Paris, 12th arrondissement,
This was another beautiful edition of La Goulayance, and it took place again in the premises of Ground Countrol, this vibrant venue set in a former railway locomotive workshop, I can't but encourage you to visit the place, have a drink, read books, play games, whatever this place offers which is pretty diverse, and families are welcome. Entry fee was 10 €, you were given a glass which you could keep after tasting the exciting natural wines of many vintners, who were present of course to chat with visitors and buyers. You could buy cases of wines or individual bottles on the site, that was also the good thing, direct from the producers. The vintn,ers took also time to walk around and taste their colleagues/friends' wines of course and I'm sure that's also what brought many of them here. I didn't taste many of them alas, having to ride my bike back to the Aube in the afternoon, possibly before dark (and the tasting on both days was starting at 12, not the usual 10, that's the low point).
Tasting again the wines of Nicolas Carmarans was already a treat and a reason to come here, but virtually the presence of every producer here was a triggering factor to visit even if the weather had been horrible outside... I learned that Nicolas had changed his house, cellar and chai, so I'm sure it's for the best
and his new place must be terrific. He said at one point that recently he stumbled upon
Marcel Richaud in an Italian restaurant in Paris, he hadn't seen him for a long time and it was a nice reunion.
__ Selves 2021, Chenin growing on granite terroir, élevage one year in barrel. In 2021 he lost 3/4 of his grapes with the frost. Nice mouth with energy, bottled in july 2022. 16 € public price here.
__ Josette 2021, Fer Servadou, bottled august 2022. Light color, he says it's an infusion a light maceration. Some reduction on the nose. A thirst wine with a light body but alive. 13 €.
__ Mauvais Temps 2020. Fer Servadou on red clay. He says that now he makes only reds with Fer Servadou, he hasn't any Gamay and Négrette Bagnard anymore, and he says that it maybe somehow means that these varieties weren't really fit for the place, so he doesn't regret. Deeper wine here, and I really appreciate it after warming my glass. A real pleasure ! 14 € Not to miss.
__ Minimus Primeur 2022. He says jokingly it's m&aybe the 1st time he offers 3 vintages to be poured in a tasting... This Minimus is sold out, he just had a few bottles to taste. Fer Servadou also here. Look at thye terrific color on the picture, it tastes as good as it looks ! Some sweetness feel in the mouth, but no residual sugar, and I find also a white-wine mouthfeel somehow here. Lovely primeur, I understand why sold out.
At least here was a vigneron I visited not that long ago, namely Christophe Foucher of La Lunotte, the reason being his wine farm is not far from my Loire hideout. He
brought only 2 cuvées because that's what is bottled right now and ready for sale.
__ Rossignoux2 2020, a version of Christophe's Sauvignon, depending of how the fermentation and vinification unfolded, all by itsel of course, but mother Nature has its mysteries. The wine stayed 2 years in barrels and one year in tank. Nice oxidative notes, also dry raisin. 12 €.
__ Rossignoux3 2019. Nose with honeyish notes, nice acidulous mouth, good length as well. 14,5 % alcohol but still easy to drink, no problem at all. This year the fermentations were really unusually easy and swift, all hiw wines were finished before winter and that's the first time it happens. He says that it's been 3 years he doesn't use copper at all in his vineyards and that may explain the turnaround in the fermentation process, it often takes time for something changed in the vineyard management to translate into a difference in the wines themselves, and that could be it.
Also there the unmistakable Gerald Oustric of Le Mazel, who helped create this vibrant nucleus of natural-wine producers in the Ardèche, all nice people with their exciting (and affordable) wines. Gerald brought
4 cuvée to Paris that day.
__ Mias 2020, 100 % Viognier, a turbid wine with lemonish color. So good ! A pure-pleasure juice type of wine ! Feels new like a primeur actually, hard to think it's a 2020 ! Bottled april 2022. And like usual he waited 3 months after that to begin sell it. 13 % alc. Dry wine even though some sweetness feel. Not to miss. 13 €.
__ Chardonnières 2020, a Chardonnay (also Vin de France of course). Here there is residual sugar (4 or 5 grams), but CO2 on the tongue that protects the wine. Screw cap here. So goo too, with this light tickling on the palate, indeed alive, full, whole, lovely wine ! 13 €.
__ Briand 2018, Grenache. On the market for 6 months. Super nose, gourmand, with noticeable tannin chew. Not very dark. He says 2018 was a high yield year and here in addition he did a short maceration, 15 days with élevage in cement tanks and stainless steel as well. 12 €.
__ Larmande 2021, Syrah. Here is obviously a wine with character, and a young one at this point. He confirms that this is in its infancy and will age well. My stomach aproves noisingly. Not to miss as well and keep in a corner of the cellar for a while... 12 €.
