A couple of 79's

We had the pleasure of sharing these two old bottles with our neighbours yesterday over a very long lazy lunch.  Chateau Chalon is a beautiful village in the Jura which is famous for it's fabulous 'vins jaunes' made from the Savagnin grape variety.  We had the Chateau Chalon 1979 as an aperitif with a few nibbles - sherry-like in aroma and taste it was hazlenutty, yeasty and toasty with a caramelised note and with hints of cinnamon.  These wines have amazing staying power with a capacity to age gracefully for decades.  

With some home prepared gravadlax we enjoyed a bottle of La Coulée de Serrant 1979.  This Chenin Blanc wine from the famous estate of Nicolas Joly was produced before his biodynamic days and was a real surprise.  Straw coloured (not amber or golden), it had the appearance of a much younger wine.  Honeyed on the nose and with striking aromas of waxy white flowers, fresh as a daisy with a touch of wet wool and a slightly Riesling style note at the end.  The palate was soft and creamy with a seam of floral limeyness running through it.  Acidity was low - a slight criticism but for a wine of this age it was incredible.  We were at the Coulée de Serrant only last week with clients and it was interesting to see how the winemaking style today is clearly quite different. No hints of stewed apple on the 79 that are already evident on the 2010's and no searingly high alcohol either (15.5 on the 2010).  That the wine showed no real sign of fading away after more than 30 years is an incredible testament to the staying power of Chenin Blanc.  I imagine that levels of sulphur at bottling were relatively high compared with those used today.  

Our thanks have to go to our neighbours who kindly shared these bottles with us.  Not only do they have troglodyte caves that are more beautiful than ours, they seem to have a more interesting cellar too!! 

Sweet Caroline 2004 - Les Griottes, Anjou

Something new over the weekend.  We shared a bottle of this extraordinary wine with friends who live just a few minutes away from this estate in the Layon.  The Domaine des Griottes is one of the leaders in the natural wine movement and to be honest I'm not really bowled over by the idea of natural winemaking, the results being extremely variable even from bottle to bottle. 

Our friends were kind enough not to make us taste it 'aveugle' because I fully admit that I would have seriously embarrassed myself.  I thought it resembled a Pineau des Charentes or a fortified wine of some kind.  Nothing of the sort - this is a Chenin Blanc made from super mature grapes, fermented very slowly over a long period of time and then aged in wood for 5 years in the style of a vin jaune.  The vines are 100 years old and the wine takes its name from the horse that is used in the vineyard, Caroline.

I absolutely love it.  It's exotic, full of quince and with some black tea and ginger notes.  It also has an aroma that reminds me of Cognac - hard to believe that it's only 13% alcohol and no hint of fortification.  We drank it as an apero but I think it would be fabulous with foie gras and pain d'epices too. 

For more information, loads of pictures and a much more in depth write up see Wine Terroirs Blog post.

Un oeuf is enough!

Great to see this ovoid fermentation vessel being used at Domaine des Rochelles. The wine gently fermenting inside is the Roches des Rochelles 2011, a 100% Chenin Blanc that normally has a wonderful minerality and real class that comes from extended ageing upon the yeasty deposit (the lees).

A supposed benefit of using this type of vessel (a modern take on the old amphora used by the Romans centuries ago) is that the lees remain in suspension, adding depth and complexity without the need for stirring. Can't wait to taste the end result.

So, why is Domaine des Rochelles only using one egg shaped vessel this year? Because un oeuf is enough!

Pascal Beillevaire Maitre Fromager à Angers

When it comes to cheese, we always buy from specialist suppliers or the markets in Angers, Saumur and Gennes. I know you can buy pretty good cheese from the supermarket but if you are looking for real quality, those who make it their living provide the best.

We provide a simple yet tasty lunch as part of our Loire wine tours and tastings and the cheeseboard is central to this. We normally serve 4 or 5 cheeses, all different in style (hard, soft, blue, goat, sheep, cow, young, old, fresh) and take advice from the fromager as to what is tasting at its best when we purchase. Like fruit and vegetables, many cheeses are seasonal so it makes sense to buy them when they are at their peak. Good cheese doesn't come cheap (I'd say on average we spend 20-25 Euros per cheeseboard) but it's worth every penny.

