Mid-afternoon break for Noëlla Morantin's pickers – anti-frost device in background

Then back to work for the final row of the afternoon (above and below)

Dappled light in Clos Roche Blanche press house

Catherine Roussel: "We started picking the Gamay on Thursday and through yesterday, which was very hot – over 30˚C. We did have a thunderstorm on Thursday but fortunately we didn't have much rain although what we did have was very heavy. We finished picking the Gamay this morning. This year we expect it to be quite light as it is around 12% potential with 5.5 acidity. We plan to pick the Pineau d'Aunis on Tuesday." Hopefully Catherine and Didier will be making their delicious L'Arpent Rouge again this year.

2011 Gamay

Bertrand Celce has a fine piece here on the 2011 harvest at the Clos Roche Blanche on his Wine Tasting, Vineyards, in France. We must have been following each around!

Across onto the north side of Cher in the village of Monthou we had a quick look at Jérôme and Dominique Sauvété's Sauvignon Blanc.

Plenty of life in these vineyards

Dominique told us that they weren't quite ready to start as the acidity levels were still a bit high. She expected that their vintage would be starting this coming Monday.

Hail damage in Monthou, Cher Valley 2009

'Un violent orage de grêle détruit le Sauternes

Un violent orage de grêle a fortement touché le vignoble de Sauternes, qui produit des vins liquoreux d'excellence, touchant "au moins 40% de l'appellation", a-t-on appris mercredi auprès des responsables de châteaux classés grands crus qui évoquent des "ravages".'

Read the rest here. 

A violent hailstorm hit Sauternes early evening on Monday. The communes of Bommes and Sauternes were particularly affected. Hail can be very destructive. Parts of the Cher Valley, Sancerre and Menetou-Salon were very badly affected by hail in 2009. Fortunately hail is usually quite localised but those affected can lose virtually their whole crop.


See video of damage here on Bill Blatch's Bordeaux Gold.

Now at the end of April the threat of frost is lessening in the Loire, while the danger of hail increases especially as the vines are so in advance of normal this year. We had a little bit of hail last Sunday in Epeigné but as far as I know not enough to do any real damage.

 Sauvignon Blanc being processed@Jean-François Merieau

Happily the heavy rain of Thursday night/ early Friday morning does not appear to have done too much damage. Fortunately the ground was dry so that picking machines have been able to continue to work. Yesterday we dropped in to see Jean-François Merieau (Saint-Julien-de-Chedon), Thierry and Joël Delaunay (Pouillé), Jean-Christophe Mandard (Mareuil-sur-Cher), Jacky Preys (Meusnes) and Vincent Ricard.

All said they were happy with the way the vintage was going, although they certainly don't want any more rain. Anything up to 40mm fell Thursday/Friday. Fortunately the last couple of days have been quite cool with a north wind at times helping to dry out the grapes. This morning we have sunshine and clear blue skies. All of them started on various days over the last week and most are picking Sauvignon Blanc, although Jacky Preys and Vincent Ricard had also picked some Pinot Noir and the Delaunays some Gamay and Chardonnay. Vincent had also picked some Sauvignon Rose (also called Sauvignon Gris or Fie Gris) which was coming in at 14% potential. Overall the Sauvignon Blanc appears to be coming in between 12%-12.5% with considerable variations in acidity ranging from about 5 grams per litre up to 6.2. 

Of all of them it is Vincent Ricard who has his foot hardest down on the accelerator. "I started picking by hand on Monday through to Thursday. However, with the rain I've switched to machine. This morning we started at 4am and we have just finished the fourth pressoir. (I saw Vincent around 5pm). It's going to be 15 days flat out as the forecast for late next week isn't very good. For the moment  what rot we have is noble but that can change and I don't want to lose the Sauvignon aromas."

All the juice I tasted was clean and quite rich, so 2010 is still looking pretty promising but no more rain please! 

