I’ve visited the Loire first for the annual “salon” plus a trip to Touraine’s Sauvignon Blanc territory and second to select export-friendly Cabernet Franc wines for presentation at this year’s London wine trade fair and Vinexpo in Bordeaux. It was good to see old friends and make new ones and, most importantly, to expand my vinous horizons – the lifeblood of what I do!
I also met two more english Loire wine lovers, Micaela & Sue, who have set up a B&B in the Loire – La Grande Maison; they also arrange wine tours of the region.
Renaissance des AOC tasting
This was a showcase for biodynamic wines – in addition to some famous names, I found some really exciting producers who I’d not encountered before, so they’re first up.
Domaine Bernaudeau Anjou Les Nourrissons Vignes Centenaires 2005 – this old vine Chenin Blanc has great intensity of physalis and grapefruit, structure and length. Tightly wound.
Les Vignes Herbel Vieilles Vignes 1920 Le Blanc Vin de Table 2005 - another old vine Chenin but this one all out flamboyant – 05 was a terrific vintage and, at a mind blowingly low 5hl/ha, it weighs in at 15% and shows a great girth of flavoursome fruit and immense character.
Domaine des Maison Brulée Suavignon Vin de Table 2004 – Michel Augé is not looking for primary Sauvignon Blanc flavours but rather an expression of terroir – this is an appropriately unique take on said grape – textured with floral, honey & calisson flavours backed by fresh acidity.
Domaine des Maison Brulée Le Herdeleau Vin de Table 2005 & 2002 – this co-fermented Pinot Noir and Gamay really excited me with its freshness, delicacy and intensity – everything you want and don’t always get from red Burgundy! The 2005 is finely structured with black cherry with a mineral undertow; the tannins are a touch dry on the finish – it needs time. The 2002 vintage showed developed gamey notes together with earthy raspberry and beetroot; beautiful purity and intensity of black cherry and raspberry fruit on the palate with a cool, minerally note of freshness. Top!
Coulée de Serrant Les Vieux Clos Savennières (used to be called Bécherelle) 2005 – this, the baby of Nicolas Joly’s Chenin Blancs is intense and powerful with ripe mirabelle, juicy cranberry, fresh quince and flowers cut with a steely minerality which gives length and focus.
Coulée de Serrant Savennières Roche aux Moines Clos de la Bergerie 2005 – the power and intensity moves up a notch – a real heft of quince & pear, fresh and dried, with floral honey notes balancing Savennières’ trademark bitter edge – a really powerful expression of this lieux dit with great palate weight.
Coulée de Serrant Savennières Clos de la Coulée de Serrant 2005 – much tighter and more restrained – its seam of fruit and minerals is yet to be mined but you know very well it has the muscle and sinew to age and age – profound.
Domaine Jo Pithon Anjou Les Treilles 2005 – the vines were only planted in 2000, but this Chenin Blanc has striking purity and minerality – fine, lively and fresh.
Domaine Jo Pithon Anjou Les Bergères 2005 – this is the best vintage of this Chenin Blanc I’ve had the pleasure to taste – very intense with lots of fruit power and subtle oak influence. Long, tight and fresh – my notes on the finish say “structure, structure, structure” – fabulous.
Domaine de la Sansonnière Anjou La Lune 2005 – very fresh and light on its feet yet with subtle texture and a good intensity of white orchard fruits with hints of star anise; keeps drawing you back to the glass.
Domaine de la Sansonnière Anjou Les Fouchardes 2005 – much more exotic flavour spectrum here with pink grapefruit and coconut augmenting the more classic quince and apple; long, powerful almost savoury finish.
Domaine de la Sansonnière Moût de Raisins Partiallement 2005 – at only 6.5% abv, a declassified Bonnezeaux with lovely purity, freshness and length to its pear tappe and tarte tatin flavours.
