Villebarou, Loire
You may not have heard about this wine event but this is possibly the first-ever wine fair centered on artisan & natural wine in France and it has just had its 28th edition in Villebarou in the outskirts of Blois (this was march 17-18). From the start the aim of the Salon des Vins de France de Villebarou was to let the general public in the area of Blois discover these wines and buy directly from the producers
without intermediaries, at the origin 28 years ago there wasn't even the term "natural wines" to describe these wines, like Philippe Tessier (who also helped jumpstart this
yearly event) told me. He told me also that at the time they'd look for
a convenient place not too far from their respective domaines and they choose the Salle des Fêtes (means "events part hall" in French) of Villebarou, a village just outside Blois, it was affordable and the village was willing to help. Villebarou still looks like a farm village although it has become kind of a residential suburb for the spreading city of Blois which lies just 5 km south. Although Blois is easily reachable by train I went there with the carsharing service blablacar, it cost me 13 € each way, way much less than train (and more friendly), plus the driver dropped me closer, just a 20-minute walk from the events hall. Got another car in the evening the same day to come back to Paris.
The entry fee is a mere 4 € and you're given a nice glass with "Villebarou" engraved in red letters (you can bring it home, i broke mine at the end alas) after which you can enjoy the (usually-generous) pours from all these great winemakers (we don't know how we're lucky over here in France...). The public of this Villebarou fair is a mix of local wine-wise amateurs (living in the Loire valley) and of restaurateurs as well as other professionnal buyers like cavistes, plus other vignerons of the area who come here so see their friends even if for some reason (no more wine to sell or limited number of participants in the room) they don't participate themselves. This year because of two consecutive years with frost losses there are less participants because some of the producers indeed don't have enough wine to sell, but this was still a vibrant event with some 35 vignerons (just look at the list of vignerons to salivate), and you'll recognize several artisan vintners profiled on this site although I tended to go first taste people I didn't know well.
I reached the events hall near the sports grounds of the village after a hearty 20-minute walk from where i was dropped, and got quickly in sync with the rest crowd, the event having started a hour before. Did a first dry run around the room and stopped at Jeff Coutelou who is a major figure in the natural wine landscape of Languedoc. The 13-hectare domaine is organic since 1987, the first cuvées without any SO2 dating from 2003.
Now everything is made totally without any additives whatsoever
__ Le Vin des Amis, Vin de France [table wine] 2017. Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache (organic farmed
like everything you'll find here), bottled the previous week. Generous nose with freshness. The temperature of the wine is a bit too high but tastes super good still. Light sweetness in the mouth, a pleasure to drink. 10 000 bottles for this cuvée. Zero SO2. Delicious in spite of being just bottled. 9,5 € tax included (all the vignerons brought lots of cases and people were buying especially that many of these wines were great deals).
__ On Peut Pas Vraiment Dire Que, Vin de France 2017, 100 % Mourvèdre. 50 year old vines with yields like 20 or 25 hectoliters/hectare. Nose : very inky, the color also being quite dense. Jef say here they alternate layers of destemmed- with whole-clustered grapes, but without much intervention, just a bit of light remontage every 2 or 3 days, just to keep the thing wet. He bottles the wine early to kind of "trap the fruit" and leave the wine mature in the bottle. The wine is damn good, no astringency, will certainly be even better I think, although it's so enjoyable already.Interesting alternative to Bandol. 14 €.
__ Flambadou 2016, Vin de France made of 100 % Carignan. There's a touch of vivacity in the mouth, very interesting, my stomach makes this noise when my system loves a wine...Nice coating feel with this gentle sweetness which may be the gras of the wine only, not sugar. 15 €.
__ Bibonade 2015, a rosé pet'nat made with Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Muscat d'Alexandrie. This ancestral-method bubbly (bottled with 26 grams redidual sugar) stayed 30 months sur lattes, and was disgorged early february 2018. Sweetness feel in the mouth but again it's the fruit or the gras of the wine. Nice intensity in the mouth with a vinous character having a light enjoyable tannic coating on the palate.
