Thésée, Touraine (Loire)
Professional tastings are slowly back, at least in the natural-wine world, and this is a healthy thing, there have been so few in the last 12 months. It seems the conventional/commercial
wineries are way too fearful of the "what will people say" factor and of the authorities, and won't dare anything,
plus
they rarely do such collective tastings with fellow producers in the chai/cellar of one of them. That's what makes the artisan vintners stronger in many regards, they're never alone... Here is a tasting taking place in 3 locations in the village of Thésée over the course of 3 consecutive days (fri-mon), all 3 within a 2-minute walking distance of each other. the goal was to have just 3 producers pouring their wines in each of the venues in order to avoid any crowd effect. The event was also carefully planned, with attendees asked to register in advance so that the number of tasters along the 3-day event could be kept under a secure ceiling. Visitors would also bring their own glass (and food if needed) and leave their contact info (name, phone number, email) in case of need of contact tracing afterwards. They'd also be given a paper cup for secure individual spitting. You can see the list of these 9 vignerons on the Pdf file of this event, you certainly know many of them.
They/we were very lucky because the weather was beautiful during this weekend, maybe just a bit cold in the night (this was the full moon). I had arrived in the region from Paris the previous day and I parked my motorbike along the street in view this the chai of Noëlla Morantin, the first of the 3 venues in Thésée.
Noëlla had a few of her cuvées to taste :
__ Stella Maris 2019, Sauvignon. Generous mouth with a minerality feel and what I'd say white-flower & honeyish aromas. 6,5 € Pro price (without tax).
__ Chez Charles 2019, brut de cuve (not bottled yet, will be in april-may). Very nice !
Enjoyable energy and mouth touch, goes down gently. Harmony. 9 € Pro price.
__ LBL 2019,
old vines of Sauvignon. Brut de fût (barrel sample). Will be bottled before summer. Intense and good length. 12,5 € without tax.
__ La Boudinerie 2020, Gamay. Brut de cuve. Light color. Lightness feel in the mouth, delicate. Super deal at 6 € Pro price.
__ Tango Atlantico 2017. Exciting nose. In the mouth, gourmand and enjoyingly intense when swallowed. 7,5 € without tax.
__ Tango Atlantico 2018. More bodied, more power., but not bad ! To eat with. Same price.
__ Côt à Côt 2019. Unfiltered like all the reds. Pretty enjoyable chew. Bottled before harvest 2020. 9 € Pro without tax.
__ Marie Rose, pet-nat 2018, a pink sparkling. From 85-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon, the 85-are parcel was pulled up after this They'll replant Romorantin there after the soil rests for 2 years, they don't have any Romorantin yet elsewhere. So this is the last such Cabernet-Sauvignon pet-nat cuvée. Stayed sur lattes 2 years, disgorged autumn 2020. 8,5 € without tax.
Here is kind of a scoop : This is the straddle tractor (enjambeur in French) from the 1970s that will add to Noëlla's vineyard machines, she bought this vintage Loiseau in Chatillon nearby, from a grower who was soon to retire. She has already one but it's very useful to have two, for example in spring, when
you have to both plow or keep the grass in check, and do the sprayings. Ifyou have only one straddle tractor, you have to take away the plowing blades and put the spraying system with the tanks, or the other way around, and this often along successive days. When you have two tractors, you keep one with the soil tools and the other with the spray system, and if one of the tractors has a problem, you still have the other.
Her two straddle tractors have the same size, one is just a bit more powerful. These old models are also very light on the soil, which is good, the makers now only make huge straddle tractors which are too heavy, too sophisticated and too expensive. These old models are usually very cheap compared to new models, and at the time this maker made the tractors with individual features adapted to the needs of the given buyer.
I then walked to the tasting barrel of Julien Pineau (which was manned by one of his guys). Julien Pineau has now a new chai which they're in the process of finishing, it will be in use for the harvest 2021 (until now they had vinified in the cellars of Clos Roche Blanche).
__ Roche Blanche 2019, Sauvignon, vines aged 25 to 30, named of course because part of the Clos Roche Blanche vineyards on the plateau. Direct press. Generous and
powerful. 14 % alc. 8 € Pro price.
__ Substance 2018. Sauvignon, older vines (55-year old). 2_year élevage in barrels. Acidulous mouth, atypical aromas. 13,5 € Pro.
