Angers, Loire Valley
There are a few days at the turn of january and february when Angers is bustling with winemakers, wine geeks and professionnals from all over. Beyond the Salon d'Angers around which it all started, you have a few side wine fairs focused on natural, organic wine which have been a growing magnet for buyers and importers, including this one, Les Pénitentes where you could taste this year the wines from 26 vignerons. For the aforementioned reasons the accomodations in the area are fully booked and it's close to impossible to find a place in Angers to crash for the night, so I made it a day trip from Paris, returning home the same
evening. Again, I used the car-sharing scheme Blablacar for that, much more
fun and so much cheaper than the SNCF (prices vary, but I paid 23 € each way).
The wine event takes place in an architectural gem, the Hôtel des Pénitentes which had several uses from its construction in the 15th century, including housing a female monastic order (the Pénitentes) in 1640. Incidently, as I was taking a picture of a narrow side street with old cobble stones, I was talked to by an elderly woman named Madeleine Cesbron (I asked for her name) who guided me to the historic gems of the area, which sits along a Roman road. I was thinking in the side of my mind about the tasting having started and was a bit worried about delaying my arrival but she was so kind and knowledgeable and eager to tell that I stayed with her quite some time as she showed me around. I think she was a teacher in the past or something like that, she showed me this incredible house built in 1582 (year is engraved on the beam) where you can see sculptures representing American Indians, this was the time news from the discovery of America was reaching Europe with all its exciting imagery. She told me many details about several of these statues. I find it interesting that the place is now a wine shop (regular mainstream, if I can judge from a quick glance). She also showed me the church (Eglise de la Trinité) on the other side of the street which had a special door for the women convent Abbaye du Ronceray which was embedded in the side of the church, allowing the nons to enter the church without venturing outside...
Let's go to work ! I ended up telling Madeleine I had this important tasting to go to, thanked her warmly and walked the last meters to the Pénitentes. The door was discreetly on the side of the historic building, I walked in with a group of Italians and paid the 7 € fee, being given a nice glass. Just to remind you, this event is organized every year
by a group of natural winemakers, Thierry Puzelat, René Mosse, Hervé Villemade & Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme, and they invite a
couple dozen artisan vignerons. The two large rooms were already quite crowded when I arrived at 11 am (it started at 10) although it was too be much worse hours later, every one in the real-wine universe is in Angers at this time of the year, it's thrilling but it has its drawback, so always come at opening time.
Jean-Christophe Jézéquel was the first winemaker I went to, he's a new player, having started his wine producing in 2017, beginning with parcels he got from Mikaël Bouges, after having worked two years at Hervé Villemade. His now works from a 5-hectare vineyard surface and is based in Faverolles-sur-Cher.
__ Ma De Moi S'Elle, Pet-Nat Gamay Grolleauu 2018, he brought bottles which he disgorged specially for this event, the rest is still sur-lies.
__ Sauvignon 2017 (his first vintage), one year in barrel, old vines (60) from the Cher valley, he got these vines 3 years ago from Mikaël Bouges.
Nose : honey, iodine. Superb mouth, nice white-wine texture, onctuous tannins, a wine with harmony & energy. 8 € without tax.
__ Aunis 2018, very old vines (about 100 years), this is a barrel sample. Terrific nose, wilted rose flower notes. Mouth : idem, delicate, a killing. No cuvée name yet. Buy this too !! But I'm afraid with all these importers it's going to be sold out soon, although he made 20 hectoliters of it.
My following stop was at Pattes Loup of Thomas Pico in Chablis, he wasn't at his stand when I showed up (i made this picture later) and Gwenaelle was doing the pouring and explaing,
she works currently in Thomas' vineyard
doing pruning and other things and when I asked Thomas if she'd make wine herself one day, he told me yes and she'd be terrific at it, so be ready for another exciting story on this website...