Lou. Y Es-Tu is a 8-hectare domaine of the Beaujolais that started in 2000, farmed organic since 2007 and natural winemaking since 2009 (indigenous yeast, no additives). The parcels are rented on the métayage protocol, 50 % of the wine being delivered
as payment to the owner. They make in general just 3 cuvées, a cuvée domaine, a primeur
and an old-vines cuvée. The total surface is in fact 8,5 hectares od which 8 hectares in one block.
__ Lou. Y Es-Tu 2017, their "cuvée domaine", gamay of course. Bottled 3 days before. Made with vines that are between 40 and 70 years old. Carbonic maceration, élevage in cement vats. The color is a bit evolved, and translucent. Appealing nose, very promising. Powerful wine in the mouth in spite of its light color, makes 14 %. Mathilde says it's because the year was very dry and concentrated the juice in 2017, they got half the usual volume of juice. This bottle costs 12 €.
__ Lou. Y Es-Tu 2016 vieilles vignes, same cuvée, other vintage and old vines. Same style of color, lightly evolved and clear. Super fruit feel and less powerful but still quite powerful for a Beaujolais.
They export 50 % of their production, to Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, , Denmark, Sweden and the United States.
The family farm and ancestor of Domaine Patrice Colin is said to be active since 1735 and it began in 1900 to sell its wine directly, then from 6 hectares of vineyards. The domaine now farms 25 hectares of which 9 hectares of Pineau d'Aunis which is the flagship variety of the Coteaux du Vendomois, a sub-appellation of the Loire. They'll reach soon 30 hectares with a 5-hectare replanting. The domaine has certainly
a more mainstream outlook compared with the rebels in this room, you can feel that through their website and brochure, but their wines are interesting nonetheless. We're all in general very eager to have Pineau d'Aunis especially that this cépage with a long history in the Loire (it was grown all over the area in the past) has
been somehow shunned by the AOC bureaucrats and industry-minded players who pushed to give preferential treatment to mainstream international varieties like Sauvignon for example. Happily in the Coteaux-du-Vendômois the Pineau d'Aunis is still considered at home and amateurs come in droves to the tiny AOC for the light peppery red.
The young man on the left is Pierre-François Colin, the son of Patrice who came back on the domaine last september after his studies and work experiences in the Beaujolais, Côte Rôtie, Australia and New Zealand.
__ Gris Bodin 2017, a 100 % Pineau d'Aunis rosé. Light, very nice drinkability. Vines planted in 1920. This is a direct-press wine with fermentation on 228-liter barrels. They added just a bit of SO2 at bottling sells for 7,2 € tax included, super good deal. they made 50 hectoliters of it only, will not last forever. A buyer who knows the wine says it is terrific with oysters, seems right to me. There was an oyster stand just outside at the door, I should have gone there bring back a plate.
__ Pierre à Feu 2017, 100 Chenin Blanc, from 25-year-old vines on clay with flintstone, that's why the name of this cuvée. notes of small flowers on the nose. Pierre-François says they had a bit of frost losses in 2017 but not much compared with their peers in neighboring regions of the Loire valley.
Beautiful smoothness feel on the palate, with a nice energy too. They're not
doing biodynamye though, just organic with some use of essential oils. The temperature of the wine is a bit too warm but that's still certainly a super good deal for a drink at a terrace in spring or summer, and the price is only 7,9 €. They made 70 hectoliters of this.
__ Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2017, Chenin from vines 50 to 80, same terroir. Unctuous, suave, long in the mouth, delicious. 9,1 €, good value.
__ Pente des Coutis 2016, Chenin again, from a south-oriented slope on limestone. Residual sugar (8 grams, I'm told). Not my style of wine.
__ Rouge Pierre-François Coteaux du Vendômois 2016, a red made from 60 % Pineau d'Aunis, 30 % Pinot Noir & 10 % Cabernet Franc. 100 % stainless-steel vats. This is Pierre-François' first full vinification in the domaines. The nose is very appealing with fruit notes. Mouth : just lovely, with a beautiful tannic touch on the palate, very easy to drink, asks for more... Nice one. 12,3 % alc. The color is relatively clear. Botthles april 2017. 80 hectoliters. 7,2 €, a great bargain.