And Francois Ecot being there I couldn't miss him either, even if he brought only one cuvée, the rest being sold out, he just has another cuvée, a petnat which should be
ready later. He says the price for grapes has increased dramatically even in his remote, northern part of Burgundy and he was forced to look elsewhere for his purchased grapes, so this year he found growers in Catalogna, and the transportation price to bring the grapes from there in refrigerated truck is the same compared to buying smaller batched from Burgundy. And when he buys to these Spanish growers, he can offer them a higher price than what the local wineries offer
__ Sapucaï, the name of this cuvée comes from a Paraguayan name. Blend of Carignan, Merlot, Tempranillo, Syrah. Whole cluster maceration in cement, élevage in 15-hectoliter and 18-hectoliter barrels plus an amphora. Very nice mouth, super interesting, I'm surprised also at the light color and light tannic touch for a Spanish red, he says that what is important is not to do early remontages. He notes that tannin can also be brought inadvertedly by the seed in the grapes. There's also a white-wine mouthfeel in this wine, I think. 12 € without tax for export for this wine.
On the same block of tables I spotted Nadia Charmasson of Balazu des Vaussières and stopped there to have news and taste the wines. Se says the drought this year was particularly severe and thus they made no reds in 2022. She says there were hot winds at one point in summer and these winds dried out a lot of grapes.
__ Cuvée Cerisier du Japon 2018, 100 % Grenache. Light color 2018 was a year with a vicious strain of mildew (many growers even in other regions noticed that particularity that year).
__ Hysope 2017, a multi-varietal blend with Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsault. Wines without so2 here always. Coffee aromas, Mokka, super interesting. Darker wine.
Here again like last year I stumble upon François Blanchard my story is getting pretty old now...], who is a coorganizer of the event, sitting at a table, having oysters and some good wine with friends. We chgatted a bit, he told me to stop at his table to taste more but he wasn't at his table or anywhere to be found when I looked for him, so here's the only wine from him I tasted :
__ A Table 2022, a macerated white, this wine is still in its élevage stage (in barrel), it's been through a month-long maceration of berries. very aromatic vintage, lovely ! He says he has plenty other trials in different tanks, he'll show them probably at the Salon des Vins Sains on friday february 4th at Baptiste Cousin, not to miss if you're near Angers at that time.
I think it's François Blanchard who presented me this couple behind Clos Kixhava, Beatriz (born in Colombia) and Etienne, who make wine in the Chinon area, 2020 was their 1st vintage. They work on 4 hectares, only planted with Cabernet Franc, with an average vine age of 30 years but some of the parcels are 90 years old.
See their Instagram account.
__ Pet from 100 % Cabernet Franc. I've trouble reading my notes here, sorry.
__ Blanc de Noir, Vin de France, Cabernet Franc 2020, a Cabernet picked under maturity and pressed with a basket press the same morning in one hour, a short-enough time so that there's no color at all, it's really a white wine (and it's not the so2 that cleared the color here, there is none). Stayed 6 months in barrel. Neat wine, exciting to drink a white Cabernet Franc.
__ Les Grappes 2021, a red Cabernet Franc, very light color, looks like a rosé, made through a 5-day maceration with whole-clustered grapes. 14 €. Super nice wine, very feminine, lovely, whole and alive ! Bottled in june 2022, they made 3000 bottles of this, it was the first time they were pouring it.
__ Les Grappes Cabernet Franc 2020, a 10-day maceration here, all done by gravity, bottled summer 2021. Nice color, somehow evolved toward tile. Leather notes, with mokka and sweet spices quite powerful. 12% alc. 14 €.
__ Le Clos 2020, made from the oldest vines. Maceration of 40 days, destemmed by hand, it's rather like an infusion, with only light remontages, then a 24-hour press length. 12 months in barrels plus one year in bottles. Super mouth ! 18 €.
Romuald Valot makes wine in the Beaujolais since 2013, his vineyard surface is 10 hectares.
__ Chrysalide
Beaujolais Villages 2022, super exciting turbid color, and lovingly light as well. Bottled as Vin de France if I'm right. Very enjoyable red for only 10 € tax included. Traditional maceration, no pigeage, no foulage, no remontage [pumping over]. They made 35 hectoliters of this.
__ Electron Libre 2020, Beaujolais Villages Gamay from a 110-year-old parcel. Magnificent mouth and palate. In 2020 they made no spraying at all in the vineyard. Really a wine to grab if you see some. 12 € tax included.
__ Qui l'eut cru 2021, a blend of Gamay from Chiroubles and Chenas because the yields were so low that year. Light color also here.
__ Cuvée 21150 Vin de France (21150 is their ZIP code). Pinot Noir plus 10 % of Gamay, it's a 2021. Blended also because of meager volumes, light color, turbidity, not much extraction. Vinified like a Gamay. 15 €. He says in 2022 the volumes aren't big but the quality is promising.
I met Jean-Yves Bardin, a photographer who was presenting his last book on the Loire vignerons, nature, organic and biodynamic, lots of nice pictures of people you certainly love the wines of. The book sells for 40 € at Amazon or the FNAC but online bookstores keep 50 % of the money and you can thus instead order directly from him for the same price (contact : [email protected]). His website where you can see his pictures is thewinearchiviste.com
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