This is the shop in Angers that we use on a regular basis. Friendly unstuffy service and a fantastic range.

Place de la Visitation in Angers where the shop is located - just a short hop across from the station, it also has a great fishmonger and a superb boulangerie.

Local goats cheese always makes an appearance

View across from the station towards Place de la Visitation.

And did you know that in many cases, a white wine goes better with cheese than a red? A crisp Sauvignon from Touraine or Quincy brings out the best in goat's cheese, the acidity in the cheese marrying perfectly with the freshness in the wine. A sweet Chenin Blanc from the Coteaux du Layon is heavenly with a salty blue such as Roquefort. Save the chunky red for a morsel of aged Comté or Gruyère Suisse 18 mois. The hard almost crytalline character of the cheese just melts away those tannins.

Chenin Blanc - is it the world's most versatile grape variety?

If you’re searching for the most versatile grape variety in the world today, look no further than the chameleon Chenin Blanc.

At home in the Loire valley in France it produces wines of incredible diversity. In the Coteaux du Layon it makes sweet wines of the highest quality in Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume - rich and honeyed with notes of apricot, quince, peach and caramel. In Anjou, fermented and aged in oak it has a depth of flavour and rich vanilla tone which is fabulous with the terrines and rillettes of the region.

In Savennières it’s long lived and has notes of grapefruit and even a hint of whisky on the nose. In Vouvray it’s delicate and refreshing with hints of pear and zesty fresh acidity. The wines of Jasnières even take on a Rieslinglike aroma given time and don’t forget the sparkling wines made from this most underrated of grapes.

There's no substitute for getting out into the vineyards and wineries to discover the delights of this amazing grape variety for yourself. We are well situated at le tasting room between Angers and Saumur and can have you in Savennières in the morning to taste dry minerally whites and then in the Layon in the afternoon to revel in the unctious sweet wines from its villages perched along the Corniche Angevine.

So, come and see for yourself - join us for a one day Loire wine tour in 2010 and let us share our passion for Chenin Blanc with you.

Planting Vines

Visited our local pépinière viticole yesterday to pick up a few vines for le tasting room. We decided upon half a dozen Cabernet Franc and half a dozen Chenin Blanc and intend to plant them in two different ways, as a trained row with posts and wires and as bush vines, untrained on the ground.

We first visited the pépinière in the autumn last year to discuss our requirements and were a little hesitant when asking for just 1 dozen grafted vines for our business. The reception and advice we received as to the choice of vine and relevant rootstocks was helpful even though our order was likely to be miniscule compared with other customers. We eventually decided to opt for Chenin and Cabernert Franc on a Fercal rootstock (one that tolerates high levels of chalk) and agreed to return in the Spring this year to discuss it further.

We arrived, without appointment, to be met by the proprietor, who remembered us instantly, went inside to collect a ready typed 'devis' (quote), collected the vines from the refrigerated holding room, bundled them up, labelled them and shook our hand. Great service from a local supplier.

Now all we have to do it get them planted and we can then look forward to sharing their development, pruning and training methods with our clients when they come to see us.

As a side note, the reason why vines have to be grafted is so that they are resistant to Phylloxera - a little louse-like pest that infected European vineyards towards the end of the 19th Century. It was first brought over from America by keen Victorian English gardeners wanting to plant rare and exotic specimens in their conservatories. They unwittingly brought with them, the Phylloxera louse which in turn made its way to France and many other countries in Europe as well. This louse, which destroys the roots of the vine, went on to destroy a large proportion of Europe's vineyards and it was some time before a 'cure' was discovered. The answer was and remains today, to graft the vines on to American rootstock. There are some producers who today plant their vines ungrafted such as Henry Marionnet but they take the risk that their vines will eventually become infected and the vineyards will have to be uprooted and replaced over time.

Pépinière Viticole
La Magaudière
49320 St Jean des Mauvrets