__ Les Vignes d'Emilien Colin 2016. 100 % Pineau d'Aunis from vines aged 90 to 100. Exquisite wine, no word, go for it ! 10,20 €, a steal ! 50 hectoliters. Bottled july 2017. A visitos says the 2015 tastes super good right now, but i'm not objective, being sold to everything Pineau d'Aunis. I don't know for the 2015 but this one is already a killing I think. 12,5 % alc.
__ Intuition 2015, 100 % Pineau d'Aunis from vines planted in 1980, the first graftings in the area (makes them 125 years old). There's virtually no remaining ungrafted vines in this area because of the clay, only vines planted in a sandy soil can make it ungrafted. Vinification and élevage in oak barrels. 17 €. Nice chew, great old lady, lots of character, Pineau d'Aunis rocks !
The Domaine de L'Oubliée was set up in 2009 by Xavier Courant who was a caviste near Paris in his former life. He then studied viticulture and trained at Romain Guiberteau & at Thierry Michon for the real-wine part of the trade. The domaine is located in Saint Patrice on vineyard located on both Touraine and Bourgueil appellations. He farms today 4,5 hectares, making 6 cuvées altogether,
mostly from Cabernet Franc on different types of gravel & sandy soils, clay/limestone, other on clay/flintstone. the domaine is farmed on biodynamy.
__ Existe en Blanc, white vin de France 2016, Chenin. Bottled february 2018. Vines planted in 2003. Round and generous, floral. 15 €.
__ Merci la Vie, red vin de France 2016. Blend of 50 % Cabernet Franc, 30 % Grenache and 20 % Gamay (the latter coming from Pierre Geoffroy in the Gard, he went there himself for the picking). Destemmed grapes. Bottled april 24 2017. 15 000 bottles & magnums.
Super nice wine, love it ! Such a juice, a fruit, great tannic touch. This wine rocks ! Some pepper notes on the palate, my stomach begs for more, that's the food we all need... Excellent deal for 10 €.
__ Notre Histoire, Bourgueil 2015. Cabernet Franc, from a 1,6-hectare parcel with vines aged from 27 to 60 on clay-silica soil, stones and more clay in the depths (no limestone for sure). Yields 22 ho/ha. Vinified in cement vats, part in Nomblot eggs. Quite powerful, less easy at this stage. 12,5 % on the label though. Bottled september 2016. 14 €. 6400 bottles & magnums.
__ Tenue de soirée Bourgueil 2015, Cabernet Franc on silt, clay/limestone, yields 35 ho/ha. Elevage in recent barrels, bottled january 26 2017. 2500 bottles & magnums.
Great mouth feel, goes down with silk coating. Less acidic he says because limestone in the soil. I feel a super nice acidity, very refined, he says this can keep long. Very nice wine indeed. 20 €.
I said I came across several other vignerons in this fair who were not taking part but just dropping to see theit friends, taste their wines and have good time together, I saw Pascal Potaire, Jean-Marie Puzelat, Christian Venier and Brendan Tracey pictured here on left, a New-Jersey native who spent his youth in California but then landed in the region (Blois) to live with his French mother, that was in 1971; he is a musician and through concerts he met with the Puzelats and you guesss it, he ended up making wine. These people are fitting completely with all these wines, enjoyable, alive, wild, this is all wine is about, not this predictable, encaged product that commercial wineries try to have us believe ad being the real thing...
Before I write my part about Anne's work, let me present Ludo Jivoux on the right, he's been working as a sommelier at Coinstot Vino and is on his way to find his way on the other side, you'll hear about him in time, hopefully on Wineterroirs. I understand he's helping Anne's husband Gregory Leclerc and looking around at the same time for some parcels to work on.
Anne Paillet is a character in the region, she's not to miss when she's part of a wine event, she has such an energy and stamina. Anne was working in an office district near Paris in her former life but decided one day to part with the corporate world, she moved to the Loire with her man Gregory (Chahut et Prodiges) and began to make wine herself (Autour de l'Anne) but somehow while keeping her chai in the Loire she took up parcels in the Languedoc (Pic Saint Loup), hauling the grapes back in the Loire. She says that this year she'll make something new, she'll set up a mobile vinification cellar using a couple of semitrailers with aircon so that with a stretched harvest timing the respective batches can begin ferment in their respective vats in the trailers that will be kept connected to the mains power source until the tractors come to haul them with all the vats back to the Loire. I definitely want to see that...
