Domaine de Montgilet

A simple Sauvignon from Domaine de Montgilet. Light and fresh with typical Sauvignon character, it made a good early evening aperitif before dinner.

Vertical Tasting - Domaine aux Moines Savennières

We spend the morning yesterday at Domaine aux Moines in Savennières with some guests from Houston, Texas and enjoyed a very interesting vertical tasting with Mme Laroche. As you know, the Loire valley is a huge winemaking region and many winemakers in Anjou produce a whole plethora of wines making the tasting proposition a confusing one. Tasting just one wine from a range of different vintages is sometimes a much better way of understanding what makes one appellation different from another.

Pruning at the domaine is just over. Due to the very cold spell we have had here since Christmas, the vines are well behind schedule which is good news as this will have the effect of delaying budburst and in turn offer more protection against late frosts that can make or break yield in this cool climate region. They are pruned leaving two small canes on either side with just 2 or 3 buds (or nodes) on each side and no spurs to provide a back up in the event of frost or to provide for the following year. The young vines (15 years old), have been left with one short cane and one long cane. This, explains Mme Laroche is to 'tire out' the vines. The long cane will be left in place until June when it will be cut off. The prunings and all taken out of the vineyard and burnt to avoid spreading the risk of esca which is a problem in the Loire valley. In addition, vines that are suffering from esca are pruned last and with different secateurs to avoid cross contamination.

This disease has no cure so is a real and persistent problem for vinegrowers in the Loire valley. In the past, there was a noxious chemical formula that dealt with it but this has since been banned and no natural product has been developed since.

To the wines - we tried a range of vintages of the Domaine aux Moines, Savennières-Roches-aux-Moines. This sub-appellation of Savennières covers an area of 33 hectares although Mme Laroche tells us that only 15-17 hectares are actually under vine.

2006

Pale golden colour with honeysuckle and white flowers on the nose. A real grapefruit element on the palate with acidity not too dominant. Warm and long on the palate. A great match for white meats. Not strikingly mineral for a Savennières but think this element will development over time.

2004

Pale golden colour, a little richer looking than the 2004. This was a fatter vintage and has a maturity on the nose that it not normally this developed in a wine of this age. Less floral and more waxy lanolin notes. Lighter and softer on the palate and softer on the finish. This has a bigger mouthfeel than the 04 and would make a good match to fish with a creamy sauce.

2008

Tiny yields during this vintage due to frost (17hl/ha). This wine is slightly paler in colour and has striking primary pear fruit on the nose. On the palate a great rush of wonderful acidity backs it up. Going to have a problem keeping this one in the cellar because it's delicious now but one can see it has huge ageing potential. Would be perfect with a young goat's cheese or platter of fruits de mers.

2000

The colour has moved to a rich golden colour. Wonderful honey, nuts and acacia aromas on the nose. Rich and hazlenutty on the palate with a wild honey note carrying through right to the end. The finish is rich and a little mineral. Exotic and interesting - would be good with something spicey not hot.

1992

Rich deep golden colour. Incredible earthy spicey notes on the nose with lots of wild honey, white flowers and a hint of saffron. On the palate the saffron note is completely dominant and delicious. A perfumed medicinal note with almonds, dried fruits and spices. Absolutely delicious and long on the finish, more so than the 2000. This would be wonderful with a saffron risotto, wild mushroom risotto or even a tagine. The wine is big enough to take on a meat dish and Mme Laroche says it also goes well with asparagus (tricky one to match) and truffles. This was a very tricky vintage and there were 7 passes through the vineyard.

A very informative and enlightening tasting that really illustrated vintage variation. How one grape variety can produce wines from one terroir that are so different and yet so equally pleasing is one of life's mysteries and pleasures.

For the record, we bough half a dozen of the 2008 and half of dozen of the 1992 - from one extreme to another.

Photos to follow.

Domaine des Aubuisières - Vouvray

We enjoyed a bottle of Bernard Fouquet's Vouvray 2008, Les Girardières last night with a Thai influenced curry.

Bernard has 25 hectares of vines planted exclusively with Chenin Blanc and his wines are a delight. Cuvée Silex is his entry level wine - full of pear fruit with a wonderful freshness it was probably the most popular wine we showed at our Loire wine tastings during 2009. This wine is wonderful young but has the capacity to age, gain more complexity over time. Our problem has been holding on to it and we have barely half a dozen bottles left. If this wine doesn't convince you of the charm of Chenin Blanc, nothing will.

We drank Les Girardières 2008 last night which has 25g per litre of residual sugar on the palate. The fresh honey pear quality on the nose and sherbet freshness on the palate means that this residual sugar just fades into the background giving a wonderfully refreshing fruity wine that is delicious young but it should get better and better over the next 10 years.

A strange choice you might think for a beef curry, but as it was poached in sweet coconut milk, lemon grass and galangal a red seemed out of the question - and it worked well.

We just need to leave what we have left well alone.

Bernard is bottling his 2009 vintage Cuvée Silex under screwcap which is great news. We didn't have the time to catch up with the new vintage at the Salon des Vins in Angers but will report back on this as we'll be making a trip to stock up shortly.

Chateau de l'Eperonnière

Mathieu Tijou comes from a long winemaking heritage and has a small holding of around 10 hectares surrounding the Chateau de l'Eperonnière in Rochefort-sur-Loire.

He's in the process of developing a business based around oenotourisme offering chambres d'hotes, talks, tastings and dinners for those interested in wine. Here you can come and discover the secrets of growing vines and making wine in beautiful surroundings while having the added bonus of Mathieu who can tell you stories from the 5 generations of winemakers in his family.

