Loire Tasting (Caves Augé)

Bottle-feeding on the left and wine tasting on the right...

Caves Augé, 116 Bd Haussmann, Paris

Another memorable tasting on the sidewalk outside the Caves Augé in Paris : This wine shop which has a wide section of its shelves devoted to artisanal wines, had invited (thank you Marc Sibard!)some 17 estates with their owner/winemaker for a free tasting of their wines. A casual reunion for the vintners themselves who know each other and share news and jokes, the Caves-Auge tastings are also a unique opportunity to taste beautiful wines and have fun at the same time (too many tastings are way too serious). The prices indicated here are those at the shop that day. The generous tasting pours, the nice weather, you can imagine the buzz and the mood... Lots of nice things here, the Loire being a prolific wine region in terms of style of wines and because of the many artisan-vignerons working with passion there. Everyone was welcome at this tasting as usual, but the location of the shop on this stretch of Boulevard Haussmann (a bit off-center from the busy department-stores district) meant that you had to know about the event in advance. Some had the info through wineterroirs (the Paris Cavistes page) btw, so, stay tuned...
Many connoisseurs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, but also passer-bys on the sidewalk for that bright and sunny spring day, as you don't miss the chance to taste the wines of-, and speak in person to- (take your breath) : Noella Morantin, Christian Chaussard, Pierre Breton, Jean-Marie/Thierry Puzelat, Alain Lenoir, Emile Heredia, Thierry Chancelle, Herve Villemade, Jean Mauperthuis, Paul Prieur, Olivier Lemasson, Mathieu Vallee, Frantz Saumon, Pascal Potaire, Sebastien David...
With 3 to 5 different wines from each vigneron on average, sometimes more, you couldn't drink all the wine, and because the spit buckets were not easy to reach through the crowd, the 2 plane trees in front of the wine shop had many other rounds of precious irrigation supplements ( see wine news (8), bottom picture ). Here are a couple of well-targeted spits (they didn't play it for me, I caught them unsuspecting). The bottoms of the tree trunks were deep red from the tannins, and drivers in the stalled traffic on the Boulevard seemed to wonder what this spitting ritual was about...

Pierre Breton Pouring. (l to r) Pascal Potaire, Emile Heredia and Thierry Puzelat The event was scheduled between 11am and 7pm non-stop.
I arrived at 1 or 1:30pm, parked the motorcycle and jumped into the pool. there were quite a few

Noella Morantin (Les Bois Lucas)

fishes already in there...I made a short walk along the casks/tables to have look on the vignerons-guests of the day. Nice program indeed. After saying hello to the most gorgeous winemaker that day, Noella Morantin of Les Bois Lucas (Junko Arai), I had my first wine (important step in a tasting) with her Sauvignon 2005. This Sauvignon Touraine has 6-7 g of residual sugar and very little SO2. Non filtered. Quite risky, she says, it has to be stored in a cool place, but until now they had no "accident" with this wine. I still remember this benchmak bottle of Sauvignon from Les Bois Lucas that B. and I downed a couple of years ago....Was it a 2003 ? I'll ask B. , she has a good memory.
As her other wines today are reds, I look for other whites and choose Herve Villemade's (Domaine du Moulin). First a white Cheverny 2005, a Sauvignon-Chardonnay blend on a sand/silex soil. Rich, supple. 6,12 euro. the second is another white Cheverny, Bodice 2005, also a Sauvignon Chardonnay but on a clay/silex soil. Strikingly different style of nose, more aromatic. 10,63 Euro. the last white is is a Cour Cheverny Acacias 2005. Romorantin grape variety. Very peculiar aromas on the nose, very hard to put words on them, same for the mouth, but I like it! the Romorantin wines need more years to express their full potential. 13,77 euro. This variety is grown only in the Cour Cheverny Appellation zone, with a total of 64 hectares. Looking at my notes, I realize that in the confusion of the tasting I forgot to come back to taste Villemade's reds...
Then I went to Christian Chaussard (Le Briseau, Jasnieres). First, his Vin de Table Blandelieres 2005, a Chenin with ripe grape aromas and a nice classy mouth.(11,86 Euro). then his Jasnieres Kharakter 2005. My notes says : quite a dark color for a white.(17,43 Euro). Then Coteaux du Loir des Longues Vignes 2005. fresh. Orange peel. Sugary in the mouth.(16,58 euro). Then his Saint Jacques (2005 ?): a Chenin with a very classy feel, intense and deep. That's when B. arrived as far as I remember. She began her tasting with Clos du Tue Boeuf (Puzelat) and I joined her there.
I still wonder how I could make these notes. some of the wines didn't have any but that doesn't mean anything, except that at times you prefer to concentrate on social