__ Chablis Beauregard 2016. Iodine, vibrant, easy drink. Kimmeridgian soil with kind of oysters shells in it. 24,5 € without tax.
__ Chablis 1er Cru Buteaux 2015, 3-year élevag, Thomas told me when I met him later that he's adding another year of élevage to make it 3. Vividness on the nose. A bit almond-oaky in the mouth but quite classy and mineral-sharp. 28 € without tax.
__ Chablis Vent d'Ange 2016 (I should have tasted this one before the former, actually). Well-balanced mouth and nice energy feel. Price for this one is below 20 e without tax. Hail destroyed 85 % of the fruit on these vines.
__ Pinot Noir d'Alsace 2018, barrel sample. Made from biodynamic-farmed vines, Thomas bought these grapes for ther love of Alsace Pinot Noir, he made 5 barrels of it. Nice noticeable bitterness, the wine is still in its infancy.
Everybody that counts in this real-wine world was there undoubtly, I briefly stumbled on Mr Yoshio Ito and for a change I was the one taking his picture, the Japanese wine importer being himself an active photographer who visits vignerons all the time (check his densely-illustrated website). Unsuspecting visitors wouldn't guess this man played a pivotal role at the start of the natural-wine movement, exporting loads of wine to Japan at a time the French market and the U.S. market weren't still aware of the phenomenon...
Time has passed since I visited Benoit Courault, he doesn't live in the trailer and settled in one of the old farms nearby. His
vineyard surface today is 6 hectares,
still very manageable with tools and by hand.
__ Les Guinechiens Vin de France 2017, Chenin (he says that's the only variety he has). Wow, what a gleaming feel in the mouth and throat when swallowed ! That's when you understand you need to swallow to appreciate the true nature of wines. Superb.
__ Quart de Gastines 2017, no label but cuvée already bottled (table wine like the rest I presume). From the Chenin in thePrieuré de Gastines, an historic terroir. Super mineral and sharp, that's a classy wine, obviously in its early age, to be watched and followed.
__ Les Rouliers 2017, 100 % Cabernet Franc, a red now (purchased grapes I guess as he has only Chenin). Fruit-forward wine, with a cooked fruit side, enjoyable.
__ La Coulée 2017, stamina. Nice length in the mouth ! You feel you eat as much as you drink, here's a heartening red...
I then went to the table of the Sonoma Mountain winery, where Nic Coturri was pouring wines with a few of his friends. Nic (Niccolo) is the son of the legendary Californian winemaker Tony Coturri whose Coturri Winery is located in the heart of Sonoma. Tony Coturri was a pioneer in the United States for making natural wine from organic grapes. Nic grew up working with his father from an early age, learning from the traditional winemaking experience transmitted
along the generations by his great grandfather and yielding wines that are both natural and authenticly Californian, connected to its terroirs. He set up his own project, Sonoma Mtn Winery. I didn't taste all the cuvées here, they brought lots of them.
__ Sonoma Mtn Winery Chardonnay 2017. Turbid, pretty expressive in the throat, full of
energy. 15 % alcohol content but pretty balanced and easy drinking.
__ Bordozo white 2018, Mendocino. Large volume bottle (one liter, seems to me. Not convincing, some inbaalance here.
__ Bordozo rosé 2018, malbec & Merlot, a Bordeaux blend. Not my type.
__ Bordozo red 2018. Nice turbid color, milky shades. Super acidity here with chalky tannins, nice wine. 25 $ retail in the United States, I'm told, good value. Sonoma Mtn Winery red 2017, a blend of Zinfandel, Carignan and Barbera. Nice fruit, goes down the throat with gentle power. Fruit forward with the Zinfandel.
__ Sonoma Mtn Winery, the Small Vineyard Project from Niccolo Arturo Coturri (to read the full label) Cabernet Sauvignon 2017. Elegant & discreet nose, sweet spices. Silky tannins, vibrant acidity wrapping gently the alcohol, not a big length in the mouth though, it seemed to me.