Total blitz in Touraine

There is a very good but disturbing post (7th September) on Hervé Lalau's Chroniques Vineuses about the weed police in the Beaujolais. No it isn't April Fool's Day they really do have people from an organisation called Le CIBAS employed by the ODG du Beaujolais (l'Organisme de Défense et de Gestion de l'AOC) employed by the appellation to visit vineyards to check on the state of the weeds. If your vineyard is too weedy then those vines may be declassified and the wines won't have to right to be called Beaujolais etc.

The two photos below were taken in Touraine – two vineyards almost adjacent in the Cher Valley. I presume from Herve's post the vineyard in the top picture would pass – perhaps be highly commended, while the lower one would fail.

Beaujolais approved?

Beaujolais failed?

If my assumption is correct then there are a number of questions to ask:

a) Which of the two vineyards is more healthy?
b) Which has greater biodiversity?

c) Which system is more sustainable – la vie durable?

d) Which vineyard has obvious signs of erosion even though the slope is slight?
e) Why do have to look impeccably neat and tidy as though manicured?

 

From having been very dry in April and May, June is now looking increasing wet. Rain very early this morning and a pretty miserable forecast for the rest of the week. Made a quick visit to see one of my favourite Cher Valley producers yesterday. "I've never seen so many cèpes in the woods at this time of year," they told us. You can be sure that if the conditions are right for mushrooms, then they are right for black rot and mildew in the vineyards. Also it is the middle of the flowering – not good!

Here is my weekly posting on Les 5 du Vin.

 

River Indre in Loches passing the George Sand hotel and restaurant

 A message received yesterday:

'Dear Jim,

I just stumbled across your blog about loire valley wines. My family and I will be traveling to Loire soon. Specifically, we are staying near Loches for a week. We love our wine but are by no means experts. I was wondering if you might give me some suggestions of wineries not to be missed. With so many options I am a bit overwhelmed. Any info you could pass on would be of great help however, please do not feel obligated to respond. I know you must get lots of questions like this. Thank you so much.'

**

Loches is a little way out from the Loire's main wine producing areas. For instance both Vouvray and Chinon are about an hour's drive away with Montlouis slightly closer at around 50 minutes. Closer are the two main producers of Touraine Noble Joué – Jean-Jacques Sard and Rousseau Frères in Esvres about half an hour away from Loches in the direction of Tours. Noble Joué is a little known but long established rosé made from three Pinots – Noir, Meunier and Gris. Of the two Rousseau is the larger concern with nearly 20 hectares of vines offering a range of other wines as well as Noble Joué. 

Also around 30 minutes away from Loches are the producers in the Cher Valley. People to visit would include Jean-François Mériau (Vignobles des Bois Vaudons) in Saint-Julien-de-Chédon and Vincent Ricard in Thésée.  

Going further afield then Jacky Blot's Domaine de la Taille aux Loups in Husseau (Montlouis) where you can buy his Vouvray and Bourgueil as well as Montlouis is certainly recommended as is the François Chidaine's La Cave Insolite in Montlouis. 

Across the river in Vouvray my choices include Domaine Huet, Champalou, Foreau, Bernard Fouquet (Domaine des Aubuisières) and Alexandre Monmousseau's Château Gaudrelle, whose tasting room and winery in now at the western end of Rochecorbon. 

If you decide to go to Chinon my choices would include Baudry-Dutour (tasting room in Cravant-les-Coteaux), Charles Joguet (Sazilly), Domaine de Noblaie (Jérôme Billard in Ligré) and Château de Coulaine (Etienne and Pascale Bonnaventure in Beaumont-en-Véron).

There are many other possibilities and much depends upon how far you want to drive and how many places you wish to visit. Mentioning them all would make for a very long post! 

From vines above the village of Pouillé across to Thésée

Pruning a vineyard in Pouillé

Goods train, the Cher and Thesée

Vineyards, Thesée, the Cher and its valley

Across the Cher Valley to Pouillé – vines are only on the hillsides not on the valley floor

Epeigné's church@night

Epeigné's website has now been launched – click here. "Still some work to do but it's getting there!" says councillor, Mark Robertson. The site is impressively clear. It was designed and realised by Dominique Hisbergue of hisbergue design graphic (tel: 02.47.23.83.89), who are also responsible for the design of the Interloire site.