__ L'Écume
des Nuits 2019, Cabernet Franc, carbo during one week. Very light, translucid color, almost like a rosé ! He says they get that by taking away the juice every day during the maceration, there's no time for extraction. Light sucrosity in the mouth, super energy also, including when swallowed down the throat, love that ! 8,5 € Pro. You must try that.
__ Coup d'Jus 2019, Côt. Delicious Côt in spite oh being poured cold (like everything in these cold venues) and in spite of not having warmed up the glass in my hands. Light color as well, for a Côt. 12 % alc. 10 € Pro.
__ Les Sucettes à l'Aunis 2019, Pineau d'Aunis of course, poured from a magnum. Light color of course. The tongue buds are awakened by the peppery feel of the tannin, another nice surprise.
__ Yokai 2016, made from 130-year-old Côt, this is 3-year élevage, an extraction cuvée. Nice tannic frame, a serious wine. 25 € Pro. These wines are so enjoyable, I've spit very little and begin to think I should, because even on a motorbike you can get pulled over for a breath check (the Gendarmerie may have heard about this tasting and waiting outside the village...).
__ Is This It 2019, 50 cl crown-capped bottle of white (Sauvignon if I'm right), their 1st cuvée of this wine, will not be repeated. This year they had this big maturity (18 % potential) and the wine didn't finish its sugar, there's 40 gr of residual sugar here. Super nice, exciting length, and no SO2 here.
I then moved to the barrel of Marie Thibault who makes wine in Azay-le-Rideau.
I visited her Husband Frantz Saumon (who makes wine as well) but hasn't yet visited her (will be done this year hopefully).
__ La Roue qui Tourne, 2019. Sparkling Chenin Blanc, half from her own surface, half from fellow vignerons near her place (purchased grapes). When her recently-planted Chenin will be productive, she may have enough from her own Chenin. Fermentation & élevage 18 months in both barrels and sandstone (grès) vessels (no exchange with air there), with racking and end of élevage 6 months in stainless steel before the bottling next april. Very fresh, wheat-like aromas. 8,38 € Pro (export price).
__ Premier Nez, Chenin 2018, from a 5-hectare vineyard block she owns, with sandy silex soil with high silica content. Nice harmony, balanced. 11,2 € Pro price. The 2019 wines will be bottled in april, 2019 is a very nice vintage for her. Light filtration with earth, because some turbid lees had been accidentally been take in.
__ Le Grolleau 2019, unfiltered. Candy aromas, meaty notes.
Having tasted the three producers in the Noëlla's chai, I walked the one-minute walk to the other place where 3 more producers poured their wines, this is her new cellars, which will be in use in the next few months. They're the typical tunnel cellars found in the region, originally quarries dug to extract stone for building purposes in the 18th or 19th century, they were then turned into cellars, which was very convenient because the owners back then had their parcels just above, on the plateau.
Mid-depth of the cellar, here was Frantz Saumon pouring a few cuvées of his. You can see the immaculate cement slab, will be convenient to move the pallets, I guess there was a dirt floor until
now.
__
Chenin 2019,
Vin de
Frantz France (but it reads indeed Vin de Frantz), a blend of Chenin from Montlouis-sur-Loire
(his own parcels) and Chenin from Marie thibault (his wife) in Azay-le-Rideau. Nice richness, pretty demonstrative mouth when swallowed. Got one year in barrels, then racked into vat for 3 months. Bottled autumn 2020.
__ Vin de Frantz, same name for many of these different cuvées, the back label gives the details. Menu Pineau/Chenin/Romorantin blend 2018, from his own very young vines in Montlouis (the vines were one year old back then in 2018, he made only 300 liters of this). Turbid, acidulous, very nice wine. 8,16 € Pro price.
__ Mineral + 2018, from a magnum. Blend of parcellaire Chenin, older vines (35-40). Vinified in 3 types of vessels (cement vats, barrels and stoneware jars). Nice energy feel on the tongue, balance, quite mineral indeed. His goas is use les and less wood for this cuvée, and for the 2020 the wood part will be 600-liter demi-muids.
Here is Mikaël Bouges, his chai is located on the other side of the Cher river, a bit further west from here.
__ Pente de Chavigny 2019. Parcellaire blend of Sauvignon, age of the vines from 50 to 80. Élevage : 6 months in tank. Intense mouth.