Thierry Puzelat

interactions around you and put aside the serious stuff. For example I talked a bit with Pierre Breton even tough I didn't taste his wines this time. Pierre Breton is the type of vigneron who can dynamize such gatherings with his jokes and energy. He told me how recently while in San Francisco someone came to him and reminded him the picture I took of himself and Nicolas Joly smoking a cigar which can be seen on the wineterroirs Breton post. He said he would like to have the picture. Wow, he even offered to give me a few bottles for it (not only you taste/drink nice wines, but you end up with more great bottles in your cellar)...
I jump to the Puzelats' cask/table, grab a glass and taste a first Cheverny white there : Cheverny Frileuse 2005.Nice, neat mouth. Sauvignon (-Gris and -Blanc) and chardonnay.8,88 euro. Then, a Chenin : Touraine Ormeaux des Deux Croix 2005.Nice one here indeed. Very nice balance. 7,31 Euro. Then, Touraine Brin de Chèvre 2005, a Menu Pineau. Not bad... A bit more alcohol maybe ? but nice balance. 8,88 Euro. Then, Touraine Buisson Pouilleux 2005, an old-vines Sauvignon. very refined wine. I'm surprised by the nimber of cuvées here. Thierry Puzelat told me (if I remember, I didn't write it down) that they have some 15 cuvées in their estate. Then I taste their Pet-Nat 2005 (natural sparkling wine) which was disgorged last week. Menu Pineau. Then, after the red Cheverny 2006, their (red) Touraine Guerrerie 2005, 2/3 cot (Malbec) and the rest in

Herve Villemade pouring

Gamay. Very beautiful, deep nose. No extraction here, he says. Cold-temperature fermentation. very nice mouth here too. 8,97 euro. We also tasted two of Thierry Puzelat's contracted-vineyards wines : He buys grapes (sometimes tends himself the vineyards) from neighbours for several cuvees, like his Touraine K.O. 2005 and his Touraine Tesnieres Pinot Noir 2005 (respectively 12 and 10,29 Euro). I didn't note anything (at this point I began to be more on the "just enjoy and be happy" than on the analytic mood) but these two were very nice ones.
I discovered that day the wines of Alain and Jerome Lenoir (Clos des Roches). Father and Son presented two of their Chinons that day : First, the white Chinon Clos Des Roches 2002, a Chenin Blanc. Refined nose and very-very classy mouth. Outstanding minerality. 16,49 Euro. The second is a red Chinon Clos Des roches 2000, a Cabernet Franc which had 3 years of elevage in casks. No industrial yeasts (as everyone here that day), not fined and not filtered. 30- to 60-year-old vines. That's a nice one too....9,27 Euro. I think that I'll visit them soon.
We jump back to Noella Morantin and taste her two reds : Touraine Otosan 2005. Gamay. Semi-carbonic maceration. More fruit on this one. 11,86 Euro. Then her Touraine Kuniko 2005, 100% Gamay. Dark color. Refined nose. In the mouth, a very beautiful wine with substance. I know by experience that these wines only begin (1,5 year) to open. From now on, they will offer more.
Pascal Potaire had two wines on display, a "Vin de Pays du Loir et Cher" 2005, a Menu Pineau. A bit perly, with 2g of SO2 at bottling, he intentionally left some gaz to protect the wine. A decantation will solve the problem (if it's viewed as a problem, which isn't for me). 9,61 Euro. His other wine was a white sparkling ( Pet Nat): Table Wine "Piège à Filles" (girls trap) 2006. Very small, concentrated bubbles. I didn't note the variety but I guess it was a Menu Pineau too.
We then tasted Emile Heredia's wines (Domaine de Montrieux) : A coteaux du Vendomois 2005 from 70-year-old massal grafts of Pineau D'Aunis (also known as Chenin Noir). 8,46 Euro. Then a Vin de Table "Verre des Poetes" 2004. Same variety as former but much more complexity. Long semi-carbonic maceration (about a month) without being moved. Spicy. 7,40 Euro. Good deal. Then, a nice Pet Nat, a red sparkling "Boisson Rouge" 2006, a light Gamay with residual sugar and no SO2 that gives lots of pleasure. Emile Heredia was a photographer in his former life and we chat about the challenges of silver and digital photography...
We left at about 5pm. I can understand why B. didn't feel like taking the back seat of my motorcycle...

Comments

[William Patton]

It must have been difficult to drag yourself away from this tasting at 5 o'clock. I'm not surprised B didn't feel like getting on the back of your motorbike. Caves Augé is definitely the sort of wine shop I would want to have on my doorstep. They have a fine selection of wines all showing great personality which would be well worth getting to know.We need more of these 'artisan' wines in our shops.