__ Sonoma Mtn Winery Merlot 2016, Sonoma Valley. Also soft spices on the nose. Mouth : Wow, breatyh deeply, that is something ! Power, freshness & excitement. The wines looks chalky and unfiltered, excellent wine !
__ Sonoma Mtn Winery Merlot 2012, same vineyard, Nic works with them since 2006 and before that was Tony. Open-top fermented with a bit of punching, élevage in French neutral barrels for 11 months. Turbid, milky or cloudy. Just superb to drink, costs also 25/28 $ retail in the U.S.
__ Sonoma Mtn Winery Cuvée N°1 2010, Sonoma Valley, blend of Merlot, Cabernet, Syrah plus a bit of Chardonnay. 14,1 % alc. Wow, goes down so gently, so fresh, exciting tannins again, can't but swallow to appreciate it fully. Sold out, i'm told, was at 30 $ retail.
The rooms (downstairs and upstairs) were begining to fill up seriously, and choosing the tables had much to do with chance and the available space near them when you happened to pass by. My next was Foillard's stand to which i could elbow my way
because someone was just leaving. Jean was in the room sowhere chatting with friends, Agnès was
there too, and Alex (pictured here with Jean-Marie Puzelat was pouring, he's pretty much in charge now.
__ Morgon 2017 Eponym', a cuvée they make since 2013. Light-red color with warmful shades. Nice underwood aromas, dry mushrooms.
__ Côte du Py 2017, on the market now. Still a light astringency, the wine is still young.
__ Brouilly 2017. Again, this amazing light color, typical of a Gamay vinified quietly.
__ Beaujolais Villages 2018, from very old vines that are going to be pulled up soon, these are purchased grapes. Too bad it's the last wine from these old vines. Nose : very feminine. Exquisite mouth with fruit bordering on sweetness, delicious, don't miss that one (look at its awsome color on the right !). Will be on the market on may 2019. 7 € without tax.
__ Côtes de Brouilly 2017. In the mouth, feels a bit high in alcohol.
I met also Morgan who works with Psychic Wines L.A. and actually he went to me after recognizing me, being a reader of Wineterroirs, thank you Morgan for appreciating the content and what I do, I really appreciate ! I often temper down the praise by saying I just relay what the vignerons (the real heroes in my stories) have to say but It's still great to hear I'm good at it from people I meet inadvertedly and who have no obligation to please me, so thank you Morgan ! Psychic Wines was created by Quinn Kimsey-White who worked before at Ordinaire in Oakland, Los angeles came later to natural wines compared to New York and San Francisco but it's catching up, helped in part by relocating young professionals who find L.A. a more affordable place to live than the Bay Area.
Actually the next table I went to, the one of Juan Ramon Escoda, from Celler Escoda Sanahuja, had its wines poured by Zach Jarrett, one of the co-founders of Psychic Wines, they have a friendly relation with the winery and from what I understood had just come back from a visit over there in Spain. Made it a good transition after my chat with Morgan. I now remember I tasted one of their
wines at Ordinaire last summer, a terrific
wine, and Quinn Kimsey-White who worked there certainly loves their wines.
__ Els Bassotets 2018, 5 white varieties fermented together in stainless steel, short élevage, 12 % alcohol. Fresh, unfiltered and no added SO2. Very easy drink, comme du petit lait we use to say in French.
__ Mas del Gaio 2018, another white, 11 % in alcohol, no notes, sorry.
__ Els Bassotets 2018 100 % Chenin. Pretty sharp in the mouth, maybe a bit too much for me.
__ Nas del Gegant rosé 2018, onion-peel color, pale color, turbid. Delicate nose. Super-enjoyable rosé with delicate ripe flower aromas, love it ! 7 € withou tax, buy this ! With each sip you get these evanescent, subyle aromas, gorgeous.
