This is Les Caves de la Vallée du Cher, this professionnal tasting took place on march 26 & 27 in the Cher valley
(Loire) in 5 different cellars (there's one I didn't have
time to visit alas) distant from 2 to 4 kilometers from each other in Faverolles sur Cher and Thésée. More than 50 vignerons took place, from the Loire and beyond. The protocol was very informal even if you're supposed to be in the trade to take part (if you love natural wine I'm sure you'd pass through as well), the entry fee was 5 €, you're given a screen-printed wine glass which will be your pass to access the 4 other sites. Street food could be purchased at each location.
Video above : the site of the cellar of Les Maisons Brûlées.
There were 5 cellars receiving the 150 vignerons that weekend, all a couple of kilometers from each other, and the first one I went to was the cellars of Cambalu, a domaine selling its grapes to several natural winemakers and making its own wine as well. Cambalu's cellars sit next to Mikael Bouges and also Les Capriades. That sunday was a rainy day, but I managed to arrive there on my motorbike before most of the rain.
Cyrille Sevin is making wine in Cheverny where he farms some 10 hectares of vines, organic since 2010, biodynamic (no certification) since 2013...
__ Bulles 2018, blend of
Chardonnay & Menu Pineau, a méthode ancestrale. 3 years sur lattes, no dosage. Nice sweetness, thin bubbles (very discreet), not bad.
__ La Quadrature du Blanc 2022, vat sample, a white blend. Turbid, still fermenting.
__ Cheverny 2020, vines aged 40 and older. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay & Menu Pineau. Nice aromatics ! Very nice with power also.
__ La Quadrature du Rouge 2022, vat sample, red. Bottling still faraway because he finds the wine still harsh (dur). That's why he moved the wine from stainless to fiber tank. Not bad at this stage, nice onctuous juice.
__ Le Bois du Bisson, Cheverny 2020 (red). More Pinot Noir in the blend. One-year élevage in barrels and demi-muids. Ah yes, that's a nice one ! Nice feel down the throat here.
__ L'Improbable 2019, 100 % Cabernet Franc (Vin de France). Not bad, and you feel it's only its early youth.
__ Une Histoire de Rouge 2011, Méthode Traditionelle with 2/3 Gamay and 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, very thin bubbles, with a juicy character.
__ Sureau (elderberry) 2022, not really wine but lovely, fermented with a bit of added sugar. What aromas, very enjoyable. And only 1 % alcohol ! Very easy to drink. He began that in 2010. So2 at disgorgement. The other wines otherwise get 20 to 30 mg at bottling (2 gr adding in general). No filtration in the wines.
The Ferme de L'Yonnière which is managed by Jérome Forget is located in Normandy, in the famous terroir of Domfront and produces poiré and cider. They make
Poiré as well since 1995.
__ Domfront 2021, Poiré. In Domfront, the Plant de Blanc variety is the major variety and the fruit is picked among 4 villages. Nice pear aromas. 5,5 % alcohol.
__ Domfront 2018, almost 100 % Plant de Blanc here. Very nice mouth with length !.
__ Vinot de Normandie (not a Domfront), called also Sainte Marie. Mouth very different, more refined but shorter. Thin bubbles.
__ Pear Shaped (his girlfriend is a Brit), a blend of Poiré and Cider. Turbid, still sugar in there, very velvety. Bubbles : almost no bubbles here.
__ Cidre Paysan, cider from local varieties, golden color, quite dark, 4,5 % alc. Very enjoyable as well because of discreet bubbles.
Flavie Paillat started her cider farm "La Pomme Originelle" in 2022 in Thésée, eschewing the use of any additives, enzymes or calcium salt [all of thyese being used in mainstream commercial cider farms].
Jérôme Lenoir of Domaine Les Roches (Chinon) was there pouring his wines.
Jeremy Quastana who works on 4,5 hectares in the Sologne region presented his own wines plus the ones of his brothezr Jean, who farms 1 hectare in the same area. Botthe bottles their wines as Vin de France. On the right you may recognize importer Alex Zülch who imports throug his company Vins Vivants both natural
Mikaël Bouges didn't have to commute from very far away to take part to this tasting,
Les Terres d'Ostara is managed by a young couple who just started their domaine in Francueil (near Chenonceaux) in the Indre-et-Loire, they farm organic 4,5 hectares of vineyards. They bought the vineyards from a vigneron who had his main blocks of vineyards
The domaine Fleith is located in Ingersheim (Haut Rhin), this is a family domaine with deep roots and they farm their 10 hectares on biodynamics. Brigitte was pouring the wines
that day.
Jean-Christophe Jezequel is making wine not far from here, he farms now almost 6 hectares and had 7 cuvées to taste that day.
Marie Rocher is making wine from purchased grapes (négoce) in the region, from the equivalent of 4 to 5 hectares, she's not anymore renting the chai to Catherine Roussel, having moved three years ago now to the center of Pouillé, the village nearby.
Domaine Cambalu is run by two brothers who farm organic a total of 16 hectares of vines, selling 40 % of the grapes to natural vintners of the region and vinifying the remaining 60 %. Julien Moreau was there to pour the wines, a selection of
La Pensée Filante is a 3-hectare domaine located in Saint Aignan sur Cher, the parcels are worked with a
Hermine de Clermont-Tonnerre runs a domaine, Vignobles Clermont, that has
There was nobody at the barrel of Les Capriades, but I still poured myself a méthode ancestrale there, such a delicious rinsing of the mouth before moving to another cellar....