Domaine de l’Ecu (Guy Bossard) Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Expression d’Orthogneiss 2005 - intense, tightly focused mineral palate with tangy, lemony acidity and fresh cut pears.
Ambitious Muscadet
Yes there is such a thing! Guy Bossard (see above) of Domaine de L’Ecu is perhaps the most famous, but in the course of writing a feature for Wine & Spirit magazine, I came across these stereo-type-busting wines whose years on the lies yield wines of power and complexity:
Domaine Chéreau-Carré Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Le Clos du Château L’Oiselinière 2002 – with a few years under its belt this shows a weighty, leesy palate with complex almond and green olive notes. A lively vein of acidity and fine mineral edge makes for an imposing Muscadet.
Domaine Michel David Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Vallet, Schistes de Goulaine 2004 – good breadth and depth of flavour underscored by a steely, mineral thread; long finish.
Bonnet-Huteau Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Schistes de Goulaine 2004 – this long, layered wine shows a tensile mineral streak – classic Muscadet, but with extra muscle and bite.
Auguste Bonhomme Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Gorgeois 2004 – complex leesy, saline nose; a tightly wound, powerful palate is cut with minerals, citrus and hints of toast.
Chateau de la Ragotiere Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “M” 2001 – powerful with rich citrus flavours, especially grapefruit with an exotic hint of jasmine. Very well balanced with a lovely freshness.
Some Loire icons
Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Blanc “La Moussière” 2006 – 2006 is quite simply a tremendous vintage for Sauvignon Blanc – super juicy acidity makes for a more classic, expressive style than the all excellent 2005 wines. This, the junior wine from this famous producer, whose Sauvignons are oaked, is terrific - a smoky nose and palate with rich, supple fruit and an excellent structure.
Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Blanc “Génération XIX” 2005 – produced from old vines, around 90 years old, this is almost a meal in itself – rich with an imposing structure informed as much by it minerality as its oak. Beautifully balanced wine.
Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rouge “Génération XIX” 2005 – seductive perfume with ripe cherry and berry fruits, notes of wet earth (clay) supported by fine grained tannins. Lovely freshness and balance, will really fly when the oak is a little more integrated.
Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rouge “En Grands Champs” 2005 – a 1ha parcel which produces a lithe Pinot Noir with baked cherry and fleshy morello cherry…intense, very long and finely structured – superb.
Chateau de Villeneuve Saumur Champigny Vieilles Vignes 2005 – very ripe and rich palate with an excellent concentration of red and black berry and cherry fruit. A long, elegant, mineral finish gives structure and vitality.
Domaine des Roches Neuves Insolite 2006 – 2006 was a difficult year for Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc because of early autumn rain, but in the meticulous hands of Thierry Germain 2006 looking very good. Insolite’s old vine Chenin showed pear tappe, juicy pink grapefruit and chalk – finley honed and fresh – very good.
Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Champigny Terres Chaudes 2006 – tightly defined black cherry with lead pencil notes – intense and long – needs time.
Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Champigny Marginale 2005 – this textbook vintage produced a very spicy, well built wine with ample black cherry fruit supported by ripe tannins. The persistent, juicy finish shows violet top notes and an undercurrent of minerality – super long. First rate.
Chateau du Hureau Saumur Champigny La Cuvée Lisagathe 2006 – this barrel sample showed an inky depth of well defined fruit with terrific palate length – fabulous potential.
Pierre-Jacques Druet Bourgueil “Vaumoreau” – vertical – I had the immense good fortune to taste the 06, 05, 03, 00, 90 & 89 of this, their top Cabernet Franc cuvée, all of which shared great line, minerality and a simply gorgeous perfume (violets) – all great Cabernet Franc assets. Well worth tracking down.
Domaine de la Cotelleraie St Nicolas de Bourgeuil Les Perruches 2005 – succulent black cherry with inky violet notes; long with well balanced mouthwatering acidity.