__ Clos
du Chevreau 2019, Sauvignon, vines aged 50. Samely nice intensity, very aromatic in the mouth, impressive. Tank only also. 6 € Pro price. You can see a picture
of this parcel at mid-scroll in my story.
__ Water L'Eau, Vin de France 2019, 100 % Menu Pineau, he makes this cuvée since 2008. Super-smooth touch along the palate, with a mineral style, almost iode feel, impressive ! 7,1 € Pro price. Speaking of SO2 his whites get only 10/20 mg at bottling.
__ Prométhée, Vin de France 2019. Chenin (100 % Chenin has been barred from Touraine AOC). Quite demonstrative, with a living, energetic side, love that !
__ Les Côts Hauts 2018, destemmed Côt for a 10-day maceration, some pigeage,
and then 1-year élevage in tank. Young vines (18 years, planted in 2000). Unfiltered, no SO2. Quite fresh in the mouth, with tannic touch. Very enjoyable even though the temperature of the wine is too low to appreciate at its full quality. I recommend this one as well.
__ Le Petit Cormier 2018, old vines of Cabernet Franc. Ready to drink, he says. Refined tannin, well made wine, seems to me. 9,7 € Pro.
__ La Pointe 2018, old vines of Gamay (80 years), maceration of 10 days, then one year in barrel. Wow, what an energy on the tongue here ! Unfiltered. Very surprising Gamay ! 10 mg SO2 here. I recommend this, love it. He made 1200 bottles of it. 9,8 € Pro. He begins to sell this cuvée.
__ Pet-Nat rosé 2020. Gamay-Côt, harvest was early, so these petnats were ready quickly. Sucrosity, you drink that so easy ! Candy style drink. 7 € Pro.
__ Clic-Clac, white Pet-nat made from Menu Pineau. Disgorged the previous evening. Honeyish aromas, thin bubbles, acidulous feel.
Here is Laurent Saillard who was at last pouring his new cuvées to professionals, in addition to some of his estate cuvées (more about his new cuvées on my recent story).
__
Lucky You 2020. Bottled the previous day
(the bottling date was scheduled since november, a pure fortuity that this tasting was the following day) Enjoyable touch on the palate. Quite a mineral feel, and bien droit like we say in French.
__ Pineau d'Aunis 2020 (50 % regular Aunis, 50 % dark-type Aunis), the one from purchased grapes, bottling scheduled march 17. No SO2 added and he thinks there'll be none at bottling
__ Gamay 2020, purchased grapes also. I really love this Gamay, delicate, endearing. Only 11,5 % alc.
Un Eté Partagé, the new cuvée with 1/3 Gamay and 2/3 Grolleau.
After another one-minute walk, I reached the back of Les Jardins de Théséiis' chai, that's where three more producers were pouring their wines, including of course Paul (Anouk was busy taking care of their baby that day). By the way, Paul and Anouk had to part with their cherished Russian-made Niva, there had been repeated issues with the engine following a mistake by the local mechanic and they found something more reliable.
Paul and Anouk of Les Jardins de Théséiis have like you know bought half of Bruno Allion's vineyards, when Bruno retired, they also took over the chai and part of the cellars. Paul tells me that they will get their draft horse at the end of april, a Percheron which they found in the Creuse département. They travelled there and stayed a week with the horse to get familiar, both the horse and themselves are ready to be together, they'll build a shack/stable for him here above the cellar on the plateau.
__ Jardin de
la Grande Pièce 2019, Sauvignon, a namesake cuvée from the parcel the grapes were sourced (two parcels in one block). Vines are 50 years old, on limestone soil. 10 months élevage in barrels, unfiltered, nothing added, no SO2. Very enjoyable to sip, with a saline feel, balanced, vividness and glycerol feel at the same time (fully dry, sugar finished). 8,2 € Pro export price.
__ Hapax 2019, a maceration Sauvignon, first time they make this cuvée. Vines from 2 parcels, on on sandy soil, the other more like silex-clay, the grapes macerating together, but it's not fully an orange wine, this was a short, one-week maceration with destemmed grapes.In 2019 they had good volumes of whites, of Sauvignon and they saw it was a good opportunity to try a maceration wine. People liked it and they did another one in 2020. Nice aromas of ripe, dry grapes, I see that well with cheese, Paul says also with fish or a poultry dish. Light tannic bitterness like macerated whites have. Sweetness feel but fully dry, the sugar is finished as well, no added SO2 in this wine as well, no filtration.