The second cellar I went to was the one belonging to Les Jardins de Theseiis in THésée, the rain kept pouring but I managed to be relatively spared during the few minutes to cross the cher river and reach their place at the end of a dead-end path.
You may remember musician-turned-vigneron Thomas Puechavy, he's a Chenin artist and works in the Vouvray area not that far from here (from the Cher valley).
__ Petnat
Les Jardins de THeseiis is managed by a couple who quit their research job in Quebec to start a life of vignerons here, it's located in Thésée, the facility was the
Clos Kixhaya is a domaine located in Chinon, it's run by a Columbian and his boyfriend, Beatriz Papamija
Guillaume Noir works in Rablay sur Layon in the Loire (Anjou), his first vintage was 2017 with 2 hectares, he know has 2,5 hectares. Among his experiences,
Clos des PLantes is located in Montbenault, near Rablay, it is managed by Olivier Lejeune, the start was in 2017 and the vineyard surface is 3 hectares. He grows mainly Chenin with a bit of Cabernet Franc and Pinot Gris (planted this year).
Sylvain Leest is farming his vineyards in Faverolles en Berry, 29 km from Faverolles sur cher, he
The third cellar I went to was in Thésée also, this was the facility of Noëlla Morantin.
Chateau Gaillard was established 5 years ago and is located in the Vienne département, it is managed by Emmanuel Bienvenu who farms a total surface of 3 hectares. Before that, Emmanuel was heading the vineyard management in other domaines. His aim is to replant local little-known varieties and to it in the appropriate terroirs, choosing ones with deep soil with clay in order to counterbalance the drought and hydric stress that comes along new weather trends. He uses also the local clay to have amphorae built on his own design, with 350-liter volume on a Georgian design, but with the appropriate clay, he says you find all sort of amphorae on the market now but the origin, nature of the clay is never clear. He now also wants to make 700-liter ones. He brought a miniature model of his amphorae, very interesting i guess for other vignerons here. His farming is biodynamic but no certification.
Damien Menut (pictured here with Ben Nerot) farms 4 hectares just outside Thésée. He exports the majority of his
This is the stand of Noëlla Morantin (where Philippe is busy pouring).
Philippe introduced me to the next guy I tasted from, Jacques Perritaz of the Cidrerie du Vulcain, they both are Swiss and were in the same school if I remember. He comes from Fribourg (not the Freiburg
The Domaine Kumpf & Meyer was started in the 1990s in Rosheim (Bas Rhin), its vineyard surface is today 16 hectares
Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme as you may know runs a négoce next to Puzelat (whith whom he was a former associate). The father of three farms 10 hectares he owns, plus he buys grapes for
We all know Laurent Saillard who one day went back from New York where he managed a restaurant with a wise wine list to make wine himself in the Loire.
The Domaine Wannaz is located in Switzerland along the Lac Leman, it farms biodynamic 4,5 hectares. They also host events in the historic building of the estate,
You may remember ma story on Lisanne van Son not far from here in the cher valley, she since parted from her associate and moved to the Bugey in 2021, close to Bugey Cerdon where she
We're here at Domaine Breton, the barrel was managed by a son-in-law, Baptiste, who seemed to know perfectly all the details
Jean-Claude Lapalu also travelled from the Beaujolais to pour his wines here. You recognize Lisanne Van Son on the right.
When i visited without notice Antoine Lienhardt a couple years ago he was in the middle of post-harvest chai work and pressing but it was a great experience including for the wines I tasted there, I still look forward more another visit when opportunity puts me in the area. He farms 6,5 hectares
Christian Venier, who hosts himself a superb tasting event every year in his wine farm, was there as well (this particular one here was the first one after the Lockdown, nobody
The 4th location I went to was the cellar of Les Maisons Brûlées, located (unlike the wine farm) on the same side of the Cher river but in the next village (Monthou sur Cher), it's a grand type of cellar, majestic with its high ceiling, like being in a temple.... The video posted at the beginning of this story was shot there.
The Domaine des Gauchers sits in the Vendömois region, home of Pineau d'Aunis as you know (see him with American vigneron Brendan Tracey in a
Jean-Guillaume Caplain of the domaine Peaux Rouges didn't have to travel far to come to this cellar as his wine farm is just above Monthou-sur-Cher. Here is another expat (kind of) who settled here
after many years working in Canade shooting documentaries.
Next barrel was François Ecot who farms one hectare of his own, plus another hectare that has just been planted and
Alexandre Bain was there as well, deep in this high-ceiling (an rather dark) cellar.
Laetitia Castaing makes wine through the SARL Barrenceche, she runs a négoce with buying grapes for the equivalent of
__ La Croix Hamelot 2021, cider. For this first vintage she used apples picked near Honfleur
(Normandy), they were also organic
but she now focuses on local apples in the Loir et Cher. Extra Brut, 6 % alc.
__ Le Petit Péruvien, cider. Apples picked in Domfront, 4 different varieties : sour, bittersweet, bitter and tart. This cider has just been disgorged. Super color (pic on left) ! I like that.
__ Les Herbes Hautes 2022, cider made from apples picked in the Loir et Cher. 4 different apple types.
__ Pomme/Poire Caresi, another nice juice, with such an unsusual tannic mouth ! Light color, turbidity. Astringency.
__ Les Roches, Chenin, Vin de France 2009. A white with a nice golden color, in the mouth, good balance with light bitterness that adds something to help balance the overall roundness. Grapes come from a 23,7-are old parcel (130 years minimum, renewed
with marcotage). Soil : clay/limestone with only 10 to 15 centimeters of earth, then the limestone bedrock.