The two of their twin domaines were taking part to the event and I began tasting the Touraine one, following with the Languedoc wines which makes sense, although Anne's vinifications are very Loirish as we'll see later.
Autour de l'Anne -
The Domaine Thierry Navarre is 12-hectare domaine located in the Saint Chinian area in the Languedoc, it's farmed organic and focuses on forgotten local varieties, the domaine is a reference in terms of artisan wines rooted in the land.
__Vin d'Oeillades, vin de France 2017. Oeillade Noir, the forgotten variety here, is a cousin of Cinsault. The color is pretty light. Tastes like a red with character. 7,5 €.
__ Le Laouzil, Saint Chinian 2016. Blend of Carignan, Syrah, Grenache & Cinsault. From a terroir on schist. 12-month élevage, cement & stainless-steel. Nice dusty, turbid color, good omen for sure. Suoper good indeed, my feel was right;,
__ La Conque, vin de France 2013, a UFO (OVNI in French) like they say. Made from an isolated parcel in the middle of thick woods at an elevation of 500-600 meters, from 1,5 hectare of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Syrah. Sold out but still possible to taste. Exciting nose, dust feel. Super fresh in the mouth, intense, silk paper tannin. Acidity is real sharp here, love that, but may not please everyone, it really awakes (in the best sense for me) the tongue and palate.
Donatienne & Arnaud have been running the Ferme des Caudalies in Anjou since 2010, it's a tiny organic domaine of 3,3 hectares (Donatienne keeps a day job on the side), 3/4 whites and 1/4 reds, all labelled as vin de France (table wine) plus they recently replanted some Grolleau. All wines are vinified naturally, no SO2 on reds, just a bit at bottling for whites.
Chateau Lestignac is a 9-hectare domaine located in the beautiful region of Périgord (east of Libourne), in the village of Sigoulès, south-west of the town of Bergerac. Camille and Mathias took over the domaine from Mathias' grandparents in 2008, converting to organic farming 2 years later and
__ Blanc, Vin de France 2016. Sauvignon Blanc, half on blue marls (marnes bleues), half on limestone. Nice harmony feel in the mouth. 18 €. Interesting label.
Marc Pesnot at Domaine de la Sénéchalière is the major reference in terms of natural winemaking in the Nantes region of Muscadet at the western end of the Loire valley. He took over from his family in the late 1980s' parcels that never got any chemicals, and on the winemaking side he discovered the wines of Lapierre, Overnoy and Gramenon in the mid-1990s' and made his first naturally fermented cuvée in 2001. He now vinifies without any SO2 and unlike much of the commercial
__ La Bohême, "extra large" Vin de France 2016, variety Melon de bourgogne of course. The added "extra large" is because there's some 2015 and 2016. The volume of 2016 was very low because of mildew; he sprays with plant decoctions and essential oils and he held longer than his conventional neighbors, but with the mist and the heat that came after the losses were still high. Just a lovely wine, everything is gentle in this wine, I feel like it gives back azll the harmony it got in the vineyard and soil. 2000 bottles (he makes 60 000 bottles total on an average year). So2 at bottling here. 9,5 €, a super good deal.
__ Nuitage, Vin de France 2015: Melon de Bourgogne old vines. In terms of SO2 there's 0,005 here when it's "allowed" by the AOC to go up to 210. 300 hectoliters, 4800 bottles. I like this wine, it tells a story in the mouth, very interesting aromaticly, full-mouthed with an echo that keeps bouncing back in the palate. he did a slow pressing which makes a slow oxigenation, which in turn protects the wine. 12-hour cycle using only 150 milibar pressure, the juice falling drop by drop. The first time he did this was when he had a problem with his pnematic press : there was a hole in the cloth that does the pressing and no way to repair in reasonable time; if he pressed the normal pressure the hole would burst wide open and as he had one last batch to press he decided to just press at a very low pressure (90 milibar) and for whatever time it wood take; he left it press this way all night and he discovered the following morning that the grapes were almost dry, the low pressing had made its job. The irony is if not for this accident he wouldn't have been able to press at such a low pressure, the machine being programmed to switch to safety mode before it gets that low, so he had someone change the settings so as to repeat the experiment.