The Mairie built in 1886

Michel Mergot: Mayor of Epeigné-les-Bois

'Introduction to the village
Epeigné les Bois is a rural village which is part of the administrative district of Bléré. It is situated to the east of the Indre and Loire department, bordering the Loir and Cher department, 12 kilometers from Bléré and 39 kilometers from Tours.

Set back from the valley of the river Cher, the village is cut in two (from South to North) by the Chézelle stream, a tributary of the left side of the river Cher. The centre of the village is grouped around the church on the left bank of the stream, on a gentle slope.

Wrapped around an undulating countryside, the village is a green and leafy stop on the route to the chateaux of Montpoupon (4 km) and Chenonceau (9km). Read on in English or French

Church by day

Postcard showing Rue de la Fontaine around 1908. The building on the left is now the post-office and the library

Le Lézard Vert: the village shop, bar and soon to be restaurant

The Mayor in patriotic mood

••

Flash info:
Dimanche 8 novembre 2009
Randonnée pédestre gratuite
Départ devant la mairie à 9h00
Circuit de Chossay de 11 km

As is so often the case there have been considerable variations in the Loire weather depending upon the sector – meaning that some vignerons are happy, particularly in Anjou and the Pays Nantais, while others especially in the Cher are cursing what a year with 13 moons has thrown at them.

As a friend said yesterday – "Distances are SO big in the Loire!" Therefore, although it is tempting to generalise, it is dangerous.

Here is quick but not comprehensive round up:

Cher Valley

Conditions have been difficult in eastern Touraine with alternating fine weather and rain, so unfortunately a promising year for mildew. Furthermore there have been heavy but localized hail storms – one on the evening of 16th July and one last week on Friday 24th. The storm of the 16th produced some spectacular hailstones – the size of golf balls. See here.

There was some damage in Pouillé but probably more in Angé and then on the north side of the Cher between Monthou and Thesée. I understand that Jean-François Merieau (Vignobles des Bois Vaudons, Saint-Julien-de-Chédon) was amongst those hit. It was mainly his Gamay with some blocks suffering 80% damage with the overall damage estimated at around 20%. Fortunately the Sauvignon Blanc wasn't affected.

Thierry Delaunay

Thierry Delaunay (Domaine Joël Delaunay) reports:

Effectivement, il a grélé sur la commune de Pouillé le jeudi 16 juillet vers 20h 20h30. Il y avait beaucoup de vent aussi. Chez nous à la Tesnière, il est tombé quelques gros grélons gros comme des oeufs de pigeons ( j'en ai compté un dizaine, c'était à la fin de l'orage ). Donc pas de dégâts mais je me suis douté que l'on était en limite de l'orage de grêle et donc qu'il y avait surement des dégâts quelque part. J'ai pris ma voiture après manger vers 10h le soir pour aller voir mes parcelles les plus éloignées et ouf, rien quelques gros grélons aussi d'après des voisins qui discutaient dehors.

Mais apparement, le gros de la grêle n'était plus très loin. Effectivement un peu plus loin sur la commune de Pouillé vers Angé les dégâts étaient spectaculaires dans certaines parcelles de mes collégues. Comme en hiver!! L'orage de grêle était donc de Saint-Julien de Chédon jusqu'à Pouillé "Ouest" en passant par Angé. Il a traversé le Cher et a frappé entre Monthou et Thésée.

Vendredi dernier, il y a eu un nouvel orage avec une petite grêle très courte mais virulente. Nous avons eu des impactes sur certaines parcelles mais rien à voir avec l'orage du 16.

Voilà, vivement les vendanges ! Sans oublier un peu de vacances d'ici 15 jours !!