Top Chenin indeed.
__ Les Roches, vin de France 2011, a red. Nice meaty juice, love it. 30 € public price at the domaine.
Jérôme quit the appellation system years ago (not labelled in Chinon anymore) with the aim to be able to make quietly the wine the good way, and also stop being associated (via the appellation on the label) to mainstream wineries who don't make a respectful job in the vineyard and in the cellar. And the Appellation syustem has become even worse since 2011-2012 because they changed the rules with more and more restrictions with checks that can happen even after the agreement tasting (popping up at the winery anytime for example to take bottles and open them for checks), and given the mindset of those hgandling these checks it was too threatening for vintners working naturally without tricks. The last straw was a Chinon rosé 2010 that was sacked at the agreement commission, a nice wine of which he had made only 400 bottles.
__ Les Roches 2009. Freshness, some bitterness.
__ Vat sample 2018, poured from a Jiroboam (filled the previous day). 14,9 % alc. Zero so2, still some gas coming out, he says there are 3,5 or 4 grams of residual sugar (but no discernable sweetness for me). Malolactic completed, some astringency.
__ Chinon 1989, he opened the bottle for our library experience, my first impression is freshgness here.
wine from France to Germany/Austria and the other way around.
__ Sauvignon 2022
(from his brother Jean), made through a 5-day maceration. Not very Sauvignon aromatically, generous mouth feel. 6,75 € pro.
__ Pineau d'Aunis 2022 (Jean). Terroir with sand. Nice youung Aunis. He made 8 hectoliters of this, 7,25 € pro.
__ Pineau d'Aunis (Jérôme's) 2022, clayish soil. the parcel belonged to the late Olivier Lemasson who had planted the vines himself. Very nice Aunis ! Very refined. 15 hectoliters of this. 7,25 € pro.
__ Pinot Noir (from Jean), from a 30-are parcel. Lightly turbid. Man, that's good !!! What a lovely texture on the tongue ! 7,25 € pro.
__ Pinot Noir 80 % and Gamay 20 % (from Jeremy), he bought these organic grapes 500 meters away and made 7 barrels of this. 7,25 € pro.
__ Gamay (from Jeremy, blue label) 2022. Barrel sample also like we just tasted, he'll have everything bottled on azpril 30. Not bad.
__ Collectif 2022, Jeremy's Côt. Barrel sample. Super nice again (never disappointed by this cuvée), fresh, silky texture in the mouth, noisy approval by my stomach !
__ Cabernet Franc 2021, bought the grapes to Jérôme Lenoir. A bit more extraction, more oaky (barrel from 2019), a wine to keep in the cellar for a while.
his own facility and cellar is next door.
__ La Pente de Chavigny, Touraine Sauvignon 2022. Vat sample. Feels whole, not typically Sauvignon aromatically. Soil : warm type of soil with limestone. 7,5 € pro.
__ Les Bures 2020, old vines (45 years) of Sauvignon, élevage one year in 500-liter demi-muid. It's rare, he says, to find Sauvignon that old (45) in the area because Sauvigon doesn't age well here. He has also by the way Sauvignon planted in 1904. Sharp wine, neat.
__ Les Couilles D'Âne 2020, his Côt growing in Saint Julien de chedon (a village nearby) on clay with flintstone (argile à silex). 45 years also. Man that's a Côt where you feel the minerality, even the rock and the stones. 10,5 € pro.
elsewhere, closer to his facility.
__ L'Ambassadeur,
vin de France, Sauvignon 2022, vat sample. picked quite ripe. Low yields for this region, like 35 hectoliters/hectare. 3 gr so2 added, some for the élevage, some to block the malolactic and some before bottling. 13,5 € tax included at the domaine.
__ Les Chapardeurs, rosé de Cabernet Franc. Super nice rosé ! 12,5 % alc. They made 500 bottles. 3g so2 total. They didn't begin to sell their wines, it's their first wine event where they present their wines. 10 € tax included at the domaine.
__ L'Oracle, 100 % Gamay, a Vin de France like everything. One-month whole-cluster maceration in cement tank (semi carbo), élevage 6 months in fiber vat on lees. Picked in boxes. The color is quite light, they made only one remontage. Nice concentration in the mouth. Mostly old vines here and yields at around 20-25 hectoliters/hectare. 14 € tax included.
Pic on right : I visited the toilets which were above in a house atop the hill (above the cellar) and enjoyed the view on the Cher river valley.
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__
Alsace 2019, a white blend with 6 varieties, they picked grapes from their best cuvées, unlike what is usually done for the Alsace blend known as Edelzwicker. Very easy drinkin. So2 at bottling, with light filtration. Elevage on lees for 1 year.
__ Alsace Riesling Steinweg 2017. Very mineral wine, almost rocky i feel. I understand the name of the terroir, Steinweg means stone path.
__ Alsace Gew¨rztraminer Letzenberg 2017, each label has a flower, this is each time the one that prodominates on the particular terroir, and they're different each time. Quite sweet, I'm told 6 grams residual sugar here.
__ Alsace Pinot Gris Dorfburg 2016, on limestone soil. 25 grams residual sugar. Quite fresh in spite of the sugar, you drink that very easy.
__ L'Orange 2021, Muscat and Pinot Gris, 15-day maceration and then on lees. Superb mouth. 22 € tax included or 12 € pro (the other cuvées are between 9 and 10 € pro).
__ Alsace Pinot Noir Cuvée Marius 2020. A bit harsh in the mouth at this stage, wait more maybe.
__ White blend,
menu Pineau & Sauvignon 2019, a Vin de France like all his cuvées. Nice classy white !