Like for many in this new generation of vignerons and winemakers, Pierre Jéquier doesn't come from a lineage of winegrowers, he was an architect in his former life and his wife Blandine was working for the French parliament. They started their vinous life in 1998 at Mas Foulaquier (falling in love with the local architecture at the same time I guess) on what can be considered the northernmost area of the Coteaux du Languedoc in Pic Saint Loup. Biodynamic farming
__ Chouette Blanche, IGP Saint Guilhem le Desert [some sort of "vin de pays" appellation] 2015. A white blend from massal selections of Grenache Blanc, Grenache
Jean Baptiste Senat moved back with his wife Charlotte to his family domaine in 1996 after a former life in Paris. The property that has now a total vineyard surface of 15 hectares is located in the Minervois i(Languedoc), it is farmed organic and has lots of old Carignan & Grenache plus some Cinsault and mourvèdre. The
__Arbalète et Coqueliquots, Minervois 2017. grenache and Syrah. Dusty red color, almost milky. A bit of a burning feel in the mouth. 10 €.
When I stopped at Jean-Sébastien Gioan's Potron Minet'table, Christian Venier was there to say hello. Christian has his domaine right near there just outside Blois and was visiting his friends if not participating this year. Jean-Sébastien arrived in Paris in 1997 where he was first working as messenger,
then he discovere natural wines there with visits at Le Baratin and Le Verre Volé; later in 2005
__ Macache, Vin de France 2017, a white made of 50 % Macabeu & Grenache Blanc. Generous southern white, a bit of a high alcohol feel maybe. 10 €.
I was very happy to have met again Christian Venier's father Eugène (you can see his pic in the linked story), who was tasting the wine around in the fair. Eugène is also the uncle of Thierry and Jean-Marie Puzelat (and further, Hervé Villemade is
Eugène says he had just rean an article on the local Nouvelle République that you had to drink water in order to remain in good health, 1,5 liter per day it was written, and he says he does indirectly drink this volume, but through the bowls of soup he takes for breakfast, at lunch and for dinner, but it's a better water with good vegetables he says... He says that even when the weather is hot he doesn't drink water. He has always been a viticulteur he says, a vigneron, and his grandfather had helped set up the coopérative (now defunct) in his time. He keeps pruning an old treille (climbing vine - more than 100 years old) along his parents house even though this house was sold.
Happy to see Gilles Bley again and taste his wines of Clos Siguier in Cahors, wines that are always surprisingly fresh and easy drinking for an appellation and a
The Domaine Giachino is located in the Savoie near the French Alps, The domaine which is now farmed organic since 2006 has a vineyard surface of 15 hectares and produces 14 cuvées. Frédéric and David, two brothers, manage the domaine which comes from their family, the older brother took over the family farm (which was formerly growing polyculture crops) from his parents in 1988, centering it on viticulture.
__ Monfarina, Savoie 2017; a white made from majorityy of Jacquère, the local white variety, plus Mondeuse Blanche and Verdesse,
I left as it was becoming dark, passed these happy vignerons chatting outside (pic on right) and reached the meeting point just in time for the carpooling driver (a couple who were spending the weekend in Paris; the weather became rainy on the way to Paris, I was alone in the back of the car and slept part of the way; a good thing I didn't drive (or ride) myself...
__
Nid de Guèpes, vin de France bubbly, 50 % Chenin & Sauvignon, the cuvée name means "wasps nest", this is because of the bubbles, a fellow vigneron (Frantz Saumon) said while tasting the bubbly which had no name yet that it made him think to a
wasps nest with all these bubbles. Vines here are about 50 on clay and limestone. 13 €.
__ Coup de Canon, vin de France (like everything here) 2016, 100 % Grolleau. Clear type of red. Notes of violets on the nose, other flowers. Some bitterness edge. The wine is a bit cold, I'm warming the glass in my hands. 12 €.