__ Nas del Gegant red 2018. Blend of 5 varieties, mainly Cabernet Franc and Merlot (if i read my notes correctly), plus some Grenache & Carignan & a bit of Sumol. Quite light colored for a Spanish red. A real candy in the mouth, delicious.
__ Les Paradetes2018, Grenache-Carignan; quite lightly-colored red. Very "on the fruit", not very long in the mouth.
__ Coll del Sabater 2018, Cabernet Franc 100 %, 13,5 % Alc. Wow, super good, figure this going down the throat, a glory, passes the test easily [but I begin to think that I'll not make it to the end of the day if I keep swallowing...]. 2nd sip had a bit more bitterness. !9,5 € without tax.
__ Brutal 2018, a 10,5 % content wine made from Sumol vinified in Amphora. Just smelling your glass, you know it's bee great to down... Te-rri-fic wine, easy drink, fruit, freshness, excitement, this is how our daily wines should be... 10 € without tax. 1000 bottles total, don't miss that too, and just looking at its color (on right), you're hooked.
At a distance from there I stumbled apon a familiar face, Jean-François Ganevat was among us to taste and see friends, he certainly travelled from Jura to take part to another of these wine events in or near Angers [actually that's in La Dive which was starting the following day in Saumur). My regret here is not having asked what wine he fust had, the color was terrific.
Next let's taste at Dominique Derain and Julien Altaber (Sextant), the latter having taken control of Dominique's domaine because he's retiring. You may find the two winery names (Derain and Sextant) but Julien who worked for years with Dominique is in charge. Julien says that he farms 8 hectares and buys
grapes for the equivalent of another 8 hectares, making a total vineyard surface of 16 hectares.
I forgot to ask about the young woman, certainly Julien's partner.
__ Las Nubes, Chile Pinot Noir 2018, by Derain. Having retired he travelled to Chile and made this. Wow ! Super nice. Thirst wine. Lovely. 3000 bottles total; at 10,5 € without tax. On the market. Not to miss if you see one. Part is vinified like a rosé, part is vinified whole-clustered and part is destemmed, the whole being bottled 2 months later. This was the bottom of the bottle, with sediments, delicious, I feel I eat and drink at the same time...
__ Derain, Allez Goûtons, red Vin de France 20118, bottled in november. Super color too. In the mouth, another wonder, superb freshness, radiates along the throat, don't miss this either, 9,5 € without tax.
__ Derain Mercurey 2017 La Plante Chassey. Beautiful turbid color, I haven't even taken a sip yet but I already know I'll love it. More structure here, while already enjoyable, the wine tells you it has more in store if you wait, say, 2 or 3 years. 20,6 € without tax.
__ Derain Saint Aubin 1er Cru 2017 En Remilly. Same for the color. What a balanced concentration here, with tannins, a super length and echo in the mouth after you've swallowed. 22,6 € without tax. Buy all that I would say.
Next was tasting with Laurence Manya Krief of Domaine Yoyo, a winemaker/grower who is shortnamed Yoyo by wine amateurs, she's working on a handful of hectares on the steep slopes of the Banyuls terroir at the intersection of Spain and the Mediteranean,
you can see her in the recent documentary Wine Calling,
she is among the vignerons featured in this report on natural-wine growers.
__ La Vierge Rouge 2018, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris & Grenache Noir, short maceration, 80-year-old vines, bottled mid february. She's been making this cuvée since 8 years, working with Jean-François Nicq's Les Foulards Rouges. The wine has a turbid color, close to a rosé, peony notes on the nose, ripe flowers, lovely ! Nice mineral feel. 9 € without tax.
__ La Tranchée 2018, Grenache Noir, the vines are on Banyuls. 2-week maceration only. Barrel sample, will be bottled in april. Light, turbid color. Nice, neat wine, sharp with a gentle edge, not really sweet, but the fruit brings this feel. Very delicate and subtle. Yoyo makes small volumes per cuvée, usually something like 1000 bottles.