Goes down beautifully down the throat. Bottled a year ago.
__ Sauvignon 2020, vat sample. Whole and alive, my feel here. Generous also.
__ Aunis 2021, vat sample. Tough year : frost hail and mildew on top of that. He made 10 hectoliters of that, it was the only red he could pick that year (glass pictured). 9 €-10 € pro.
__ Aunis 2020. That's good !So easy to drink, love it. Same price.
__ Gamùay 2020, a bit tight but in my opinion very promising Gamay if you wait what's needed, try that in a year.
__ Petnat with Gamay Teinturier (Chaudenay) 2020. Disgorged 2 weeks ago. Nice red/rosé petnat, very vivid, bubbly mouth, nice.
__ Petnat rosé 2021, made with Menu Pineau, Grolleau & Gamay (1/3 each), tile color. Strong bubbles, but still thin somehow, refreshing wine.
__ Les Valseuses 2020, just disgorged, Gamay 100 %. A rosé méthode ancestrale.
__ Les Valseuses 2021, méthode ancestrale, also Gamay. More sugar left at bottling, she says, and of course at disgorgement, same wine added to replace the expelled sediments.
__ Voilà L'Eté, Vin de France 2021, a rosé. Super good !!, feminine, subtile. Made from Cabernet Franc, part direct press, part with 24 hours maceration. This is the 1st year she makes this, it's on sale since last june (2022), these are the last bottles. She is going to make this cuvée again, but with Aunis and Pinot Noir. 8,2 € pro export.
__ Les Passantes, vin de France 2021. 60 % Gamay 40 % Cab Franc.
5 cuvées.
__ Black Cherry,
vin de France Pinot Noir 2021. that's super good !! So easy to drink ! Unfiltered, no so2. They made 25 hectoliters of this. 12 € pro.
__ Chichic, Aunis Teinturier vin de France 2021. A type of Teinturier that has basically disappeared today. Different in the mouth indeed from a "regular" Aunis, mushroom aromas, very atypical. 20 hectoliters. 10 € pro. Very interesting, to try.
__ Groll' Noir 2021, 100 % Grolleau. Wloe-cluster grapes macerated for 12 days. 35 hectoliters (glass pictured). 11 % alcohol, some tannin feel.
__ Au Bout du Chenin, Vin de France 2021, bottled a week before, 30 hectoliters made. 5 grams residual sugar, super nice and easy. No so2 but sterie filtration.
__ Cambalou rosé 2020, Pineau d'Aunis. Whole cluster pressed, 25 % in barrels, the rest in fiber vats and then the two types are blended, a nice generous rosé, zero so2. All reds unfiltered here. On sale since october 2021.
draft horse. They started in 2019 and produce 10 000 bottles yearly.
__ a white Vin de France 2022, blend of Menu Pineau and Sauvignon rose (Fié Gris).
__ Chenin de Vouvray, vin de France 2021, grapes come from 1ères côtes de Vouvray (70-are surface). Fermented in old barrels (2-3 years old) for 9 months.
__Résistance, vin de France 2022, skin contact with Muscat, Chasselas, hybrid and Pineau d'Aunis, this is a petnat with crown cap. 2500/3000 bottles. 8 € pro. Picture on the wine in the glass on left.
__ Ici Ça Va, vin de France 2021, Gamay (including 30 % of Gamay Teinturier), 15-day carbo, one month in barrel before bottling, zero so2, unfiltered. Super good ! Try that ! 2000 bottles, 10 € pro. Zero export for now (their surface is very small) but it's fine for them this way.
been producing wine since the 13th century, the vineyard surface today is 12 hectares including 3 hectares to replant, 3 just replanted (6 hectares in production today), it is located in Saint Georges sur Cher.
__ Le Courlis 2022, Touraine Sauvignon. Vat sample take the day before. Not very typical Sauvignon, no fining, no filtration, no so2 (because vat sample), but in general they add 2 grams before bottling.
__ Touraine Côt 2020, unfiltered, 2 grams so2 at bottling. Tannic chew, nice freshness, promising Côt (in its youth still). Bottled september 2021. Parcels on sandy slopes.
__Gamay Touraine 2022.
__ Le Colvert, Touraine Cabernet Franc 2019, no filtration but fining with egg and 2 grams so2 at bottling. Very enjoyable Cab Franc. 3000 bottles. 8,5 € pro.
2021, a bit more than 1 year in bottles, disgorged february 2023, a quasi-vinous petnat as the bubbles are hard to detect, but I like that.
__ Rayon Blanc 2021, vin de France, a white with a nice chew. Was pressed in a horizontal Vaslin press, 24 hours in debourbage tank, fermentation in vat, then entonnage in barrels in the middle of the fermentation, then one year in tank again, and racking before the harvest. This was the first time he made zero so2 on a still wine. 30 hectoliters, he begins to sell it now. 11 € for cavistes, 12 € export.
__ Les Doyennes, old vines 2020, 2 years in barrels and 6 months in tank. Nice substance. 10 hectoliters.
__ Chenin demi sec 2020, 2-year élevage plus 6 months in vat, bottled a month ago. 25 grams residual sugar but crown cap closure because no so2 and unfiltered.
one used by Bruno Allion before he retirred.
__ Sauvignon 2021,
vin de France like all their wines. Actually it's a V.S.I.G. or Vin Sans Appellation Géographique because it's even better, there's no tax [you pay a tax now to be in Vin de France, the taxman understand the black sheep has become a quality symbol !]. Zero so2 and unfiltered. 10 months in barrels, it's a blend of parcels, bottled july 2022.