Didier Barrouillet

Didier Barrouillet (Clos Roche Blanche)

Mildew and black rot have been a problem this year with mildew on the grapes. Fortunately we didn't suffer much damage from the storm on 16th but we were more affected by last week's hail. Like 2007 and 2008 it has been a tough tiring year – due to the 13 moons?

Vincent Roussely

Vincent Roussely, Clos Roussely
(Vincent reports that his vines in Angé suffered 40% damage from the hail, while those in Saint-Georges weren't affected. He hopes that 2009 will see the end of the trio of three difficult years.)

'Les vignes situées sur la commune d'Angé ont malheureusement été touché à 40%. Celles de St Georges non rien, le millésime 2009, je l'espère terminera une trilogie assez difficile. En effet, la pression mildiou est, depuis le début de cette campagne, assez forte. Il faut rester également vigilant en regard de l'oidium puisque les nuits sont fraiches même en ce mois de juillet. '

Anjou
The news from Anjou – at least from Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay and Brissac-Quincé – is very different as here there has been virtually no rain since early June.

Christophe Daviau

Christophe Daviau, Domaine de Bablut
The vines are looking superb and the grapes are very homogeneous – all about the same size. It is very dry here – a little rain would be good just 10-15 mm. This would help the grapes to ripen because if it stays dry like this there is a danger that the vines will shut down and the grapes will stop ripening. I expect the véraison (when the grapes begin to change colour) to start in about 15 days. Most of the grass has gone all yellow – as though we had used weedkiller. Not the case of course as Christophe is bio-dynamic.

It is still too early to tell but the harvest for the early ripening varieties will probably start around 15th September – a little bit earlier than last year.

Vincent and Catherine Ogereau

Vincent Ogereau, Domaine Ogereau
The vines are beautiful – our team of workers finished working on them yesterday before the summer holidays – deleafing and thinning out. We don't have any bunches touching each other – all are spaced out. The vines are very healthy as we have had no rain since early June – 40mm fell that month and much of this on Monday 8th June. There have been storms but they have all been to the north of Angers. It was important to thin out the Chenin crop as some of our parcels had too big a crop – not surprising as last year was a small vintage. The harvest will probably start around mid-September but we will have to see.

While we chatted Vincent revealed that he had had a brain tumour removed in May and is now recovering. Fortunately it wasn't malignant and Vincent is now making a good recovery and hopes to be fit for the harvest.

Luc Choblet (Jérôme's father)

Pays Nantais
Jérôme Choblet, Domaine des Herbauges
Another happy vigneron reporting that although mildew has been a problem this year it is under control, although everyone has had to work very hard in the vineyards. Recently there has been a little oidium in the Chardonnay but again this is under control. They are continuing to expect a normal sized harvest and to start picking around 10th-15th September depending on the weather.

Sunday 12th April 2009

From Montrichard there is an attractive footpath along the north bank of the Cher in both directions either towards Chenonceaux or towards Thésée. On a sunny afternoon we chose to walk along to Bourré and back.

Troglogyte houses between Montrichard and Bourré

More troglogyte houses

Poplars trees by the river

Canoeist on the Cher

Blue boat and looking upsteam

More troglogyte houses

Monmousseau sparkling wine facilities@Montrichard

•••

Report on visit to leading Chinon producer Baudry-Dutour in late March now complete.

Laurent (left) during the harvest last September@Le Clos Roche Blanche

Fascinating account on Bertrand Celce's fine wine terroirs blog of Laurent Saillard's new life in the vineyards of the Cher Valley. Laurent used to be a restaurateur in New York and last year gave that life up to become a vigneron in Touraine. I met Laurent briefly last September during the harvest at the Clos Roche Blanche.

I dropped in yesterday to Vinopolis for this annual event featuring some 75 independent wine producers from around France. Although the event was advertised to finish at 5.30 even at 4.30 when I arrived a number of the producers had already left. I was later arriving than I had intended, so it was a bit of a rush and naturally concentrated on Loire producers. Although I did manage to taste wines from a good number of them I didn’t manage to get to all of them.

