Underground tasting

Underground tasting

Here is the third tasting I attended recently in the Loir-et-Cher (for professionals only as well), and this one was underground in many regards, not just because it took place in these deep cellars between Thésée and Montrichard, but also because it was intendly not publicized in order to avoid crowds, something understandable given the display of cellar galleries in general. I happened to see a poster announcing the event while in the tasting at Thésée. The poster specified not to disseminate the news on social media, and speaking with the organizer, this was meant during the two-day event (it was sunday-monday), in order not to attract crowds in these times where people are literally thirsty of such happy tastings but at the same time must not find themselves in overcrowded situations. I hadn't anticipated to come initially first because I was unaware of its very existence, but I jumped on the bandwagon excitingly when I learnt about it. The name for this event was "Vins Vivant et Résistant", a good, appealing program in a few words, you know what kind of wines you're dealing with. The event was set up by a few vignerons, they hadn't been contacted by the other events and so when they heard about it they decided to do their own thing as well.

This was as you can see a beautiful weekend indeed, bright sun, clear skies, ideal weather to be around on a motorcycle. I went there straight from my tour at Les Montils, where I tried to spit more than I'm used to (promised !) in order to be able to be there safe afterwards. At the door the first people I saw were Emily (the California native relocated in this part of the Loire), Ben (her partner in life), their daughter on the left who kind of learns to drive a forklift machine, and Maxime (of Archimède, the wine bar/restaurant in Saint Aignan). The three are holding their empty glasses for the picture but they'd get back a pour after this pause...

First tasting barrels

This cellar is just amazing, so many tunnel-like galleries going deep under the hill in several direction... Later I took one of these galleries (the one on the far left on this picture) by myself with my flashlight as I was looking for a group of vignerons who I'd heard had hid in a remote gallery to drink a glass together and chat quietly, and I think i walked something like one hundred meters or more (most of the distance was in the dark, my flashlight was useful) until I found them sitting around a table under a lone bulb, really a magic place...

Here behind these people I tasted a few wines from Jean-Christophe Garnier who makes wine in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay in Anjou. I had tasted his wines in Angers a few years ago (mid-scrol on this story, posing with Babass) and loved his wines back then already.
__ Bezigon and Co, vin de France, Chenin 2019. 14 % alc. Generous white. 15 € tax included.
__ Les Nouettes 2020, red vin-de-France, blend of Grolleau and Aunis. Exciting acidity, a wine summed up by lightness and freshness. 12 € tax included, good deal.
__ Les Tailles, Vin de France 2019, blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Spends time in foudre. 14 € tax included.

Paul Gillet

Then the next barrel was manned by Paul Gillet of les Maison Brûlées, a biodynamic wine farm that is one of the main drivers of the local natural-wine community. That's his cellars here, and the last time I went in there was ages ago, with B. when former owner Michel Augé drove is there to taste from the barrels.
__ Silène 2018. a white. Sauvignon, made from 3 parcels. Delicious sweet edge, very fresh feel. And I'm told it is absolutely dry, the richness is behind this sweetness feel. Lovely wine !
__ Ça Me, Vin de France 2019, Sauvignon. 14 % alc. 3-week maceration. Nice tannic touch with the welcome roundness of sweetness edge. Powerful Sauvignon.
__ Dernier Né, Vin de France, Gamay (including teinturier) blend of two vintages, 2019 & 2020. Crown cap. 14,8 % alcohol but the feel is a mere 12,5 % or 13 % I'd say. Not bad.
__ Érèbe vin de France 2015, 1/3 Côt, 2/3 Cabernet Franc. What a mouth and throat when you swallow ! Bitterness and tannin, quite well done. This wine was initially very "rustic", a bit too much certainly and they put the cuvée a side, at least two third of it for a long time, and the wine turned out much better after this time. Asked about the prices of the cuvées (Pro/export prices), they're between 6-6,5 € for the cheapest to 8-9 € for the rest. Bulles 2018, a white. Turbid, not disgorged. 10,5 % alc. Nice fresh natural sparkling, the bubbles are very discreet, which I appreciate.

