Sauvignon Blind Vat Tasting

Sauvignon blind tasting - Vat # 3 Lye, Touraine/Valençay (Loire)
That's something André Fouassier proposed to us long time ago and that we never found the time to do until this year : a blind vat tasting, set at the end of winter or beginning of spring, of several Sauvignons 2008 from different vineyards, growing on different soils, to see what specificity a given type of soil has brought onto the wine. That's exactly what terroir means, the pure translation of the soil's minerality and of the vineyard immediate environment and wild yeasts into something definite and concrete that can be experienced in the tasting itself. Of course, that's only feasible and it will reflect the true nature of the terroir and soil only if no industrial yeasts or other additives have been added during the fermentation, which is the case here. I pointed out in my additives post how chemical enhancers are widely used today and change completely the aromas and mouthfeel of the wines. When for example you use designer yeasts like the ones listed on this Scott Laboratories page or the one on this Gusmer page (Pdf), the terroir expression will be altered by the additions (especially that yeasts are usually only one additive among many others) and you'll taste something else (which may be pleasant by the way). Just read what the BA11 yeast (nice name) makes to the Sauvignon Blanc : "intensifies mouthfeel and lingering flavors...encourages the freshfruit aromas of orange blossom, pineapple and apricot". Or the Fermiblanc by Gusmer : "has been selected for producing white wines with floral aromas (acacia and hawthorn).".
That's why it was important for the type of tasting that we intended that the Sauvignon juice got only its wild yeasts for the fermentation and none of the other biotech "wonder products". André Fouassier is a vigneron from the Loire with vineyards on the Touraine/Valençay Appellation zones. While not really organic, he vinifies honestly his wines. He keeps several batches from the same variety in separate vats, thus allowing different vineyards/terroirs to show up what they have to offer before making the blending choices later. He has some 70 vats of all types, mostly metal and resin, which allow him to vinify small volumes at will, even if he blends most of them at the end for economic reasons (the retail price for the wine in this area is more or less 4 Euro).