Sadly there was little here to get excited about – certainly nothing sensational.

Probably the best wine was a 2007 Coteaux du Giennois (Sauvignon Blanc) from Domaine Langlois Père et Fils, run since 1996 by Catherine and Michel Langlois, which had attractive grapefruit character, some weight and good length. Their 2008 version – gooseberry and grapefruit – looks promising and will be bottled in February. The Langlois white’s showed better than their reds, which helps to confirm the disappointment I felt at the poor showing of Coteaux du Giennois reds at the tasting of Central Vineyard reds I did in Sancerre on 19th December 2008. Putting the light bodied 2007 Le Champ Galant (90% PN, 10% Gamay) in barrique for a year doesn’t strike me as a good idea and has imparted some harsh wood flavours to the finish. However, their 2005 was certainly the best of the Giennois I tasted in Sancerre.

A couple of other wines to mention – a 2008 Touraine Sauvignon and a 2007 Pinot Gris from Reuilly.

The 2008 Touraine Sauvignon from Domaine Le Haut Chesneau of Thesée in the Cher Valley is from old vines and a yield of 45 hl/ha per hectare looks promising with good concentration. Currently on its lees it will be bottled in May. Owners Jean-Marc and Béatrice Villemaine have 23 ha of vines with 10 planted with Sauvignon Blanc. Jean-Marc told me that they had been lucky in 2008 harvesting with their normal yields of around 60 hl/ha. Apparently the frost that hit Muscadet on 7th April also affected parts of the Cher Valley even though the young buds were still in their cotton bud stage then. Initially it had been assumed that they had escaped with damage only becoming apparent later.

Unfortunately the Villemaines’ other wines are less impressive, especially the reds. The difference being, I suspect a question of higher yields. Take the 2007 Gamay, which is dilute. This is hardly surprising given yields of 60-62 hl/ha. This Gamay’s limitations were all too clearly revealed by the 2006 Gamay from the Clos Roche Blanche, just across the Cher Valley from Thesée, that we drank over dinner last night. Admittedly 2006 is a different vintage but this has fruit, texture and concentration. Why? Because of significantly lower yields.

2006 Gamay Clos Roche Blanche: Touraine Gamay
doesn't have to be dilute

This is a pity as these wines are well made and a reduction in yields, would soon reap rewards qualitatively. I suspect that bringing the Gamay down to around 50 hl/ha would make a significant difference. However unfortunately the increase in quality might well not allow the Villemaine’s to charge a little more for their wines. This is one of the problems of the Cher Valley and, indeed, many other parts of the Loire – it is often possible to make a better living from making dilute wines from high yields than making high quality wines from low yields. Although in Sancerre and Pouilly people are prepared to pay a decent premium for high quality, the same is not true in a number of other Loire appellations, so quality is not rewarded and the quest for quality brings the penalty of a lower income. Of course, there may come a time when the market no longer wants dilute wines. Indeed it is difficult to see that dilute Touraine Gamays can have much appeal in the UK

The 2007 Reuilly Rosé, made from Pinot Gris, came from Domaine Jacques Vincent. Of their nine hectares, 4.5 are planted with Reuilly’s traditional variety – Pinot Gris. The naturally pale coloured 2007 is lightly spicy with good mouth filling ripe fruit and good length – a delicious and charming rosé. Unfortunately Pinot Gris here is in decline in favour of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir – just 34 hectares now in Reuilly out of a total of 192 ha in production. The Pinot Gris rosé is Reully’s most individual wine – I hope it continues to be made.

There were a few 2008s on show and these confirmed that high levels of acidity could well be a problem for those who picked too early. A few shares in Rennies might be a wise investment.

Photo: CRM

Above and below: ice floes speeding down the River Cher at Montrichard this morning. Just shows how cold it has been.