__ La Mule, vin de France 2016, Gamay. One-year élevage in general. This cuvée was bottled 10 days before. Super exciting nose. Mouth : superb Gamay ! Lovely ! Superb value at 11 €, a killing ! 2500 bottles.
__ Les Gros Locaux, Vin de France 2016, 1/3 Grolleau, Côt, Gamay. Vinified separately (carbonic maceration) and blended afterwards. 12 €.
Anne says that her wines are like the Loire meeting the Languedoc, the grapes are grown in the Languedoc but are kind of vinified in a Loire spirit. She jokes with her new Appellation "Loiredoc"
__ Pot d'Anne, vin de France 2017, a 100 % Cinsault made in this spirit, compared to the originating region the wines are more digest, kind of, closer to what you get in the Loire. The color is very clear, a beautiful lightly turbid red, almost milky, it's not filtered and there's no SO2 at all. Very exciting and with a vivid acidity. 11 €, great deal and again, zero SO2 anytime. 2500 bottles.
__ Anagramme, vin de France 2017, 100 % Grenache, unfiltered like everything she makes. 2 or 3 rackings to get the thick lees away. Bottled 10 days before. Superb mouth, silky and lacework. 14 €. 1600 bottles. Excellent one again.
__ Terret
Gris, vin de France 2016. Made from Terret, a forgotten variety of the Languedoc which exists in
different colors. THe "Gris" or grey is the pink one. From a parcel Thierry Navarre always had, the vines are 80 years old. Tastes like a southern white : generous, round and with some sweetness feel on the side. William who explains the wines says that terret has always an interesting fruitiness with some bitterness too. This is certainly a gastronomy wine, need to eat something with that. 8 €, good deal.
intense, focused, silky tannins. 8,5 €, top value at this price !
__ Cuvée Olivier, Saint Chinian 2015. Parcel selection, old vines. Carignan, Syrah, Grenache. Very nice, sophisticated & refined, beautiful tannins and long feel in the mouth. 12,5 €, very nice one. Will certainly be even better after a couple years' keep.
__ Ça Bulle ?? , Vin Pétillant de France, a pet'nat (natural sparkling, also known as
ancestral method) made with Chenin. Nice bubbly with honey notes, discreet bubbles
(maybe because the bottle was almost empty), lovely wine, very vinous type of sparkling. Certainly good value at 11 €.
__ Se mettre au Vert, Vin de France. Still Chenin. Easy going. 13 €.
__ Blanc sec (dry white) Vin de France 2010, Chenin if I'm right. Malolactic not completed, they say had a strong lemon style in the early years and they hesitated before putting it on the market. Angular mouth, but interesting, very atypical for sure. 9 €.
__ Les Mots Bleus, Vin de France 2015, blend of 80 % Sauvignon and 20 % Chenin. Very powerful and some sweetness feel. Not Sauvignon at all in terms of aromas, because, they say, picked ripe, the aromas are more on the exotic fruit range. 13 % Generous alcohol feel. Got a bit SO2 added at bottling like their still whites but very little.
__ Le Rouge aux Lèvres, Vin de France 2016, made from Cabernet Franc (carbonic maceration). Light and fruity wine with a super-clear color because, they say, of the carbo and the fact that the volume of grapes wasn't big and so the grapes didn't get crushed under their own weight. Nose : ripe flowers, the mouth follows in the same trend, with peony notes, very feminine wine. I'd even say excellent wine and great value at 10 € tax included. They made 1000 bottles of this, from a 35-are surface.
downsizing a bit the vineyard surface along the years. The vines are 45 on average
and there's a diversity in soil types. The vinifications are natural, no additives, just a bit of SO2 if/wen necessary. All their cuvées are labelled as Vin de France (table wine) and it's an assumed choice. They tried to have the AOC label but decided to quit after having had once two warnings for whatever the commission didn't like in the tasting of their wine.
