Pouillé & Thésée, Cher valley (Loire)
I visited randomly a few wine farms and vignerons a couple of days before this first wine tasting (someone told me about it, I didn't know otherwise) in the vicinity of my Loire hideout, it wasn't possible to do such visits under the hard part of the lockdown (between 17 march and 10 may) because you risked a 135 € fine if caught visiting anyone (plus I guess everyone wanted to stay safe), but with the lifting of much of the restraints and the allowance to go as far as 100 km from your residence I could have a glimpse on how they lived this peculiar period of our times, and see the good part of living in a farm under these otherwise tragic circumstances : enjoying a beautiful spring (we were particularly lucky this year in France) and fully focusing on the vineyard and its natural environment, at a time many producers would have been distracted by a few wine fairs (especially in march-april) and commercial work. It's interesting to note that many artisan winemakers came originally from other paths of life and often from cities (we don't lack relevant reasons to follow their path and leave cities these days...) and their philosophical choice is vindicated today more than ever.
Riding the motorbike was pure heaven with this weather, I first went to La Tesnière where Didier Barouillet lives and just on the other side of his quarters there's the chai of Marie Rocher who was busy preparing a few bottles for a client in Normandy where she was supposed to drive the next day (she was a bit anxious because it was beyond the authorized 100 kilometers but I told here she could consider this trip as necessary for her work and she should be let through in case of road check. Here Marie takes a break and gives food to the hens who roam around freely and unafraid. Isn't it a beautiful life ?
Didier enjoyed the weather, he's not optimistic for the resolve of this pandemic, saying other virus could show up in the near future. Here he shows me a very interesting bush near his home : he discovered it is a rosebush that has been grafted long time ago on an eglantine, very curious indeed, you can see the two flower types on the same bush.
Then on the other side of the Cher river in Thésée I dropped unannounced at the cellar of Noëlla Morantin and there she was, almost leaving after doing some stuff. She was fine and upbeat about the vintage, she had worked in the vineyard all these months like her peers and told me that until now the vintage looked great, there had been some frost like minus 5 C (23 F) on her parcel Chez Charles (which is prone to frost every year) but as the buds hadn't been out yet (plus the air was dry) she didn't loose any potential grapes.
That's when i crossed the Cher river again to visit the wine farm of Les Maisons Brûlées in Pouilly where Alban was busy plowing the old vineyard beneath the chai. This time of the day was milder than the mid-afternoon, good for everyone including the horse. Imagine that for a month or two (march & april) they had this beautiful weather with no airliners passiong above, that is, the sky was deep blue, no white mist that results from all this air traffic.
While the vineyard was being plowed Paul Gillet and Laurent Saillard were picking wild cherries at the edge of the woods, they actually plan to put them in a beer barrel they're crafting for their own (not on the market from what I understand, but who knows, they might find a magic recipe). These woods along vineyards are a hidden goldmine, you often find walnut trees planted a century ago, nowadays conventional farmers don't pay attention and don't bother to pick them in autumn. Same for these wild cherry trees or merisiers, which are known for the hardness and quality of their wood.
But few cherries were at an easy reach and i suggested they bring the straddle tractor that staying idle in the shade a few meters away to access to branches above that had lots of fruit. These ageless straddle tractors are really surprising, they'll help you in any situation, and family friendly, a climbing game for kids.
I discovered that horses love cherries, and they'll crunch just the same the cherry leaves and the fruits with a hard, thud noise being heard when they get a cherry pit beween their jaws. Laurend Saillard's son Theo who normally lives in New York was in Mexico on a boat working for a non-profit when the countries closed down and he caught the last flight to France to spend the lockdown here in the countryside. Doesn't make plans but loves his life here.
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