Catching up with Bernard Fouquet in Vouvray

Good to catch up with Bernard Fouquet in Vouvray last week and have an update from him as to the state of play in the vineyards over there.  He says it's been a tricky year so far with more treatments than normal to keep the mildew at bay.  I asked how many times he has treated at which point he offered us a tasting from barrel of his Cuvée Marigny- an excellent tactic to dodge the question!  

It's interesting to note that in years like this when weather conditions are against them the lutte raisonnée and organic growers are having to treat often to keep the vines healthy.  Last year we were blessed with such a dry period that many growers only sprayed a couple of times throughout the entire growing season.  2012 could not be more different - some growers have sprayed 11 times this year and we've not even reached veraison yet (the point at which black skinned grape varieties start to change colour from green to pink to purple).

So, back to Bernard.  His Cuvéé Marigny is a blend - one third that has been aged in 1 wine barrels, one third in 2 wine barrels and the remaining third in new barrels.  We tasted the three different components which were remarkably different.

The wine in the 2 wine barrels (we use the expression 2 wine rather than 2 year old because it's possible to have more than one wine in a barrel in a year) had a lemon and lime citric quality. Round, full and rich on the palate and not austerely dry but with great length.   The wine in the 1 wine barrels was more spicy on the nose with a tiny hint of tannin coming through on the palate. More mineral with grapefruity notes and shorter on the finish.  The new barrel wine was full of tobacco, grapefruit and spice.  A little tannin at the end, spicy and long.  Bernard was explaining that the 1 and new barrel wines have typical Chenin acidity and they tend to change dramatically in July, coming together.  The oak used is French, made from staves that have been dried in the open air for 36 months and are medium toasted before being made into barrels.  The final wine will be blended later this month and allowed to settle for around a month in cuve before bottling.  

A hive of activity on the day we were there, Bernard was in the process of disgorging his sparkling wine, a Vouvray Mousseux Brut Zero.  He's not a fan of the freeezing process that is often used for disgorging so each bottle has to be fed into the line by hand.  His Brut Zero comes from the 2007 vintage and is absolutely delicious.  

We've been fans of Bernard's Vouvrays for a few years now.  He mentioned that he has another parcel about 200m away from the winery called Le Bouchet and is going to try to make a 'real sec' this year if the weather conditions allow it.   He's also intending to make another sec in cuve from a small parcel close to the Plan de Jean called Le Petit Clos for the 2013 vintage.  This will be a true 'sec' made from very ripe grapes and with no malo - estimated production will be 5/6,000 bottles a year. We look forward to that.

Good news for those of you in the UK too.  Majestic will be stocking his 'Cuvée les Peruches' from the autumn.  It should be retailing for just under £9 a bottle.  

Vouvray 23rd February 2012

The weather has become milder again after the recent cold spell so things have resumed out and about in the vineyard.  Yesterday in Vouvray the pruners were out in teams sweeping through the vines in the drizzle.  Here vines are often spur pruned and are very low to the ground making it hard going on the back.

Up high on the plateau these freshly pruned vines are surrounded by flint stones sitting on the surface of the soil.

Pruners often work in teams which allows them to progress rapidly.

Sarments or vine prunings are often burnt which lessens problems with viruses and diseases spreading in the vineyard.

 

When older vines cease to be productive or have died due to disease they are replaced by young vines dotted in and around the established vineyards.

Bernard Fouquet was in the process of disgorging his sparkling Vouvray brut zero.  The wine is a 2007 and has wonderfully developed aromas on the nose and a fine mousse.  Bernard is careful to only add enough sugar to create 4 bars of pressure.  Around half a bar is lost during disgorging giving a wine with a final pressure of around 3.5 bars - fizzy but not explosive in the mouth.

We also took the opportunity to taste the 2011 wines of Domaine de Aubuisières with Bernard.   Much more open and floral than the 2010's, I think this vintage will be a winner with wine lovers.  Being a Chenin Blanc based wine, Vouvray can benefit from ageing although most of his young wine is sold and drunk young.  If only consumers would hang on to them for a while - the results can be stunning and the wines are not expensive.  

Spring is in the air at le Haut-Lieu - Vouvray

We drove around the vineyards of Vouvray on Friday - this picture is of the Haut-Lieu vineyard owned by Huet. Lovely to see the wild flowers and grass pushing between the rows.

Spicy Thai Curry with Vouvray

Spicy but not too hot - a combination of Thai curry paste, fish sauce, coconut milk, plenty of fresh coriander, squeeze of lime juice and a couple of kaffir lime leaves. Add to that, fresh chicken cut into smallish pieces and a couple of peppers (one yellow, one red) cut into strips. Simple supper in 10 minutes - serve with boiled rice (Thai or Basmati will do). As for a good wine match - Vouvray from the Loire is excellent - we favour one with a small amount of residual sugar (around 9g) but other wines, notably the aromatic ones, also go well. Consider Riesling from Germany or Pinot Gris from Alsace.

Cuvée de Silex 2008 - Domaine des Aubuisières

Have enjoyed a bottle of Bernard Fouquet's Cuvée de Silex, Vouvray 2008 over the past two nights. Domaine des Aubuisières has 25 hectares of vines planted with Chenin Blanc around Vouvray, just East of Tours. 90% of harvesting is done manually in successive 'tries' and on arrival at the winery grapes are pressed pneumatically with the pressure adapted to the overall quality of the grapes. This wine is mostly fermented and matured in thermo-regulated vats although his more prestigious dry cuvées and all the moelleux wines are fermented in oak of varying ages (new to 4 years old). After alcoholic fermentation, the dry wines are aged upon their lees with regular stirring to add depth and complexity. The Cuvée de Silex is Bernard's entry level dry Vouvray. It comes from three parcels, les Perruches, les Girardières and les Chairs Salées. We first tasted the 2008 at the Salon des Vins in Angers in February and subsequently paid him a visit to pick up this, and some of his other wines in Vouvray a couple of weeks ago.
The nose is enticing, a little floral (but not tropical) with hints of honey and pears. On the palate, it's fresh with a taste of sherbet lemons - the fruit continues and it finishes with a crisp acidity but one that is not at all dominating (it has 6g residual sugar). It's absolutely delicious now but will probably taste better given a little time to develop. It went perfectly with the very old fashioned supper of boiled ham, parsley sauce, boiled potatoes and mashed carrot and swede. I finished it last night without food, as an aperitif.