__ Akoibon, Vin de France 2018, Mourvèdre and Grenache. Interesting wine, high alcohol and something else, can't put it in words, I need to taste it later again to get a clear judgement.
__ KM 31 2018, Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, from 100-year-old vines, all complanted (intermingled on the same parcel), plus a little bit of Carignan. Picked and vinified together. Delightful, with the bitterness balancing the swetness side, good vibes on the tongue. 15 € without tax. I loved all these wines including the one that had something strange.
Before tasting further I said hello to Alain Segelle who was tasting around with Mrs Yuxue Claverie Li, manager at Chateau Lavergne-Dulong a Bordeaux domaine farmed organic and biodynamic. Good news from a the Bordeaux region, we need more of this farming.
I tasted a few wines from Laureano Serres Montagut, he was not there because of an accident (he suffuered burns from what I heard), Jean-Marie Puzelat was pouring his wines, as they're imported
here by Thierry
Puzelat's imports, here is the page for Spanish imports.
__ Mendall Abeurador 2018, a white Macabeo vinified in amphora. Turbid. Super coating feel in the mouth, quite magic a palate touch, i'd call that a super Umami ! Intense and long.
__ Mendall Terme 2018, Macabeo vinified in vats. Mouth on honey & wheat aromas.
__ Terme de Laureano (2018 I presume), a red. Direct press of Carignan. Very light color. Great sip, easy drinking, sweet edge. Fruit, like cherry, freshness, aerial kind of wine with thin tannic touch. Lovely. I'm told these wines are mostly arouund 10 € without tax.
__ Terme Carinena, macerated Carignan, a classic vinification. Darker color. The wine is super saline on the tongue, really feels like sea water, impressive... Limpidity and balance in spite of what seems like high alcohol content. The freshness is from another planet, chalky tannin feel, plain delicious. I keep sipping while wandering between the tables, looking for my next prey...
At this point I met Mrs Yasuko Goda, the Japanese wine importer, I visited her in Tokyo during one of my lasts visits. Like Mr Ito she played a pivotal role in helping the nascent natural wine movement by buying large volumes of wines in the early years when the other markets weren't full blown yet. i guess these few days in Angers and Saumur were very active for them, hope they found new picks for their Japan market.
I recognized Laure de Peyerimhoff from a distance, she's as far as I know the associate of Fred Cossard for his négoce wines (seemed he wasn't there in person that day). Again, their wines are among the best in Burgundy and the only problem is that many of his cuvées are priced out
of reach of the average wine lover.
__ Saint Romain Combe Bazin 2017, a
white Burgundy. Grapes from a fermage (rented parcel). Wow, what a palate shine, impressive ! Sharp, vibrant, long in the mouth, indeed a terrific white ! 22 € without tax.
__ Beaune les Bressandes 2017, anoyther white. Wowww ! [a new tasting expression, it sums it all]. Again, terrific mouth feel, literally shines down the digestive system. What an energy in the mouth ! 30 to 35 € without tax, roughly.
__ Bedeau Bourgogne 2017, the first red. Lightly colored, turbid, you already know visually it'l be great... Man, everything on this table is just terrific, confirms my firm opinion that Cossard is just the best... this fruit, this energy and lingering feel in tyhe throat, that's not so common in wines today...
__ Morey Saint Denis le Champs de la Vigne 2017. Samely chalky color. Even more depth and intensity, my stomach recognizes noisily the great liquid food. Superb.
__ Volnay 2017 [mistake here, i should have tasted that earlier in the line]. More astringency, certainly early to taste it, just come back in a couple of years and you'll love that one.
Here is Nicolas Vauthier and his wifr Juliette who is from Quebec, they're the ones who run Vini Viti Vinci, this outstanding négoce based in Avallon, Northern Burgundy, where several terroirs are put back in the spotlight thanks to his work. Nicolas brought a few cuvées, still içn vats, so he brought the samples in bag in box.