September 2008: Côt in the Cher Valley

Returning to yesterday’s posting on Alice Feiring’s The Battle for Wine and Love and to her assertion that in the Loire there are ‘maybe forty regional producers who make exquisite wine’, here is my list of producers in a small part of the Cher Valley between Bléré and Saint-Aignan who work with passion and commitment and whose wines are worth tasting and good to drink. There may well be others whose wines I haven’t yet tasted.

Michel Augé – Les Maisons Brulées, Pouillé
Mikaël Bouges – Faverolles-sur-Cher
François Chidaine – AC Touraine holdings in Chissay
Bruno Curassier, Domaine de la Grange, Bléré
Jean-François Merieau – Les Bois Vaudons, Saint-Julien-de-Chédon
Pascal Potaire – Faverolles-sur-Cher
Vincent Ricard – Thesée
Vincent Roussely – Clos Roussely, Saint-Georges-sur-Cher
Catherine Roussel and Didier Barouillet – Clos Roche Blanche, Mareuil-sur-Cher
Jerôme Sauvete, Monthou-sur-Cher

Plus a producer whose methods Alice probably wouldn’t approve of but whose wines are worth trying anyway: Thierry Delaunay of Domaine Joël Delaunay

That’s 11 producers already in no more than 40 kilometres and there are still hundreds of kilometres of Loire vineyard left.

Here we are in the heart of ‘plain’ AC Touraine – most of the vignerons cited use this appellation, although a few prefer to opt for vin de table. This part of the Cher Valley is well worth exploring and can offer wonderful wine at very reasonable prices. Look out particularly for Côt and Gamay, Sauvignon Blancs that can be way better than many more expensively priced Sancerres and Pouilly-Fumés and an increasing number of pétillants naturels.

Mikaël Bouges@Les Couilles d'Anes 2006, standing by
an entrance to one of the caves cut into the limestone

This afternoon two good first-time visits to two vignerons – Mikaêl Bouges and Pascal Potaire – who are both based in Faverolles-sur-Cher. Both influenced and inspired by Catherine and Didier of the Clos Roche Blanche and both work organically.

Both are based in the Route de Tours – the old main road up the Cher Valley that passed through Saint-Julien-de-Chédon, Angé, Pouillé, Marueil-sur-Cher etc. This old road has long been superseded by the D976, which bypasses this string of villages that hug the base of the coteaux on the southern side of the Cher. Nowadays the Route de Tours is a no through road with a several imposing houses that face Montrichard.

Mikaël Bouges: “50 years ago there were 25 vignerons along this stretch of road. It was a popular site as it was the main road to Tours. All the way along the road there are small caves cut into the tuffeau (limestone). Most sold their wines on vrac (in bulk) but where Pascal Potaire lives at No 6, the producer used to sell by the bottle.”

Mikaël is at No 20 and it was a decidedly gloomy, overcast, raw cold afternoon when he welcomed me to the premises where he has a small house used as office and storeroom, a yard that has the press and some tanks and a couple of cellars dug out of the tuffeau.

Mikaël's small 'winery' and cellar

From 2000 Mikaël worked with his father, Elie Bouges at the 17-hectare family estate ¬– Domaine de la Puannerie in Saint-Julien-de-Chedon, the neighbouring commune to Faverolles-sur-Cher. Unfortunately when his father retired in 2005, Mikaël didn’t have the capital to buy his father’s share. La Puannerie was sold to Michel Devillers.

Mikaël now has eight hectares – six in Faverolles and two in Saint-Julien-de-Chédon. Half are very young vines and half are vines of between 60 and 80 years old. There are 3 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc, 1.5 ha of Menu Pineau and Chenin Blanc plus 30 ares of Gamay. Menu Pineau is related to Chenin Blanc and Mikaël’s vines are 80 years old. His main interest is in the Menu Pineau, Pineau de la Loire (Chenin Blanc) and Côt. Mikaël’s vines in Faverolles are on the ‘Grand Coteau’ or Le Pente de Chavigny – the south-facing slope that overlooks the small village of Faverolles. He has been working organically since 2002.