__ Sauvignon, Jardin du Poira 2019, 30 months in élevage. Nice, exciting feel when swallowed. 10,5 € pro.
__ Hapax 2021, macerated Sauvignon for one week. Elevage in barrels. Like the rest, zero so., zero filtration. 10 € pro.
__ Gamay 2021, Jardin de la Grande Pièce. Super good, and to go with food as well because solid substance in there, and tannic structure. 11,8 % alcohol.
__ Pineau d'Aunis, Jardin du Poira 2021
__ Côt 2018, Jardin de la Maison Neuve, 3 week maceration, then from vat to barrels, the malolactic was late, bottled in 2021. Tight tannic structure.
and Etienne Le Blanc.
Their total surface is 4 hectares and it was started in 2018. They have only one terroir and Cabernet Franc. Alas nobody was there when I showed up, I wanted to pop up the next day to see them but forgot.
__ Grappes Me, Vin de France 2021, maceration of Cab Franc, it's a claret. Zero-zero, 12 % alcohol. Exciting nose. Super good in the mouth ! Try this absolutely !
__ Les Grappes 2020, quite light in color, turbid. Some mousy thing but I love this, easy to drink.
__ Le clos 2020; 40-day maceration with destemmed grapes, and barrels. Super substance, a real pleasure, try that too !! Zero-zero also.
he picked at Mark Angeli.
__ Elements
Chenin CH 2021, Chenin Vin de France (like all his wines). Vinified in fiber tank. Generous, enjoyable, good length. Zero-zero. 9 € pro for the 2022.
__ CH Mo1 2021, Chenin in maceration with Grolleau Gris, light rosé color, turbid too. Nice freshness and white tannin touch in the mouth. He blended these varieties in 2019 after the frost and he liked the result so he keeps blending them every year.
__ CH MO3 2020, Chenin, Grolleau Noir, and Cabernet Franc (the two later were direct pressed) rosé with tile color also. Nice intensity, super good ! 9 € pro.
__ GN Grolleau Noir 2021, a quite light red, and turbid (love the color !). Super nice wine !! The color never lies ! I loved this at first sip ! 8 € pro.
__ Poiesis 2021. Chenin, quite demonstrative and generous, soil sandstone shale/shists, quartz. Interesting aromatics here. Grapes from the parcel "Les Cailloux", planted early 1990s. Unfiltered, 15 mg so2 (volcanic type of sulfur).
__ Poiesis 2020, Chenin with 2-year élevage. Ah yes, there's a different breat here, wider space... 19 € pro.
has magnificent cellars with big trees at the door.
__ Feuilles Blanches, vin de France 2019, a white bottled may 2021. Quite rich but no residual sugar. Ripe aromas.
__ Feuilles Blanches 2016/2017, vin de France. More dry in the feel, with a light bitterness.
__ Feuilles Rouges 2018, Gamay Beaujolais plus a bit of Teinturier. Whole clusters, maceration, no remontage but broke the cap to aerate. light astringency on the palate.
__ Feuilles Rouges 2019, very pleasant chew, I love that ! Pro export 8 €.
__ L'Âme de Fond 2018, Pinot Noir & Gamay, gastronomy wine.
__ Grapilles 2019, Côt and Cabernet Franc. Noticeable astringency also.
__ Petnat 2022, made with a red variety, Villard Noir. It's an old hybrid used in its time in the Loire and the south of France, known for its acidity and its disease resistance. Zero spraying on the vines here, not even sulfur/copper, only biodynamic ones or infusions. Super fresh and with a candy side, like "fraises tagada". Zero added so2. Spent 5 to 10 months
__ Petnat 2022, made with Muscaris, an hybrid created in Germany 20 years ago, it was authorized in France 4 years ago. A variety with Muscat aromatics. Also zero spraying. Very curious aromas, english candy, but dry wine.
__ Equinoxe 2022, made with Souvignier Gris, also an hybrid created in Germany a few decades ago, a mix of seyval blanc and zähringer. It's some sort of Fié Gris, also with pink skin. Curious mouth, with a peculiar touch on the palate. And this variety blossoms several times a year which means you can pick all alon the season including for late harvest. Zero so2. Here he made a light filtration otherwise he doesn't filter his wines. 8-day maceration in amphora. There's a saline feel in the wine, interesting.
__ Sur le Chenin 2022, nChenin Blanc, 3-month skin contact plus 3 month in élevage. Nice amber color, he says he doesn't want an oxydative imprint in his wines, so he designed the amphora and the clay in order to be closer to sandstone. Singular mouth feel, whole, harmonious. Zero so2, unfiltered. Saline touch, he says that's the Jurassic limestone terroir. Very nice wine ! 23 € tax included. Asked about the rootstock, he uses Fercal.
__ Solstice 2022, Cab Franc with Villard Noir, destemmed grapes, 4-month maceration in amphora. A nice Cab Franc, alive ! And already open and ready to drink, very rare for a 2022 ! He says that's the maceration that brings the silky via the infusion/maceration interaction. I notice he puts "Sans Sulfites Ajoutés" on his labels.
__ Apogée, Pinot Noir 2022, bottled this week. Very fruity in the mouth, more than usual for me. Massal selection from Vosne Romanée. Picked very ripe and got a 3-month maceration with whole clusters.
