Eddy & Mileine Oosterlinck- Bracke are based in Faye d'Anjou and produce the most wonderful sweet wines. Last night we enjoyed Eddy's dry wine, le Sec de Juchepie. This Chenin Blanc based white is made from grapes collected during the 1er tri (first pass) through the vineyard on 25th and 26th September 2006.
A bio-dynamic producer, natural yeasts are left to their own devices and the wines finish their fermentations in barrique when they are ready. Nothing is added and nothing is taken away. Le Clos was aged for 12 months in barrique and estate bottled.
A bio-dynamic producer, natural yeasts are left to their own devices and the wines finish their fermentations in barrique when they are ready. Nothing is added and nothing is taken away. Le Clos was aged for 12 months in barrique and estate bottled.
It took Eddy 10 years before he was happy with the condition of his soil - you can see the layers of friable schist and slate that lie underneath a very thin layer of clay topsoil in le Clos, the vineyard from which the grapes are sourced.This dry wine has all the complex minerality evident in his sweet wines but without any of the residual sugar. Hints of ginger, lemon and spice with notes of pear and quince give backbone to the wine. A full rich palate then gives way to a long finish with refreshing acidity and a slight orange rind bitterness. We drank it with slow roasted pork shoulder chops served with red cabbage and apple and it was a great match.
We're looking forward to tasting wines from the 2009 vintage at the annual trade wine tasting in Angers next month. Conditions were excellent this year and Juchepie made 8 passes through the vineyard in total, each time picking only the ripest and most suitable grapes for the wines being made.
If you're looking for top quality sweet wines with a difference, Domaine de Juchepie is one to watch. And they sell the best Belgian chocolates we've tasted in a long while.
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