Les Varennes du Grand Clos is a 4.5 hectare parcel of vines at Sazilly (south bank of the Vienne) effectively an eastward continuation of the Clos de La Dioterie. The vines are planted on a gravel terrace with some flinty clay and limestone soil eroded from the limestone slopes. The vines were planted between 1962 and 1976. The wine spends 15-16 months in second to fourth fill barriques.
The 2004 has some of the concentration that is now a mark of the Joguet estate under François-Xavier Barc with sooty, herbal Loire Cabernet Franc aromas and flavours. It has the edginess that is a mark of many 2004s and ideally still needs more time to mellow in bottle. Alternatively I would decant it a couple of hours in advance of serving. 2004 is a more difficult vintage than 2003 or 2005 but this Les Varennes shows that good and conscientious producers can succeed despite more adverse conditions.
We tried it two evenings running. The first night with the classic Elizabeth David slow cooked pork chop, potato and onion recipe from French Provincial cooking. The match wasn't entirely successful as the sweetness from the onions and the pork hid some of the Varennes' fruit. The second evening it worked much better with lamb chops griilled simply giving the wine more volume and roundness – making it a good match. Although the remnants were kept in a half bottle in the fridge, the additional air time probably helped this 2004 to mellow further.
The 2004 is available from Majestic Wine@£14.99 a bottle.
Clos de la Dioterie – Les Varennes is just a little further east
We tried it two evenings running. The first night with the classic Elizabeth David slow cooked pork chop, potato and onion recipe from French Provincial cooking. The match wasn't entirely successful as the sweetness from the onions and the pork hid some of the Varennes' fruit. The second evening it worked much better with lamb chops griilled simply giving the wine more volume and roundness – making it a good match. Although the remnants were kept in a half bottle in the fridge, the additional air time probably helped this 2004 to mellow further.
The 2004 is available from Majestic Wine@£14.99 a bottle.
Clos de la Dioterie – Les Varennes is just a little further east