The cellar in the tuffeau

In 2005, his first year on his own, he was able to vinify at Levin, the winery in Bourré owned by David Levin of the Capital Hotel. Sadly Mikaël wasn’t allowed to use these facilities in 2006, so had make alternative arrangements at the last moment.

Mikaël: Unfortunately by the time I had sorted out wine-making facilities at No 20, my Sauvignon Blanc grapes were already too high in sugars – 14.5˚-15˚ to be able to make the very mineral style of Sauvignon that I like to make.”

As is general elsewhere in the Loire, the 2008 harvest here is small.

Mikaël: 25 hl/ha for the Sauvignon Blanc, 17 hl/ha for the Côt, which was hit by mildew and coulure, while the Menu Pineau was affected by vers de la grappe.” (Vers de la grappe is caused by a small butterfly. The use of sexual confusion sachets that emits pheromenes is one way of combating this butterfly.) Also July 2007 was cold and wet when the grape bunches were being formed for the following year.”

We started with a tank sample of the promising 2008 Le Pente de Chavigny Sauvignon Blanc – quite rich and mineral. The 2007 Le Pente de Chavigny (6.50€ from the domaine) has rich nose and a lemony and mineral grip. It benefits from being decanted when it opens up.

Mikaël talked about the different clones of Cabernet Francs. He has some vines that are 70 years old that have small berries, whereas some of the modern clones have large berries that don’t ripen as well. Also about the Menu Pineau, a traditional variety in this area that ripens early, that Mikaël uses for his Pétillant Naturel. Menu Pineau is related to Chenin Blanc but has become quite rare. He also told me about the galets noirs (round black stones) found at Saint-Julien-de-Chédon. Of which more in a minute but first we tasted the deep coloured 2007 Côt Haut with its rich and expressive nose of black fruits and soot and lasting flavour. This comes from a warm vineyard at Faverolles that faces due south and is planted on gravel.

Then onto my favourite and most impressive wine of the tasting – 2006 Les Couilles d’Anes, which again is 100% Côt. This deep, dense coloured wine has lovely rich concentrated fruit and spends a year in barriques. It needs two or three years in bottle to show its best. The name Les Couilles d’Anes (donleys’ balls) links back to the galets noirs and is a play on the stones and the balls of the donleys, that in the days when donkeys were used in the vineyards, would have been in front the vignerons all day.

Some of Mikaël's wines: Le Pente de Chavigny, Côt Haut, Les Couilles d’Ânes

To finish we had a look at a still fermenting 2008 Pineau de la Loire, which was picked on 30th October with 15% potential alcohol – all fermenting apple flavours.

Mikaël stressed that although he is makes ‘natural’ wines he is keen to avoid the extremes of the movement, particularly in relation to excessive oxidation. On this showing Mikaël’s wines are certainly worth following. It is seems unfortunate that he was not able to take over the family vineyards, which are commonly handed down from generation to generation, and that instead of his father passing them to Mikaël they were sold.

Pascal Potaire

Pascal Potaire in his cave@Angé

After I had finished the tasting at Mikaël it was just a short walk along the road from number 20 to number 6 to meet Pascal, who has five hectares of vines.

Before setting up on his own Pascal worked with Nicolas Renard, both in Jasnières and then while Nicolas was employed by Prince Philippe Poniatowski at the Clos Baudoin in Vouvray. Then in 2002 Pascal worked for a female Japanese wine producer in Thesée. The following year, while still working for her, he acquired vineyards in Pouillé and Angé (both small wine villages on the south side of the Cher Valley to the east of Montrichard). In 2005 Pascal started working entirely for himself. He has been working organically from the start.

Pascal has six varieties planted in his five hectares: a hectare each of Chardonnay and Sauvignon, 1.3 ha of Gamay, 80 areas each of Menu Pineau and Chenin Blanc and, finally, all of 20 ares of Cabernet Franc. His speciality is the increasingly fashionable pétillant naturel.

To be continued.....