Copains comme Cochons, Vin de France 2017, a sparkling rosé, 11 % alc. Cabernet Sauvignon with 1/3 Malbec and some Ugni Blanc. Lovely pet'nat with discreet bubbles
(almost none). Terrific pet'nat, lightly sweet, as good as the first version of the Capriades' Piège à Filles (they changed the wine since, it's less sweet and not as exciting now). The bottle costs 10 €, a great deal ! They say they don't disgorge the sparkling, they filter instead. Great bubbly rosé, and the color is a killing by itself, plus the pig-centered label adds to the excitement. Super good. they made 1000 bottles of this. 60 % is exported, Japan takes a lot if I
understand.
__ Le Rouge & Le Noir, Vin de France 2016. Merlot (destemmed) & Malbec (whole-clustered), 4-day maceration and blended afterwards. Very enjoyable mouth, dust feel. Unfiltered. Mathias says that in 2016 they had a nice freshness in the wines with an acidulous end. 8000 bottles of this cuvée. Very nice wine indeed ! 14 €.
__ Tempête, Vin de france 2016, 80 % Merlot, 20 % Cabernet Sauvignon, terroir blue marls. All vinified whole-clustered, foot-stomped once and a few remontages. Light translucent color for a southern red. In the mouth, vividness with a welcome freshness on the edge and refined tannins, goes down pretty well. 9000 bottles, bottled january 2018. 18 €.
__ Racigas, Vin de France 2015. 100 % Merlot, 50-year-old vines on slopes on limestone soil, with the rock table directly underneath. 2-month maceration and élevage 24 months in oak barrels. Speaking of the lovely freshness they say it comes from the biodynamic farming, they've been on biodynamie for 8 years and they noticed the change. Super nice chew here with this refined tannic feel and dust feel. 20 €
wineries in the region his yields are low.
since 2006.
Gris, Bourboulenc, Clairette & Rolle, all on the same parcel (6 rows each). One year in casks. 27 €.
__ Violetta, IGP Hérault [formerly vin de Pays de l'Hérault, our wine bureaucracy loves changing its acronyms] 2016, a red made with Grenache and Syrah. the mouth is vivid, peppery with a nice energy and freshness, my stomach approves noisily. Color relatively translucent, dusty texture, obviously unfiltered. 13,5 €.
__ Les Tonillières, IGP Saint Guilhem le Desert 2015, a red blend, Carignan, Grenache plus some Syrah. The whole goes through a 16-month élevage in demi-muids (large-capacity barrels). Speaking of the awkward IGP appellation, Pierre says they have more freedom under this vin-de-pays appellation compared to the AOC, in terms of varieties for example.
The wine : concentration, complexity, with also this tannic approach, this lacework on the palate and down the throat. Definitely a wine to eat with. 16 €.
__ Les Calades, AOP [AOC] Pic Saint Loup, 80 % Syrah, the rest in Grenache. Grapes were cooled down a night in their boxes. This is a great vintage for Pic Saint Loup. Very long macerations, like 3 months with rackings afterwards. Pressing by gravity, very smooth and long. 18 months in barrels. The wine needs time to open.
__ Les GRAN'Tonillières, IGP Saint Guilhem le Desert 2015, 100 % Carignan, old vines on low end of slope with clay only, élevage : 18 months in 25-hectoliter foudres. Here there's a lightness that comes along, Pierre says it has to do with the fact it's a clay-only terroir (white clay), there's no limestone. 27 €.
parcels sit in the middle of the garrigue and the vinification is non interventionist.
__ Mais Où Est Donc Ornicar, Minervois 2016. Grenache (70 %), Syrah, Cinsault, whole-clustered, maceration with pigeage. The nose is refined and appealing, quite exciting. Nice wine, 16 €.
__ La Nine, Minervois 2016. Carignan (70 %), Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Syrah. that's a powerful wine, samely refined with silky tannins. Super color also, dusty/molky looking and traslucent, that's I think the visual signature for a nice wine... Indeed, in the mouth & swallowed, this wine rocks ! The Carignan vines are aged between 70 and 120 here. They make from 25 000 to 30 000 bottles of this, it's their biggest cuvée. 14 €.