Domaine Huet Brut 2000 (Petillant) – suffice to say this was my fizz of choice for my birthday celebrations last year – lovely quince and baked apple nose, augmented by grapefruit on the palate. Five years of lies ageing gives a hint of shortcrust pastry and lends a tightness of structured and fabulous freshness.
Domaine Huet Le Haut Lieu Sec 2005 – honey, floral nose. A lively, juicy palate with apple blossom, precisely regimented white orchard fruits and hint of apple core. Slightly serrated acidity on the honeyed finish – bags of interest and verve.
Domaine Huet Le Mont Sec 2005 – much steelier, mineral (flinty) nose and palate with an orange peel edge relieving the austerity. Long, mineral finish, this has lots of potential
Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Sec 2005 – more expressive, citrus palate with grapefruit and orange around a mineral core. Spine tingling acidity gives a delicate, persistent finish.
Domaine Huet Le Mont Demi-Sec 2005 – blossom nose with that orange peel edge before the steeliness comes into play. Very intense, long, super steely finish.
Domaine Huet Le Haut Lieu Moelleux 2005 – gorgeous honeyed nose and palate with intense, freshly cut apple lending precision. A spicy pink grapefruit note creeps into the very long, linear finish. Terrific.
Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg 1er Trie 2005 – a glorious, glorious wine with honeyed white peach and apples and a balancing, pithy undertow. Very pure and elegant with a long, layered “peacock’s tail” finish.
Domaine Huet Le Mont 1er Trie 2005 – much tighter on the nose and palate with a pronounced pithy, steely character to its grapefruit and baked apple fruit. Long, honeyed yet fresh finish. Very good.
Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg 1er Trie 1996 – complex, incredibly long, expressive palate with apple core, barley sugar, lime flower and pithy, spicy notes. Superb.
Domaine Huet Le Haut Lieu 1er Trie 1989 – a fabulous expression of a terrific vintage and so young and fresh with apple core and pithy grapefruit flavours dancing over the palate and going on and on and on and on – vachement bon!
Touraine – a hotbed of diversity
If you see the words AOC Touraine on the label you could be forgiven for thinking cheap’n (not always) cheerful wines. Not enough good Touraine wines, especially Sauvignon Blancs, make it to the UK – these are the kind of characterful, hand-crafted wines I want to drink, not industrial slop. Some make Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé prices look crazy and others combine ripe fruit with a subtlety and edginess which New Zealand cannot match for under a tenner. What’s more there is some good Cot (Malbec) and Gamay worth checking out.
Domaine Levin Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – winemaker Thierry Merlet worked with Brian Croser in Australia and its shows in this ultra-modern style – vibrant passionfruit, ripe gooseberry & blackcurrant bud with a great citrus acid drive; good length & concentration.
Domaine de la Charmoise Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – passionfruit nose with creamy, tropical fruit salad palate; round and supple.
Domaine de la Charmoise Vinifera Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – same producer, same winemaking but the vines are ungrafted. Tightly structured with crisp green apple underscored by a streak of minerality – it tastes like the vine has a much more direct conduit for terroir where there is no graft.
Domaine de la Charmoise M de Marionnet Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2005 - Powerful blackcurrant bud nose; concentrated, rich, creamy palate with pear and grapefruit.
Domaine de la Charmoise Provigne 2006 (tank sample) – made from the Romarantin grape, harvested from France’s oldest vines, which were planted in 1850 (so ungrafted, pre-phylloxera stock). Steely nose with quince, the palate is very concentrated, long and mineral with tightly packaged quince, lemon and pear. Distinctive and distinguished.
Domaine de la Charmoise Vinifera Cot 2006 – inky with parma violets on the nose and palate; fleshy, spicy black fruits with hints of chocolate and present, ripe tannins.
Domaine de la Charmoise Vinifera Gamay 2006 – more vinous texture and weightier than the grafted version with cherry, mineral and floral notes.