__ Coteaux Bourguignons (formerly
BGO or Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire) A Gégé 2017; a Chardonnay from a bag-in-box, will
be bottled in march. Perly, very nice and easy. Mouth with energy, this wine awakes you ! Comes from a parcel along a dirt road, the other side is Chitry, this parcel standing on the more vulgar Coteaux-Bourgignons (BGO) appellation. Will reach the market in spring 2019, priced at 6,5 € without tax.
__ Bourgogne Coulanges la Vineuse [a little-known terroir of northern Burgundy where you can find gems] 2017. Chardonnay with 4/5 grams residual sugar, poured from bag in box also. They'll wait before bottling, stilml sweet indeed at this stage.
__ Bourgogne Aligoté Breau 2018, poured from bag-in-box. Man, that's a great Aligoté ! They'll make an early bottling of this. Lovely texture of a white, with tannin, easy drinking. Bottled in march, don't miss this ! 7 € without tax.
__ Chardognon 2011 (from a bottle), a white blend, Chardonnay & Sauvignon. for the oddity, indeed an unusual blend. Empyreumatic aromas, interesting white.
__ Chardonnay 2017 (from a bottle), the grapes come from the south of Irancy (another historic terroir of the area), he bought them to help the growers, the yields here are 10 hectoliters/hectares, like the rest more or less, obviously these are old vines. No filtration, no added SO2. Wow, that's nice ! Acidulous notes, feels like liquid food too, I love these wines...
__ Coteaux Bourguignons à Gégé 2017, a red Vin de France (from a bottle), a blend (like BGOs) of Gamay and Pinot Noir from the Chitry area. Nice meat notes in the mouth, fresh, dusty tannin feel.
__ Coulanges la Vineuse 2017, Pinot Noir, from 3 parcels of young vines. Cloudy wine, very exciting visually. Classy aomas, something like mokka & tobacco maybe, a killing. 7 €
without tax, seems to me a very good deal...
__ "M" 2018, orange wine, this is Juliette's wine here, made from Melon de Bourgogne found in the Vezelay area, the Domaine Maria Cuny which is farmed organic for 20 years. She bought 500 kg of grapes, maceration-vinification in fiber vat, then in barrels. The wine is dry now. 1st time and last time because the vineyard will not be available next year. Super interesting aromaticly, tobacco, tea notes.
__ Pinot Blanc 2018, also one-month maceration in fiber vat. Juliette worked at Jean-Yves Perron before and took some of what she learnt there. There's 7 hectoliters of this. Got the grapes from Auxois, another little-known wine region in northern Burgundy. Incidently, the variety is also called Auxerrois. Super nose, you almost feel the white skin, it seems to me. Very Georgia style, super with food, Asian food, I'd say. Lovely wine. 8-9 € without tax.
__ Maceration red, with grapes from the Auxois & Irancy, Pinot Beurrot and César 2018 (the latter bringing color and acidity). No fixed cuvée name yet. Nice engaging color, turbidity. Wow, in the mouth, that's pretty straightforward and certinly powerful; aromas of chocolate, coffee, mokka, something like that. Also no filtration, no sulfites.
Next (we were about closing time) was the table of Fonterenza, a domaine also imported by Thierry Puzelat among his Italian selection. Fonterenza has a total surface of 4 hectares plus many more planted with olive trees and the wines are naturally vinified. Francesca Padovani who manges the domaine with her sister was pouring.
__ White blend 2018 mostly Vermentino with a few others. Metallic feel here, not said in a bad sense. Very neat wine with a sweet edge.
__ Bianco
Spino 2017; blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia. Nose with white flowers and peach. Super-interesting
type of astringency, not usual. 5-month skin contact, that's why.