__ Le Bois des Merveilles, Minervois 2016. Grenache, old Carignan (40 % both) plus 20 % Mourvèdre. Man, this is good... Powerful too but so refined, and these silk-paper tannins. 24 €.
he worked several months at Thierry Puzelat and then moved south to work for Jean-François Nicq where he'll try his
hand at vinifying a parcel. He now farms for himself 10 hectares in the Roussillon, parcels with low yields (20 hectoliters/hectare).
__ En Goguette, red Vin de France 2017 made with 80 % Grenache and 20 % Syrah, all vinified in carbonic maceration (one week long). the color shows evolution, lightly turbid. Mouth : super wine ! Goes down well & easy. 8 €, super deal. He makes this cuvée every year, bottled in november. Sells well in Japan, I can understand that...
__ Pari Trouillas, Vin de France 2017; 70 % Carignan & 30 % Grenache Noir. Carbo, made in a higher fermenter which crushed a bit the grapes under their own weight, so there's more juice bleeding out, but shorter maceration. Also a good-deal wine (9 €) for eating with something. Just a bit of SO2 added at bottling. Some astringency but a nice one that coats the side of the mouth. Powerful but good and balanced, feels good even after so many wines tasted and [partly] swallowed...
__ Roulé Boulé, Vin de France 2016; Syrah 80 % & Grenache Noir 20 %. High fermenter too, with a maceration time a bit longer. For this reason the juice ends up filling the fermenters almost to the top. Makes 3000 to 3500 bottles. 10 €.
also family related), he still gives a hand at the wine farm of his son and feels at home among these same-minded vignerons in this fair which he visited from the onset. Eugene has lots of humor, saying for example that he doesn't drink water [and is healthy nonetheless, contrary to what the new Puritans/hygienists wants us to believe regarding wine consumption].
variety (Malbec) which is often a bit rough and tannic. Here filling Eugène's glass with Christian Venier's brother Daniel on the right.
__ Clos Siguier, 2015 (cuvée domaine), Malbec (Côt). Nice, easy to drink, Gilles says 2015 was a nice vintage with beautiful weather, the grapes were picked at good ripeness. Price is 6 € only, really a gtreat deal for your everyday wine, Clos Siguier is really a reference for at the same time artisan work, well-tended parcels isolated on a plateau and rare affordableness.
__ Clos Siguier cuvée domaine 2014. Lovely, somehow smoother, with even more enjoyable tannins. 6,5 € terrific deal.
__ Clos Siguier la Gamassade 2015. Still Côt (Malbec). Such a freshness and roundness, 15 €.
the whole on 3 hectares.Cold-temp débourbage at 10 ° C for 96 hours then slow fermentation through temp control at
16 C maximum, lasted very long like 2 or 3 months. Zero additives. Nice mouth, very aromatic. They made
110 hectoliters, with several successive bottlings, the last will be september 2018. Just a bit of SO2 at bottling, none before. They say their wines are 10 to 30 total SO2 at the lab analysis. 11 €.
__ Prieuré Saint Christophe blanc, Savoie 2016.; made from Altesse, another local variety of the Savoie mountains. 12-month fermentation in barrels. Bottled 15 days before. Generous wine with noticeable alcohol feel in the mouth (14 % alc.). 30 €.
__ Frères Giac, IGP Isère ; a red blend of Syrah, Gamay and Etraire de la Dui (another local one). Clear, translucent color. Interesting tension in the mouth, I think I recognize the Savoie character here. 5000 bottles, 12 €.
__ Mondeuse, Savoie 2017. Elevage in demi-muids. Not tooo tannic, I'm told it has to do with the sufficient maturity which is not always possible on certain vintages. Whole-clustered grapes on carbo with remontage every other day, and they leave it quiet as soon as the fermentation calms down. 14 €.
__ Giac Bulles, Vin de France 2017, a bubbly rosé made with 50 % Jacquère & Mondeuse, very light and easy at 9 % alcohol. Tight bubbles in the mouth. They've been making a bubbly for 10 years but it's the first time they make a rosé bubbly, using the Mondeuse (before, it was 100 % Jacquère). 4000 bottles. They made it in a 3000-liter milk tank, cooling down the juice. 12 €.
What an amazing experience! I would love to go for such an exciting event!
Posted by: Jim | April 06, 2018 at 11:18 AM