Sauvignon tasting : Vat # 1 André Fouassier had emailed me a few days before that he had a virulent strain of flu and was not sure to be in shape for the tasting. But he called on the given day saying that he wouldn't taste himself because he was only beginning to recover, but that we could drop and taste the Sauvignons. He showed up with a hat and a scarf and kindly grabbed several glasses.
__We walked to the first vat, a big old metal vat standing in the outside. Nice turbidity with the lees. Very fruity on the nose, something like exotic fruit notes, I feel. Round in the mouth. Asked about why is this Sauvignon outside, he says that most of his wines fermented during 4 months and ended their fermentation early february, this one was a bit earlier, finishing fermentation early january; the fermentation of the different wines took place indoors in a vatroom that he had to heat for that purpose. This particular Sauvignon was then transferred into this vat outside in the cold to help it decant and live its life. About the exotic fruits notes that I felt, he says that the lees will soon deposit, leading to even more exotic-fruit notes in the wine. But while he doesn't taste today, he thinks that with the lees, the wines should be more on the fermentation notes. After a couple of minutes, it's obvious for me, this wine has definitely pink grapefruit (especially in the mouth) aromas; citrus aromas, B. notes, with ripe-fruits notes in general. Well-structured wine. Sauvignon tasting : vat # 2André Fouassier walks to a second vat, same type than the first one (metal) but inside the open barn. He fills our glasses, the wine is even more turbid here. Pear aromas, I note. B. feels already the Sauvignon's blackcurrant-bud aroma here. He says that white-pear aromas can be found on some Sauvignons indeed. He adds that to compare these different Sauvignon/soils combinations, we have also to note the attack of the wine, if it's sharp, crisp, its onctuosity and roundness too, that all without being influenced by the remaining gas. This one shows more a sharp minerality compared with the first, I would say, it could be the flintstone plot (but André will say that at the end only). B. says that the first wine was more spread out in the mouth while this one is more straight and fruity.
All these vats will be blended at the end because he still makes only one Sauvignon, one reason being that with retail prices being a bit less than 4 Euro a bottle in the region, he can't afford the luxury to find the market for small batches of different Sauvignons. But he thinks that this is something he could try in the future. Sauvignon tasting : vat # 3 The third vat is a round fiberglass vat sitting deeper in the open barn. The good thing with a round vat, he says, is that the wine turns on itself with the Coriolis Force that makes liquids turn (counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere), and the result is that the wine is a bit more advanced, it is clearer, the lees have already well deposited. Every year he notices this difference and it's not just the fiberglass, it has to do with the round vat. This Sauvignon smells Sauvignon. Very rich mouth, with maybe a more high-alcohol feel (not burning though), he says that it has to do with the gas still trazpped in the wine. More closed says B. There is still gas (CO2) because this vat has a floating lid and the gas is trapped in the wine. The other (metal) vats have no such lid on the wine surface and the gas goes away freely. The first impression here is a nice, rich mouth, with less minerality compared with the second. B. finds this wine gourmand. Sauvignon tasting : vat # 3While André Fouassier fills our glasses at the 4th vat, B. remembers that she liked the slight bitterness of the first wine (I didn't note that). André, who knows where the Sauvignons come from, says that there is some logic in that remark and that's interesting for him to hear that.
__Turbidity again. Not very expressive nose, rather on the citrus side, B. says. In the mouth, I like the viscosity, it's very nice on the palate and on the sides of the mouth. A pleasure. B. notes again a marked bitterness; I would consider that as minerality (flint stone ? he will say nothing before the end...). He says that there is very little sulphur here, like 10 or 15, it was added at the end of the fermentation. The malolactic fermentations will not happen this year, and he needs to sell wine soon. He will filter the wine with clay, then with Bentonite clay, then through cold temperature (minus 2° C) with tartaric crystals to precipitate the tartaric acid, and then cellulose filters. Because of the segment market where he sells his wine, he is obliged to have the wine filtered and spotless. It is paradoxal but actually only knowledgeable wine-lovers buying more expensive wines tend to tolerate visual imperfectness, and when you sell to the supermarkets your wine has to be "spotless". Sauvignon tasting : vat " 5He says that 2008 was a very low yield year indeed, he made grossly half of the usual yields, that is 30 hectoliter/hectare compared with 50 ho/ha on a normal year.
__Wow, very expressive nose in this 5th Sauvignon, with aromas of citrus, grape fruit...Aromatic intensity here, no doubt, very nice. Similar turbidity than the rest. He says that he is happy to hear what we can say during this blind tasting because for example, this Sauvignon plot happens to be the best that he has and he is utmost interested to hear comments from people unaware of the respective terroirs...............................Here are the respective vineyardsI will post later (in spring) pictures of these vineyards and soil.............................. __the 1st Sauvignon : Le Cep plot, located in Couffy. Mix of light flintstones with clay.
__the 2nd Sauvignon (the mineral one) : les Mardelles plot, located in Couffi (there's a picture of this plot with a small building in its middle on my André Fouassier post). Flint stones (silex in French), high-density of flint stones mixed with clay, he says that when you dig you find lots of silex (flint stone).
__the 3rd Sauvignon (fiberglass) and the 4th Sauvignon : a same vineyard located on a clay/limestone soil in Lye, with roots going deep to find their nutrients, deep enough to endure even the dry summers or the heat (you can see on the Fouassier post some of the roots hanging from the tuff faults in the underground cellars, these roots sneaked all the way through). The glycerol, the onctuosity is related to this particular soil. No hydric stress here, and also no excessive water because the're's a light slope. Visually, the soil has some stones, but not as thick, not as thick than the previous. Thin Sand layer on the surface too.
__the 5th Sauvignon : 2,2-hectare vineyard in Chabris, young vines (2003), exposed to the south. Soil : very strong clays (more than 50%) with some sand on the surface. For him, that's a top quality soil. Especially with last year's temperate weather, it makes a very beautiful, superb fruit (on hot years, it's more difficult). The light sandy surface gave this silky, velvety feel. The youth of the vines is why the wine is so expressive. That's the vineyard which for him undoubtedly generates the most expectations...........................At last, André Fouassier pours us from a metal vat some Menu Pineau (or Arbois), a white wine made with a now-rare variety, most of it will be ultimately blended with his Sauvignon (under the Valençay Appellation). He has about 37 hectoliters of Menu Pineau for this vintage. Very ripe aromas. Lots of citrus, grapefruit notes. Flower notes also B. says. The Menu-Pineau grapes ripe later than the other varieties and it can add something to the Sauvignon (it'll make about 10% of the blend). Low yields here also. He leaves grass between the rows for water competition. Higher acidity than the Sauvignon. Beautiful gliding mouth. André Fouassier's sparkling wine (which costs about 6 Euro if I remember, I'll check that) is made with 100% Menu Pineau. He lets intentionally a vat of Menu Pineau oxidize a bit and it makes a sparking with these particular brioched and lightly oxidized aromas that you find in 7 or 8 year-old Champagne wines. He sells it under the Table Wine label, otherwise, the agreement would be very ardous, he'd had to come back 10 or 15 times in front of the agreement people after repeated changes to the wine until they give the green light. not really worth the trouble.
His white Valençay 2008 will be mostly composed of the Sauvignons that we tasted, with 10% of Menu Pineau, 3% or 4% of Chardonnay, and also 2% of Sauvignon 2006 (a late harvest wine which was superb and adds a nice note).
André Fouassier wines can be bought at Le Vin en Tête in Paris.

Comments

[Alex]

Thanks for this interesting post. I actually have a thing for blind tasting, usually out of bottles though; blind tasting out of vats seems like another dimension to it. A pretty cool one! Cheers, Alex

[Putnam]

check this out: http://www.flbiognostics.com/consulting_services.php
"Our team of biochemistry and genetics experts is here is help you craft the wine that matches your vision perfectly. If you are looking to re-create that award winning vintage from last year or are looking to purchase a new vine you will benefit from our expertise." This must be a good thing. Now we can comment directly on the client's 'vision'.

[Bertrand]

Thanks, Putnam. This is amazing indeed how they're not shy to print that on their marketing pages. They asking for a backlash that will come when the consumer awakes.