Jacques Février

Jacques Février is a former sommelier who set up his own wine farm with his wife Julie in 2014. His domaine, Le Raisin à Plumes is located in the Ancenis area. His vineyard surface is 5,5 hectares, majority of Gamay, the rest planted with Melon de Bourgogne and a few other varieties.
__ Edel, a 11,5 % white cuvée, made with macerated Pinot Gris blended with Melon de Bourgogne. Jacques says this cuvée is named Edel because it's a bit like an Edelzwicker (he worked in Alsace and likes Edelzwicker), the result of fins de mises, meaning what remains in different vats after bottlings, this cuvée is thus different every year, because the remainders vary in volume each time. SO2 : 1 gram/hectoliter. All the other cuvées have no SO2 at all. Super nice white, delicious, goes down easy ! 5 € Pro. Sold out alas, like much of the rest.
__ Patis des Rosiers 2019. Gamay. 10-day maceration, wholeclustered grapes in vat. Bottled a year ago. Tannic and vivid feel. 6,4 € Pro.
__ A Bout 2019, made with the last grapes to be picked, variety Abouriou, a forgotten variety that resists well to mildew. There is still a total of 50 hectares of planted Abouriou in the Muscadet today, certainly much more in the past. 10-day whole-bunch maceration, then 8 months of élevage. I taste the wine at a cold temperature but I still feel these are beautiful tannins. If I read my notes correctly, he makes 6 hectoliters of this every year.
__ Natural sparkling of Gamay 2020, a bubbly rosé. 10,5 % alc. 1000 bottles. Soldout. 7 € Pro.

François Ecot

I didn't crop here the picture made with my smartphone so you can see how high are these cellar room, a temple, a cathedral for magic wines ! François Ecot was there, he came from his north-western Burgundy with a few of his cuvées.
__ Troma_Onirique, Aligoté 2019, vinified in both foudres and sandstone (grès) jars. Sappy wine, very interesting, with a nice wrapping of glycerol.
__ Consolent 2019, Gamay, bought (the grapes) in the same area (organic farming). Ripeness feel. Fermented swiftly, he says. Both cuvées sell for 10 € Pro. Beautiful labels.
Speaking about his production in general, the maximum he made is 25 000 bottles total, but he targets something more like 15-16 000 yearly.

Domaine La Taupe

Bertjan and Nicole from the Domaine de la Taupe were there as well; just a reminder, they bought the other half of the vineyards of Bruno Allion when he retired, they got a couple cellars as well. Bertjan Mol, who is Dutch, began by importing natural wines in Holland and he ended up settling down here with his wife and children to make wine himself. Nice life story.
__ Surin 2019, bottled since end september, no SO2 added, no filtration. And it is important to say that all their wines are unfiltered and without SO2, including the whites. Pretty rare ! Bottling in small batches (like 2000 bottles each time) and by gravity, better for thye wijnes because it's gentler, no high pressure to push the wine. Nothing to say, balanced wine, minerality. feel.
__ Sauvignon Blanc 2019, barrel sample. Name of the cuvée : Taupycoeur, in reference with a Pokemon card with which their children play... Young vines (25 years) planted in fertile clayish soil, which yields a richer, riper wine.
__ Nicole, Sauvignon 2019, 3-week maceration with destemmed grapes, then, barrels. Energy feel at the tip of the tongue.
__ Carnix 2020, blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Barrel sample. 3-week carbo with whole-clustered grapes. I feel the wine is a bit too young to be fully appreciated but I'm very optimistic of the future rendering of this cuvée. He says that many of their wines are already sold but there'll be other bottlings and available cuvées, including pet'nat.
__ Allez Hop ! 2020 100 % Cabernet Franc. 7-day maceration with destemmed grapes. Vinified in tank. Bottled in april. This is easy drinking, for sure ! 8,5 € Pro.
__ AK 400 2020, Gamay, 6-day maceration with destemmed grapes. In barrels. Ready for bottling (april). Applealing mouth, easy and a pleasure to sip ! 12,5 % alc.
__ Bruno, Bert & Co 2020. Côt. 5-day maceration with destemmed grapes. Swift fermentation, it was over in another 5 days.
__ Rosé Gamay 2020, négoce grapes bought in Francoeuil (they had the right to buy the equivalent of 5 % of their volume of grapes to compensate with the missing grapes that year). Nice meaty mouth, I like that wine. This rosé is very vinous, you could think it's a red if tasted blind I think. 7 € Pro.
__ Bulles, Sauvignon 2020, this natural sparkling was to be disgorged a few weeks after this visit. 11,5 % alcohol. Picked august 17 2020. 60-year-old vines.