__ 109 "Le Nouvel Esprit du Vin" 2021, made with the Plantet Noir variety, or hybrid 54-55 (total 109). Amphora. That's good ! Meat notes, very interesting, I'd like to taste that again to see how it behaves in a couple more years ! For him the best hybrid, in the past the vignerons only made rosé with it, and that's too bad, they didn't uncover its potential as a red. Unfiltered of course, zero so2. One-month maceration destemmed grapes. 15 € tax included at the domaine. Until now he didn't export because until last year he made only 5000 bottles total, but he's moving to 15 000, so he might sell more now.
__ Sang Neuf, Esprit d'Antan 2021, Plantet Noir, 6-month maceration. Super refined and onctuous, very very nice !! Zero spraying in the vineyard as well. And as usual, zero so2, zero filtration. 25 € tax included. (export pro would be then 15 €).
wines.
__ Sauvignon 2020, vin de France. 2-year élevage (in old barrels), unfiltered, zero so2. In the mouth, feels whole, not very Sauvignon type, he says he picked quite early because he doesn't look for the thiol side of Sauvignon. Bottled a month ago.
__ Gamay 10 % 2021. 11,3 % alcohol. Whole clusters have macerated 3 weeks, élevage 15 months in old 400-liter demi-muids, then blended and ket in tank for 2 months. Bottled last month. A nice Gamay with fruit and a peppery side.
__ Sonnemot, Grolleau, vin de France 2021. 10,8 % alcohol. Wow, that's good too ! Lovely, subtile and that light color almost passed ! Pro 9,8 €.
__ Marie Ju 2022,
petnat made with Chenin, they make it since 2019. Nice aromas, very interesting. 1500 bottles, oro 9,5 €.
__ Chez Charles 2020, Sauvignon. Wow, whole, and with energy ! Unfiltered. So2 : between 10 & 20 mg.
__ LBL 2020, old vines of Sauvignon, vin de France" like the rest. Different character here, sharp, neat. Great job of old ladies Sauvignon !
__ Mon Cher 2021, Gamay. Super good, no question ! Never disappointed with this cuvée.
__ Momu (in magnum), Cabernet Franc 2019, grapes picked on a parcel at Mikaël Bouges. 2 barrels total. Maceration of 3 months in a barrel with opening (destemmed grapes). Super good !! Silky and smooth. 12 € pro. This is a new cuvée.
__ Tango Atlantico 2020, Côt-Cab Franc. Now, that's good too ! you feel this will be even better after a couple years, but you can stock it already band fall for opening earlier...
im Brisgau of Schwarzwald).
He started in 2006 and buys the apples. He says in Switzerland there is a long tradition to make wine from apples, the farmers made their own at the farm. He was one of the first to put back cider on the radar in Switzerland, using a French production mode.
__ Ginger Guyot 2021, a poiré cofermented with ginger, almost a sort of kombucha. Clear and trouble, 5,4 % alcohol. The ginger side is full of energy when you swallow, I love ginger ! 7,5 € pro.
__ Cidre de Fer, a mono varietal made with Bohnapfel (means pomme de fer in French), a varietal found in southern Germany. Color : clear yellow with green reflexions, very interesting aromas. Can be kept a long time in a cellar if needed. The prise de mousse was natural and the yeast protect the cider in the élevage. 7,5 € pro.
__ Brute de Rue 2019, lots of bitter here, that's why "Brute" and Rue is thye name of the village. Amber color (superb), turbid. Wow, that's something ! Comes from a young orchard but the soil is poor, that's why thgis expression in the mouth, try that ! 4000 liters. 9 € pro. Pictured with the bottle.
__ Turgowy 2019, varietals from eastern Switzerland, with German names. Light taste, evanescent.
__ Premier Envol 2022, 4 types of grapes, a nice cider like I'm more used to, more mainstream.
___ Restons Dark, petnat rosé, Pinot Gris and Pinot Auxerrois. Nice bitterness and
thin bubbles, not bad. 16 € tax included at the domaine.
__ Y à Plus Qu'à, blend of Pinot Auxerrois and Sylvaner, 4 vintages of wine here (so that it completes the fermentation), the last being 2021. Nice expression, roundness, very voluptuous !
__ Riesling 2018, one of the rare cuvées that fermented in time that year, but still needed 2 years ! Super nice and easy to drink, a velvety white. All zero added so2 and unfiltered. They export 45 % of their wine.
__ Badinerie Nature 2021, a turbid wine made from Pinot Auxerrois
__ HEDoniste 2021, a rosé made from Pinot Gris with a bit of Pinot Noir, 5 years élevage in foudres. Plus 2 years in bottles. Turbid, between rosé and white, also a liquid-food type of wine, love it !
__ Riesling Westerberg Perpetuel 2015-2018-2019, made intially because also difficulty to ferment, but they keep following this modus operandi.
the equivalent of 20 hectares in the region.
__ La Tesnière 2022, Menu Pineau bottled early march. Un filtered, 1 gr so2 at racking. It was a hot year, he lost some grapes but the rain on september 15 help correct the deficit. He also took some of the parcels of late Olivier Lemasson (same area). Full mouth, whole, harmonious, I like that. 11,9 € pro.
__ Grenache 2021, picked in the south close to Jean-François Nicq (Pyrenées Orientales), the only time, it was a frost year in the Loire, that's why. Very ripe, a bit of astringency. 14 % alc.
__ Le TelQuel 2021, Gamay, Cab Franc, Syrah, the two former from the Cher valley, the latter from the Pyrénées. Lightly turbid, I like this one as well.
__ Monthou sur Bièvre, Gamay 2020, nice tannic chew, with acidity. Vinified whole clustered, 2-week maceration and then in barrels. Pro 9,6 €.
