil La Croisee 2007 – succulent, ripe, round structure with black cherry and blackberry, hints of tobacco.
Domaine de la Cotelleraie/Gerard Vallee St Nicolas de Bourgueil Les Perruches 2007 – violets, coal dust-edged black cherry, that succulence – great persistence; suave tannins.
Domaine de la Cotelleraie/Gerard Vallee St Nicolas de Bourgueil En Volee 2005 – vinous, rich and ripe warm and earthy.
Bernard Baudry – the Loire has a huge variation of soil types and Bernard Baudry exloits them to great advantage, making different cuvees from each.
Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot 2006 - youthful with a nice depth of well defined plum and raspberry fruit with a touch of cinnamon spice; ripe but firm tannins and fresh acidity make for good length. Clay and tuffeau soils.
Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grezeaux 2007 – expressive nose with red and black fruits to the fore; nice fruit weight backed by ripe, gravelly tannins. Gravel over clay.
Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Croix Boissee 2007 – ripe red fruits, perfumed, floral, elegant wine with nice silky length. Clay/limestone soils.
Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Croix Boissee 2006 – darker with a floral, wilder nose, deep fruited, inky and perfumed with a warm gravel earthiness; firm but ripe tannins provide ample support – a keeper. Clay/limestone soils.
Domaine de Noblaie - the Burgundy trained Jerome Billard is a rising star in the Loire and has worked at Domaines Petrus in Bordeaux and Dominus Estate in the Napa. Noblaie are definitely one to watch.
Domaine de Noblaie Chinon Les Blancs Monteaux 2006 – a parcel of old vine fruit lends good concentration and definition to its red and black fruits; ripe powdery tannins, good length, nice balance.
Domaine de Noblaie Chinon Les Chien Chiens 2006 – youthful dark, spicy wine with black fruits wed to firm but ripe, powdery tannins; attractive lead pencil on the finish.
Domaine de Noblaie Chinon Pierre de Tuf 2007 – a forward year and a very attractive, floral wine with fine ripe tannins; elegant.
Pierre-Jacques Druet – characterful Bourgueil from this idiosyncratic winemaker that ages beautifully.
Pierre-Jacques Druet Le Grand Mont 2005 – deep colour, ripe red and black fruits with a cool minerality; fine tannins, elegant and long.
Pierre-Jacques Druet Vaumoreau 2005 – beautifully crafted, elegant wine with lovely intensity of blackberry, cherry and cassis fruit with a seam of minerality.
Pierre-Jacques Druet Vaumoreau 2003 – more generosity than the 2005 with spicy black fruits with a lick of coal dust; mineral core lurks beneath.
Pierre-Jacques Druet Vaumoreau 1995 – much firmer, chewy tannins wed to inky black fruit with a smoky character and that coal dust note.
Pierre-Jacques Druet Vaumoreau 1990 – terrific wine – Pierre Jacques says his best vintage until 2005. Perfumed with well-defined red and black fruits, warm, gravelly melt-in-the-mouth tannins – a beauty with plenty of vigour.
Domaine de la Butte - Jacky Blot made his name in Montlouis-sur-Loire where he crafts exquisite Chenin Blanc, dry and sweet. He is also carving out a great reputation for reds which come from different levels of his sloping vinyards, each with different soils and exposure. This is a mini-vertical from mid-slope vines – Mi Pente.
Domaine de la Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2006 – rich, ripe wild berry fruits with a floral edge; well structured it shows elegance and finesse.
Domaine de la Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2005 – bigger, riper fruit than the 2006 with a warm earthy note. Generous, youthful wine, needs time.
Domaine de la Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2004 – tres classique – well defined red and black berry fruits surround sinewy tannins; elegant balancing acidity, lovely length.
Domaine de la Butte Bourgueil Mi Pente 2003 – exuberantly ripe 2003 fruits of the forest nose, bit jammy; amply supported by tannins on the palate.
Francois Chidaine – meticulous, precise wines with fabulous fruit purity, minerality and balance from Montlouis-sur-Loire where he reckons silex and clay make for more exuberantly fruity, accessible wines and Vouvray whose clay and limestone strike a fine balance of power and elegance. His sparkling wines are a forceful case in point – a dry ‘gastronomique’ Vouvray Petiillant and a rounder, bright applely Montlouis Brut. For readers who prefer their wines dry, Francois is more interested by dry wines which make up 80% of his production and it’s always worth remembering with Loire Chenin that residual sugar in demi-sec styles is there to balance Chenin’s acidity so don’t forego these wines.