Damien Menut

Here is now Damien Menut, who has slightly enlarged his surface and found another couple of tunnel-cellars in Thésée to keep his wines.
__ Sauvignon 2019, a one-month (more or less) maceration, the bunches having been destemmed manually with a wicker grid, then élevage in barrels, and bottled. Saline feel with a light sweetness feel. Atypical Sauvignon, Damien says he picked it very ripe in order to get a different range of aromas. Lovely tannic touch.
__ Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. Bottled. Whole-clustered grapes fermented (3 weeks). Damien says that Cabernet Sauvignon riped well these two last years. He keeps the stems because they bring a little something in the wine. Nice length in the mouth.
__ 100 % Gamay 2019, vin de France like the rest. 20-day maceration whole-clustered. Everything is without SO2. 13-month élevage in old barrels. Aromas in the range of chocolate, sweet spices.
__ 100 % Cabernet Franc 2019. 1200 bottles. 1-month maceration whole-clustered. Only a small remontage (pumping over) at the beginning, the goal being avoiding tannin extraction. Bottled december 2020. Damien says he want the wine to get a 6-month/one-year élevage in bottles before selling it. That's a nice one ! Radiates beautifully along the throat. 9,8 € Pro.

François Blanchard (I couldn't miss Anne on this one)

Here is François Blanchard of the Le Grand Cléré (also known as Chateau du Perron), I visited him but this was long time ago. François is part of the group Les Vins S.A.I.N.S. (acronym for "sans aucun intrants ni sulfites" or "without any additive neither sulfites" and the word "sains" means "healthy" in French) which he founded with 2 or 3 other winemakers. In the vineyard he works with herb teas and does some biodynamic practices.
__ À Table, skin-contact Sauvignon 2019, élevage in barrels. White tannin feel, some sweetness or glycerol. 12,6 € Pro.
__ Voilà 2019, direct-press Sauvignon. Surprising aromas, delicious, alive with energy, glorious feel when swallowed. He made 1500 bottles if I understand well. Around 10 € Pro.
__ Perrontonic 2020, young vines of Cabernet Franc (7 years) planted on clay/limestone and eolian sands. Whole-clustered grapes macerated one month at least here, nothing tough on the wine, no pumping over. The stem was well ripe that year, well brown with the heat and drought, and it brought more minerality. If the stem had been greener it would have needed monitoring because it tends to extract astringency. Color : turbid, lightly chalky. Love this wine ! 12,6 € Pro.
__ La Contrebasse 2019. Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc (50/50). "Boisson Vivante" is his trademark, you'll find it printed on his labels. More astringency on this cuvée but interesting character.
François also makes beer, using spontaneous fermentation, he brought some here and says it's better to taste at the end. I still had some wine to taste and planned to come back for his beer but forgot alas. He says that it all started in 2008 when he had very small volumes because of the mildew pressure, so he tried to use his vessels to make beer. It took time and successive experiments until he found the type of beer he likes, and that's it, he feels his beer is coherent with his wines and he can also reproduce at will the beer. The name of hus beer is Boisson Sauvage (in case you see one near you). See the picture (on the right) which I found on the web through Untappd). Speaking of the type of beer he makes, François says he loves the style of Lambic made in Brussels (Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen) but of course his indigenous yeast give his beer an individual character. All his exporters buy his beer, Quebec, USA, Japan, Australia, it's nice. He designed his tools himself, transforming other tools or tanks. He says he isn't into heavily-hopped beers or into double-, triple-fermentation beers with sugar addings and more alcohol, he looks to digestibility for beers (he makes 5,5 % alc. with his beers). Writing his comments makes me sorry to have forgotten to taste the beer. He has been making his own bread for a while and he says he learnt a lot about beer fermentation through this as well.

Anne Paillet's cuvéesI tasted a couple of them (lovely !) but took no notes

Babass

Sébastien Dervieux alias Babass (Les Vignes de Babass) was there as well. The sunny afternoon made it easier to taste outside, and there was this appealing barbecue with grilled sausage in bread, all you needed to go with these wines. Sébastien brought two cuvées from Anjou and it was a pleasure to finish with his wines.

__ Groll N' Roll 2020, Grolleau. Bottled december 2020. Whole-bunch maceration during 12 days, then pre'ssed; the fermenation was swift.
__ Roc Cab 2019, Cabernet Franc. Bottled around june 2020. Nice intensity while swallowed.

At one point I walked down this side gallery...

...and found 100 meters down this joyous company of vignerons enjoying François' craft beer

Comments

[OGIC]

Hey! I get to know about such a fantastic place in France. I will definitely visit there to taste the various wine. Thanks for letting me know about it.