We took the opportunity to taste some of Mathieu's wines at the Salon des Vins recently. He's a keen polo player and the labelling of his wines reflects this although we didn't taste the Polo Brut or Polo Rosé sparkling wines on this occasion.

Chateau de l'Eperonnière
Savennières 2008
A lovely light golden colour. Classic Savennières nose with delicate whisky notes. Soft and gentle on the palate with a hint of citrus, grapefruit, pear and honey. Medium body and weight but good. Still young but not fiercely mineral so enjoyable now.

Divin
Anjou Villages 2008
Blackberry forest fruits. Quite light and fruity on the mid palate. 6 months in fut has given it a slightly spicey note but tannins are relatively light and easy.

Rosé de Loire 2009
Pretty pink colour with an almost fluorescent tone. Real strawberry fruit and pear drops on the nose. Very dry on the palate but not austere. The fresh fruit continues through until the end making it refreshing and easy to drink. This will be an excellent summer wine.

Coteaux du Layon 2006
Mathieu is very keen to stress the importance of sugar/acid balance. The wine has a nice golden hue with some slightly greenish tinges. Pears, quince and honey on the nose. Very fruity on the palate - not cloying and a nice balance of acidity to combat the 110g/l residual sugar. Great as an apero.

We hope to be working more closely with Mathieu this year and are looking forward to introducing him to our clients as part of our Loire wine tours.

The Right Cut

Since taking on the pruning at Chateau de Pimpean this year we have had much discussion with pruners, vineyard owners and viticulturists about pruning methods and how best to avoid diseases.

One issue that has come up time and time again is where to make the cut when pruning. We were trained in the UK by a New Zealander who taught us to always cut close to the bud. The reason for this is to avoid the risk of die-back which in turn gives an entry point for disease. In addition, we always cut at a 45 degree angle pointing away from the bud which means that rainwater and sap will not drip on to the new bud but be drawn away from it.

Many vineyards around here seem to cut much further away from the bud - they are equally adamant that this is the correct way forward despite the potential problems with die-back.

Of course, pruning methods will differ from region to region and advice given will vary. I am interested to know if it does actually make a difference so have pruned 3 rows differently (each time making the cut in a different place) and will report back on progress later on in the year.

Row 1 has been pruned cutting close to the bud

Row 2 has been pruned half way between the buds

Row 3 has been pruned as far away as possible from the bud

I'd love to hear from anyone who has practical experience pruning vines. What is your approach and what are the reasons for this?

The Pot de Lapin - Saumur

We've been to the Pot de Lapin a few times before and always had really good food, bistro style, simple, unpretentious and tasty. Last night however was a disappointment which is a shame as we had been looking forward to it for a while.

Absolutely no complaints about the service, people, ambiance or wine - just the food which didn't live up to expectation last night. What did we eat?

Well, I started with Piemontese a la langue - a take on the traditional Piemontese salad of new potatoes and tongue with a little ham, all bound with a mustardy mayonnaise. Flavour ok, quite rich but the tongue was clearly a left-over and was tough. Nigel had the oeufs en cocotte - simple and rich and made using blue cheese. This is one of the signature dishes of the Pot de Lapin and while it was enjoyable we questioned the use of blue cheese in the dish. I would be interested to know if it is always made with blue cheese as the flavour seemed to overwhelm the delicateness of the eggs.

To follow I had thigh of rabbit stuffed with lemongrass and delicate Thai spices with coconut milk. This was extremely tender and tasty - the accompaniments were less exciting - haricots rouge and very overcooked sliced carrots. The presentation was pretty average and I think the dish could have done with something lighter. The other main was beef tongue served in a Tandoori sauce with haricot blanc (white beans) and the same carrots. Our general consensus was that these dishes were of average quality - disappointing.

We enjoyed a reasonable cheeseboard, declined dessert and had a coffee to finish.

Star of the evening was the bottle of La Grande Reserve, Le Mas des Flauzières, Gigondas 2005. Great fruit on the nose, notes of chocolate, black fruits, coffee and smoke led into a rich soft palate with elegant tannins that worked well with the spice in the dishes and did not clash in terms of weight or tannin. We paid 28 Euros for this - good value we thought.

Downside of the evening - paying 50 Euros for the taxi back to Cumeray, a 20 minute drive from Saumur. This equated to nearly two thirds the cost of the meal itself which for 3 courses each, an aperitif, and the excellent bottle of red came to 80 Euros for the two of us.

Castelmaure - AOC Corbières 2006 Grande Cuvée

Decided to drink something from outside the Loire last night. The Languedoc is one of my favourite wine-making regions of France. I just love the grape varieties (Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre, Cinsault, Carignan for the reds, Marsanne, Rousanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier for the whites amongst many). The wines just express their roots perfectly and for me have just the right amount of fruit to keep me interested for more than a glass.

This Corbieres has a deep ruby colour. On the nose, the first impression is of sweet stone fruit and plums with a big herbal quality and a touch of ground black pepper. The ripe fruit element continues on the palate but moves and changes to a more savoury style with the spice, herbs and pepper creeping in and then the tannins which although present are well integrated. You can sense the mediterranean heat. It's ready to drink now but will certainly keep for a few years yet. We drank it with a plain char-grilled steak and the match was fabulous. The wine has around 45% Grenache and Syrah with some old vine Carignan making up the blend. 10 - 12 months ageing in French barriques after a period of cuve ageing gives it complexity but by no means does the oak component dominate the palate.

We paid 8 Euros 20 for the bottle and I think it was great value at that.