__ KO, In Côt we Trust 2020. Still young but promising.
__ Lucky
You 2022, 2/3 Sauvignon 1/3 Chardonnay,
bottled the week before. In 2021 he lost lots of grapes and made only 10 hectoliters. Quite rich in the mouth.
__ Un Eté Partagé 2022, grapes bought to Cambalu, 2/3 Grolleau, 1/3 Gamay, picked at 9 %, it's a vat sample. Exciting turbid vivid red. Bottled the following friday.
__ Ça se Discute 2022 (glass pictured), Pineau d'Aunis. Light color but vivid.. Vinified whole clustered. Remontage every day during 3 days. Very enjoyable, you drink that very easy.
__ La Pause 2022, from his own Gamay. Nice power and length ! In 500-liter demi-muids and tronconic foudres. 12,5 % alc. Nice wine already good to drink but certainly for long keep as well.
selling wine to their visitors, they
also try to export in France. Lucas who was pouring the wines work for them while living on the French side of the border.
__ Epesses Grand Cru 2022, Chasselas on clayish soil. Looks unfiltered but there was a light filtration. Indigenous yeast. They have been doing biodynamics in the domaine for 25 years.
__ Saint Saphorin 2022, on sandy terroir (draining soil), bottled a few days before, Chasselas. Sweetness in the mouth (but only 3 grams, I'm told), and a saline feel, the two going together, oddly.
__ Pur Jus 2022, Chasselas, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner. Very turbid. Went through a light maceration. Grainy side in the mouth. Zero so2, unfiltered. Very juice type of wine.
__ Plan Robert 2022, local variety (close to Gamay) from the Lavaux area. 400 bottles. Quite demonstrative in the mouth, they're making this wine for 20 years. There is a menthol note that makes it pair well with Asian food.
found with her boyfriend the ideal vineyards and the wines she looked for. She founded Sonshine Vins there.
__ Petnat rosé 2022, 100 % Gamay direct press, some sugar remains that that's fine. Vivid petnat.
__ The Globe, a Chenin d'Anjou 2021, purchased grapes. Very surprising with what I find is a liquorice side. She says it was quite acidic at first but it completed its malolactic and turned better.
__ Pied de Mouton, old vines of Gamay on clay/limestone soil, blended with Poulsard, 6-day whole-culstered maceration.
__ Petal 2021, purchased grapes, Grolleau bought to Toby Bainbridge (a Brit making wine in Anjou) blended with Red Muscat from Alsace. Very light color, lightly turbid. Oh I love that ! Acidulous wine, thin tannin frame, just lovely ! 40 hectoliters, 8,6 € pro.
__ Hasta la Vista, petnat rosé (or rosé/white, hard to say) 2021. Intense bubbles but still thin overall, 16 months sur lattes. A cofermentation of Riesling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, grapes purchased in Alsace.
about the wines. On left, Anouk from les Jardins de Theseiis also dropped by to taste.
__ Le Chenin 2021, made with 40-year-old vines, one year in cement tank. Sharp feel.
__ Pierres Rousses, Vouvray 2020, Chenin as well of course. 1 year in barrels. More rich, more substance, malolactic done as well.
__ Le Grolleau, vines on sandy lower slopes, the wine id clear (in color) and turbid. One-week whole-cluster maceration, élevage in cement tank for 5 months. Like that, very suave, so easy to drink ! 11,5 % alcohol. 8 € pro.
__ Le Cabernet Franc 2021, also sandy soil down the slope. Nice light and turbid color. Two-week carbo. And cement tank. Super mouth with silky tannin. 9,6 € pro. Formerly Les Dilletantes. Delicious !
__ Trinch 2021, Two-week maceration, Cabernet Franc vines on sand and gravel. Elevage in stainless steel. More serious, still very nice as well even though you feel it's better to wait for this one. 7,3 € pro.
__ Clos Sénéchal Bourgueil 2020, 80-year-old vines (3 parcels). Destemmed grapes, 1,5 year in barrels (old ones). Nice structure, and in its youth as well.
__ Tentation
Beaujolais Village 2022, young vines,
whole-cluster maceration for 10 days. Ah, what a mouth !, you drink that so easy !
__ Tentation 2022, made with Syrah exceptionally : in 2021 his own parcels were hit by hail 3 times, he was proposed some volume of Syrah to make Tentation and it worked well with this variety. Whole-cluster maceration. Fresh feel, quite clear color for Syrah.
__ Beaujolais Villages old vines 2022, from several terroirs, vinified in cement tank. He was reluctant to make this multi-terroir blend but is happy of the feedback about this cuvée when people and peers began to taste it. Very good indeed ! Bottled 4 weeks before.
__ Eau Forte 2021, vin de France, made from one of his nicest parcels in Beaujolais Villages, he began to vinify this 10 years ago and made recently a verticale (it's 10 years without added so2). Super good too, man ! 13,5 € pro. Zero so2, unfiltered. Try that as well !
planted at a density of 10 000.
__ Gamayoptère 2021. Lovely one !
__ Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2021, 2/3 cement, 1/3 foudres. Now that's wonderful !!! He says he never succeed to do this again, the grapes were badly attacked by oidium and he thus used only the clear juice. What a juice you have here !! Energy, vibes, life ! Quasi all sold, you may still find a few bottles to order and if you see thart in a wine shop, no hesitation !!!