Francois Chidaine Les Argiles Vouvray 2007 – restrained nose admits of classic honey, flowers and fresh cut apples; dry, taut mineral palate with mouth-cleansing acidity. Very fine and pure.
Francois Chidaine Le Clos Badouin Vouvray 2007 – powerful, coiled dry wine, chiselled with minerals with a whiff of calvados/bruised apples – atheletic, set to go the distance.
Francois Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos du Benoit 2007 – very honeyed dry wine with citrus fruit, especially grapefruit to the fore; a mineral finish with fennel notes.
Francois Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Bournais 2007 – 10 year old vines, this has a very open, fruity nose and palate with tangy pears, apples and quince with lively citrus acidity giving a long fine finish.
Francois Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Choiselles 2007 – some residual sugar lends a creamy note nicely balanced by fresh acidity; good depth of pear and pear skin; very approachable.
Francois Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos Habert 2007 – a richness of cool, tangy fruit animated by a lively, persistent thread of acidity. Lovely balance.
Francois Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Tuffeaux 2007 – 17g of residual sugar here so noticeably riper and rounder, still a lovely lick of bright acidity and purity of fruit surrounds a flinty, mineral core.
Francois Chidaine Le Bouchet Vouvray 2007 – spicy and exotic with pithy citrus peel, pink grapefruit as well as the steelier one! A powerful wine with great potential (10g/residual sugar).
Stephane Cossais – a man on an obsessive quality mission who didn’t let the bank cut short his outstanding promise as a vigneron, instead raising funds by selling bonds to customers who I am sure are of the very satisfied variety.
Stephane Cossais Montlouis-sur-Loire Maison Marchandelle 2007 – tight tangy citrus fruit with a mineral undertow; needs to time but lots of promise.
Stephane Cossais Montlouis-sur-Loire Maison Marchandelle 2006 – vibrant grapefruit, steely and smoky, fruity yet dry with good persistence.
Stephane Cossais Montlouis-sur-Loire Volagre 2005 – shows the generosity of the vintage complimented by pain grille; sweet rich fruit is nicely corseted by mouthcleansing acidity; long, mineral finish. Very accomplished.
Franz Saumon - another exciting new name in Montlouis-sur-Loire – the in place to be!
Franz Saumon Montlouis-sur-Loire Le Petit Caporal 2006 – dry with rich, ripe, pure fresh cut and bruised apples, quince and dried honey; well balanced acidity.
Franz Saumon Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos de Chene 2006 – focused, tight palate with comice pear, warmer calvados hints at the moment (Aug 08) sitting a little part from the oak which adds a veneer of sweet vanilla bean/white chocolate – promising but needs time.
Franz Saumon Montlouis-sur-Loire Minerale plus 2007 – demi-sec style, very attractive with lovely clarity of pear with a honied undertow; good levity and balance.
Domaine Taille Aux Loups – this where Jacky Blot started to weave his magic in the Loire. He is ruthless about quality, discarding fruit which does not meet with his exacting standards and obtaining a concentration which is flattered by oak.
Domaine Taille Aux Loups Remus Plus 2007 – super fresh cut white orchard fruits and apple blossom with a lick of vanilla; oak lends gravitous – great structure – without detracting from the fruit vigour. Vibrant; a keeper.
Domaine Taille Aux Loups Remus 2002 – my notes say wow, wow, wow! Apparently similar to the 07 in its youth this is steely fresh, direct and pure with a mouthwatering charge of grapefruit pith and peel. Stunning.
Domaine Baumard – one of the leading Savennieres producers making finely structured, long-lived wines and Coteaux du Layon, especially Quart de Chaume. Baumard bottle under screwcap so progressive huh!
Baumard Clos de St Yvyes Savennieres 2004 – riesling’esque with lovely pure lime blossom and honey with fresh acidity; nice persistence.
Baumard Clos de Papillon Savennieres 2004 – pretty floral notes but this is steely to the core with tight grapefruit; mouthwatering.
Baumard Quarts de Chaume 2007 – glorious intensity of ripe, honeyed orchard and citrus fruit; exuberantly youthful now but plenty of ageing potential here.
Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective
August 2008, February 2009