__ Rosa Toscana 2018, a rosé made with Sangiovese. A bit watery, i like it though.
__ Pettirosso 2018, 80 % Sangiovese & 20 % Ciliegiolo. Nice color, turbid. Vivid red, super energy on the tongue.
__ Pettirosso 2017. Meaty, delicious with just the right level of astringency & acidity.
Roosso di Montalcino 2018. Sangiovese. Very classy. The dozens of wines tasted and partly swallowed begin to take their toll, but I still can say I love this one.
__ Alberello 2016, Rosso di Montalcino. 100 % Sangiovese. Single-parcel wine. Very intense, powerful too but silky tannins and balanced with acidity. Energy on the tongue.
__ Alberello 2015, the first vintage of this particular cuvée. Alcohol more forward here.
__ Brunello di Montalcino 2014. The 2013 is still in barrels because not ready. Full mouth wine, with good length; goes down in the throat in glory. 13,5 % alc.
__ Brunello di Montalcino 2012. This was a vintage with cold winter and hot summer, a very different type of wheather conditions. Still very young, I'm told. Meat juice, feels like serious stuff, shines all the way through the digestive system, I love it !
Now time to spend a few minutes tasting the wines of Clos du Tue Boeuf with on the other side of the table, no less than Thierry Puzelat in person. As a reminder, this is the guy who set up this tasting event, and let's remind that he's helping also many foreign natural
wines to be imported in France. His yearly Open Doors weekend at the winery
is also a nice & festive tasting event where fellow artisan winemakers offer their wines for tasting.
__ Pineau d'Aunis Vin de France 2018, a brut de cuve, barrel sample. Light red color as you can guess. Super perly on the tongue. Once gas gone, very nice, he says (i don't doubt it, it's for me nice with it also). Will be bottled when ready, no precise schedule yet. Acidic wine, if you don't like acidity, don't try that, it will leave more for us.
__ Cheverny La Gravotte 2018. Brut de cuve also. Wow, extremely precise, acidulous or something, very surprising. Energy, lasting feel on the tongue.
__ Cheverny la Caillère 2018, brut de cuve. Super spiking feel on the tongue, they say not ready yet now as is, but I consider that awsome. Iodine feel, silk-paper feel and so fresh...
Next was Cave des Vignerons d'Estézargues in southern Rhône, where he turned the coopérative into the 1st to vinify naturally,
which proved it was possible
with such a structure. He set up his own domaine in 2002, samely based on organic growing and natural winemaking, he's a reference in the region.
These were the last minutes of the event that day, it was 6:30 pm (was to continue the following day) and people were leaving. I'd taste what was left, many bottles were empty.
__ Grenache 2018, actually you won't read that easily on the lable, the word Grenache being written in arabic (pic on left). Poured from a magnum. Spiking feel on the tongue, quite exciting wine. Relatively light color, at this stage of the tasting, you don't ask questions, we just enjoy...
__ Les Foulards Rouges, Frida 2018. Super nice when swallowed. I love this job...
You think you're leaving but you pass yet another friendly table with familiar faces and here we go for another couple of wines... Here are Moses Gadouche and Pascal Potaire, the two associates of Pet' Nat
pioneer Les Capriades, a négoce working exclusively with organic grapes for its sparkling wines, it is based in the vibrant Cher valley in the Loire. Reminder : the one-of-its-kind Pet'nat fair, Bulles au Centre, is taking place every year in june in the area. For 2019 the exact location is still not known. Check the date later on their Facebook page. They may not do it again in the beautiful vaulted cellars of Montrichard, the city administration being not very cooperative in spite of the uniqueness of this event for the wine amateurs in France and beyond.
__ La Bulle Rouge, a rosé natural sparkling. 90 % Gamay Teinturier, that's why the color is darker than usual. Very refreshing, try that if you're done at the end of a tasting when you've swallowed more than you should have, believe me, it wakes you up !
__ Pet Sec 2017. In 2017 they blended all the whites because of the frost. In 2018 they'll have a good volume of grapes, even more than in 2011, a record.
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