__ Côtes de Nuits Villages, Les Plantes aux Bois 2021. Speaking of manpower, he says he works with a non-profit that find him Syrians or Afghans, they come from the countryside and understand the pruning work, even though they don't drink wine. Finding people to work in the vineyard is otherwise more and more difficult.
Nice length in this wine. His Prices go from 10 € to 25 € pro. The 21 are mostly sold out.
__ Emphase 2021, 7 parcels of old vines, vinified in stainless steel and 1/3 cement.
had dared yet to organize a
tasting again then !).
__ Les Hauts de Madon, white 2022, blend of Sauvignon & Menu Pineau. Quite rich, maybe too much.
__ Les Perrières, Menu Pineau 2022. Nice harmony, balanced, aqueous in the Umami sens, gets to make one with your system. Let's itself drink like that. Almost saline as well, Love it ! 9 € pro.
__ Rouge 2022 (pictured glass), Gamay & Pinot Noir. Clear color, turbid. Feels like 11 % but it's 12,5-13% he says.
__ Clos des Carteries 2022, vat sample like the former. Gamay (majority) and Pinot Noir, more serious stuff here, grab that and keep it a while.
__ Les Hauts de Madon red 2021, Pinot Noir (majority) and Gamay. Easier to drink, love this, it is ready now, to try !
__ P'tit Pinot 2022 (will decide for another name soo). So good too ! Just delicious ! Bottled 2 weeks earlier like the former. Superb tannic touch in the palate.
local newspaper' story. Cédric Fleury started in 2017 with 2,7 hectares and now reached 7 hectares.
__ Le Club, Pineau d'Aunis petnat, a direct press and thus Blanc de Noir.
__ Herbe Tendre, Chenin 2020. Just bottled, a bit sweet as 5 grams residual sugar. 14,8 % alcohol but feels more like 13 %.
__ Albatros 2021, blend of Pineau d'Aunis, Côt, Cabernet Sauvignon and Gamay Teinturier. Macerated Aunis, the rest in direct press. Very good ! Zero so2, unfiltered, 9 € pro.
__ L'Appel du Large 2021. Pineau d'Aunis. Nice intensity in the mouth with a light astringency.
__ San Jose 2021, a rosé, made from Merlot sourced in southern France (Ardèche, our good friends of Les Deux Terres) and Gamay from his own surface. Gastronomy rosé obviously, very good to eat with.
__ L Eté Indien 2022, Pinot Noir, from the small parcel in front of the farm. The vines are a massal selection by Villemand and Tessier. Bottled from cask the previous friday. Super nice wine, the grapes are also loved by the roe deers and in 2022 they also got hail damage. Yields thus were 6 hectoliters/hectare. One barrel only. 12,2 € pro.
_ Alfredo Garcia, Syrah 2022, the Les Deux Terres as well (Ardèche). Glouglou ! Man, that's nice too, you might drink the bottle by yourself... 10 € pro.
__ Circaete, a white vin de voile made with Sauvignon. Very acidulous, super interesting ! It remained 5 years sous voile.
__ L'Eté Indien 2017 (his first vintage), Magnum, opened the day before and cork not put back since. Sooo good ! And still on its feet !
__ Sauvignon old vines 1904, élkevage 5 years. Bottled in 50-cl bottles.
for the rest buys
grapes as far as Catalonia.
__ La Synthèse Troma-Onirique 2022, a white blend of Aligoté (Burgundy) and Xarel-Lo (Penedes, Catalogna), vinified in barrels and sandstone amphora. Whole feel, Umami. His pro prices are between 12 € and 15 €.
__ L'Insolent 2022, a red made with plenty different grapes near his house (Gamay, Pinot Beurrot, Abouriou, César, Pineau d'Aunis, Aligoté, Xarel-Lo). 600 bottles. Sold in Japan (3 Amours, Yamada). Light red color. Very nice wine, don't miss that !
__ Parade 2022, Syrah & Carignan. 13,5 % acohol. I understand there are other things he's about to bottle.
__ Coeur Vaillant,
vin de France 2020,
vinified by his wife Caroline. Zero so2 since 2008. Nice texture in the mouth, lovely wine !
__ Pierre Précieuse 2019, made from his Sauvignon. Soil : stones and limestone, shallow earth (30 centimeters only). Vat and foudre 39 months. Bottled Christmas 2022. That's nice too !
__ L'Ange 2018, élevage 4 years in foudre, then 2 years in stainless stell. What an echo chamber in the mouth, try that ! Gorgeous ! 23 € pro.
__ Champ Couturier 2019, an oxydative white, picked on over maturity. 37-month élevage in 500-liter demi-muids, very little topping up (3 times a year). Man, that's nice ! Very exciting white !
one hectare and she has her own cellar. You can reach her also through Julien Pineau. I remember having tasting the wines of Laetitia when she was making wines with a friend, this was at Les Maitresses de Chai.
__ Zig, Chenin plus a bit of Sauvignon (she buys grapes) 7,5 € Pro.
__ À Tire Larigo 2022, a red, from a 101-year-old parcel with 6 different varieties complanted, Grolleau, Côt, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Pineau d'Aunis, Hybrid. Enjoyable chew with tannin. From what I understand, Thierry Puzelat is in the process to multiplicate the vines here (I guess via a massal selection).
This Blog is awesome! :) I would be happy if once you'll taste a wine from our winecellar town, from Hajósi Pincefalu. Here you can find the biggest wine cellar town in the world with many expert winemakers. I promise, you wont be disappointed!
So you can check the winemakers repertoar in this site: https://borhajo.hu
Posted by: Andras Huber | April 27, 2023 at 09:18 AM