Domaine de la Charmoise Gamay de Bouze Vin de Pay 2006 – this forgotten variety is a dead ringer for Cot – inky with fleshy blackberry, spice and chocolate – very good.
Domaine Ricard Le Petiot Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – Intense, green applely nose and palate with spicy bay leaf edge.
Domaine Ricard Les Trois Chênes Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 - Flinty, pungent nose with bay leaf & tomato plant. Tightly focused, well-balanced palate with a long, mineral finish.
Domaine Jean-Christophe Mandard Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 - Lovely concentration of flavour with fresh grass cuttings and blackcurrant bud; very good.
Domaine Jean-Christophe Mandard Veilles Vignes Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 - Powerfully concentrated citrus, blackcurrant bud and gooseberry with lively acidity and a mineral undertow.
Domaine Jean-Christophe Mandard Touraine Tradition Rouge 2006 (50:50 Cot/Gamay) – really, really good with fruit, tannin, acidity in good measure.
Domaine Sauvète Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2005 – Broad, rich, suave style with candied citrus, apple and honey; long.
Domaine Merieau L’Arpent des Vaudons Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – Pungent with Thai holy basil, tomato plant & grapefruit.
Domaine Merieau Coeur de Roche Veilles Vignes 2004 - Creamy, weighty barrel-fermented style with toast, mineral & honey notes around a fresh, citrus core.
Domaine Merieau Le Bois Jacou Gamay 2006 – bags of fruit and charm with violets, a touhc of tannin and good freshness.
Domaine Merieau Gueule du Boa Cot 2004 – very flavoursome with black cherry, raspberry, chocolate and violets; vinous texture with supple tannins and good freshness.
A Cabernet Franc focus
I spent a week in the Loire in April focusing on Cabernet Franc and a project which is encouraging winemakers to produce more export-friendly wines. I confess that I had my doubts about this project at the outset. Would it compromise the unique freshness, perfume and terroir which makes Loire Cabernet Franc such a welcome respite from fruit-fuelled, oaky reds?
In the event, it was a relief to discover that the wines did not betray their roots. Rather, the producers have learned to liberate Cabernet Franc’s wonderfully fresh fruit from lean ‘n green tannins. The key to it has been an approach one vigneron aptly described as “more infusion than extraction” – in short softer, shorter extractions so as not to leach too much tannin from the skins and seeds – hurrah!
Here are my top eight Cabernet Franc 2006 wines made by producers who have been involved in this project, all of whom negotiated this tricky vintage well:
Domaine de la Chevalerie Bourgueil Galichets 2006 – very juicy with raspberry, succulent black cherry, cassis and cinnamon.
Domaine des Ouches Bourgueil Vingt 2006 – lively, fresh red and black fruits this is elegant and long with ripe, supple tannins.
Domaine Baudry-Dutour Chinon Reserve 2006 – cassis and black cherry surround a mineral core; well balanced, elegant wine.
Vignoble Gagnier Chinon Vieilles Vignes 2006 – lifted nose with violets, cinnamon and incense which follow through on the palate; svelte tannins, long finish.
Cave des Vignerons de Saumur Reserve de Vignerons 2006 – fleshy black cherry with blackcurrant and a subtle herbal note; silky soft tannins make this very approachable.
Domaine Frederic Mabileau St-Nicolas de Bourgeuil Tradition 2006 – vanilla and peony notes mingle with ripe black fruits wed to firm tannins – needs time but great potential.
Lame-Deslisle-Boucard Bourgueil Cuvee des Chesnaies 2006 – tightly focused with coal-edged black fruit, well-managed tannins and a persistent, long finish.
Domaine de la Cune Saumur Champigny Cuvee Traditionelle 2006 – good line with earthy raspberry, blueberry and black cherry. Elegant.
Top Loire tip – RSJ Restaurant on London’s Southbank specialises in Loire wines and stocks many of my favourite Loire producers – the wine list includes older vintages and the mark up is far from greedy. They also sell wines retail.
Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective
2007