__ Jardin de la Grande Pièce 2019, Gamay. From the same parcel than the white. Quite delicious, with fruit and power, plus this creaminess when you swallow it. 14,6 % alc. Such an easy drinking., delicious substance that remains in thye mouth. Unfiltered as well, no SO2. Bottled end of july 2020, bottled kept quiet some 6 months before being put on the market. Around 2500 bottles. 8,8 € Pro price.
__ Spectrum, Sauvignon Pet-Nat 2020, disgorged this morning, the rest is sur lattes, they'll disgorge in spring. They make natural sparkling every year but that's a lot of work and handling, you loose wine at disgorgement and they have pain to make more volume. 8,5 € Pro. Thin bubbles, dry but not too much "Brut".
Here is someone I didn't know, the Domaine de Cambalu, managed by two brothers, Julien and Frédéric. I heard about them recently because Laurent partnered with them for the grapes of his new cuvées. They're making wine as well (natural wine of course), but don't vinify their entire surface. They make all in Vin de France,
I asqked why, Julien says because he's free to do the wines he wants, as opposed to the many restrictions and hurdles of the Appellation. Also when you vinify nature, without SO2 it may pose problems with the tasters who overlook the
Appellation checks Even if the AOC tastings are blind, the tasters are conventional peers and they feel immediately these free-range wines, which they fear could damage the reputation of the AOC...
__ Au Bout du Chenin 2019, Chenin Blanc of course. Vin de France. The Moreau brothers set up their domaine in 2016 and he made his first cuvées in 2018. Nice tension in this Chenin. The grapes were hand picked, pressed whole-clustered, then élevage in 2year-old oak barrels (light toast), bottled before the following harvest. Young vines, they suffered from drought in 2019. 9 € Pro.
__ Au Bout du Chenin 2018, same vinification, just that it got 15 months in barrels. Mouth more generous, more ripeness.
__ Cambalou Vin de France 2019, very nice rosé made from 100 % Pineau d'Aunis, a wine to eat with, I love the delicate aromas here, like flowers easing themselves in summer. 40-year-old vines. Aunis isn't accepted in the AOC Touraine and he loves Pineau d'Aunis, another good reason to remain with the humble Vin de France labels. 11,5 % alc. Super rosé ! 2200 bottles, 7 € Pro. No such rosé in 2020 but certainly in 2021.
__ Chichic 2018, Pineau d'Aunis red. Vin de France. For the red they pick riper than for the Aunis rosé, and there are also different parcels, for the rosé the vines grow on sandy soil, for the red it's a clayish soil which will bring more structure. Very nice, light redish color. They used a rough filter here, just to take out the big particles. 2nd, 3rd mouth : super delicate and enjoyable 8,5 € Pro.
__ Black Cherry, Vin de France Pinot Noir 2019. Vinified whole-clustered, pressed after 12 or 13 days of maceration, and then 12 months in barrels before bottling (last september). 10 € Pro. Beautiful fruit, harmony and freshness. Substance with length feel. Light filtration too.
Moses and Pascal, the two associates at Les Capriades were threre also to present a few of their natural sparklings. I didn't taste everything, this was my last stop before taking the road for beyond Saint Aignan, and I was kind of ripe, plus the curfew (6 pm) was
getting dangerously close...
__ Menu Pineau Pet-nat 2018, there are the first samples they have people taste, normally it should have been presented a month before in Angers but as you know
all these magnet tastings in-and-around Angers were cancelled.
__ Pinot Noir 2019, méthode ancestrale or pet-nat, this is what was a part of the cuvée Pet' Nat rosé Pinoz (which was half Aunis, half Pinot Noir) but this time they kept the two separate. They begin to sell this cuvée as well. Pro price 8 € or 9 €, Pascal hadn't brought his price sheet. Roundness feel with light sucrosity, lovely !
__ La Bulle Rouge, Gamay Teinturier (a dark type of Gamay) pet-nat
__ Piège à ... 2019, another rosé sparkling, majority of Côt (at least half), then Cabernet Franc and a bit of Gamay. Sweetness in the mouth like the acclaimed cuvée Piège à Filles, by the way the iconic name was shortened to Piège à ..., certainly another casualty of the cancel culture with a preemptive move to avoid potential accusation of date rape incitement... The sparkling is indeed as lovely as before, and the thought police can't prevent you to complete the name to its original form...
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