Claude Papin auditions for the remake of Lawrence of Arabia (Chaume)

I'm not sure whether yesterday afternoon temperatures of over 31C broke any records but certainly a number of producers said that this is the hottest late September they remember. Here are some scenes from yesterday.

Typical mix of ripeness in a bunch of Chenin (Chaume)

Vincent Ogereau (Domaine Ogereau) with 2011 Rosé de Loire (Grolleau/Gamay)

Treading Cabernet in vat at Mark Angeli 

 Martial and Mark Angeli

Some producers cool down their vats - Mark cools his pickers

Mark Angeli finds inspiration...

Chenin Blanc in Claude Papin's parcel

On Tuesday our last visit in Anjou was to the Clos le Grand Beaupreau, the Savennières vineyard shared by Vincent Ogereau, Yves Guegniard and Claude Papin. We were there to see Yves and his team make a first tri (selective picking) there. After the decidedly miserable weather on the Monday afternoon (light rain) Tuesday was gloriously sunny, although not as hot as the previous week had been.   

Yves with some of his pickers

Grapes in Vincent Ogereau's parcel

Claude Papin@the tasting room of Pierre-Bise

During our tasting last Saturday with Claude Papin at Château Pierre-Bise, Claude talked about the unequal struggle between large companies making industrial blends and the small producer making wines that reflect their terroir as well as the vigneron's personality. The large companies have such resources of communication.

Although it is true that the large global companies do have big communications budgets, in this age of the net all is not as uneven as Claude imagines. Properly used the net can be a fantastic resource for the small producer. I fancy that Claude very rarely if ever surfs the net. Yet a Google search on Claude Papin reveals 9980 references. I can't promise that every reference refers to the owner of Château Pierre-Bise but the vast majority appear so to do. If Claude can garner nearly 10,000 references by neglecting the net (no website or blog), how many more people might he reach if started to take up the advantages the net offers.

Château Pierre-Bise

A Google search on Château Pierre-Bise brings up even more results: 35,000. This compares to 301,000 results for Gallo wines and I suspect that Claude's advertising budget is nowhere near 11% Gallo's spend. The picture is a little different from searches on Able Grape. Claude Papin has 2240 results, Pierre-Bise – 5910, while Gallo notches up 90,605.

Claude may feel that with a good number of references on the net for minimal effort he might as well continue to concentrate on his vines and not be diverted by the net. However, this purely passive role doesn't necessarily allow Claude and Château Pierre-Bise to get their particular message out on the net.

Golden Chenin in the Layon awaiting the development of botrytis in 2005

As previously reported on Jim's Loire in June it appears that the long running conflict between Quarts de Chaume and Chaume may be at an end. The regional INAO committee has approved a demand for Quarts de Chaume to be designated Grand Cru and Chaume as a Premier Cru. The proposal will now go before the Comité National de INAO and it is thought likely that this will now be accepted.

See report below from le journal du vin

'Deux appellations d'Anjou visent le cru
Après des années de conflits (réglés par deux fois par le Conseil d’Etat), Quarts de Chaume et Chaume, deux appellations de vins blancs liquoreux d’Anjou ont décidé de faire cause commune en demandant conjointement à l’Inao la mention “grand cru”, pour la première, et “1er cru”, pour la seconde. Le Comité régional de l’Inao a validé la demande. Le dossier doit désormais être traité par une Commission nationale d’enquête, avant un vote devant le Comité national de l’Inao. 26/11/2009 © JDV - 2009 - PT'

1st September 2009: Claude and Joëlle Papin collect their Decanter regional award (DWWA) for their 2007 Quarts de Chaume

See also video starring Claude Papin, president Quarts de Chaume syndicat, talking about Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru and the hopes that having grand cru status will raise its profile.

All may be sweetness and light until the other two crus of Anjou – Bonnezeaux and Savennières – want to know why Quarts de Chaume is being given special treatment. However, I understand that Savennières is now working on a similar demand to be raised to grand cru status.

Other links to posts from the battlefront on Jim's Loire – here and here.

Chenin Blanc developing nicely

Across the Layon

Across the Layon: early autumn colours

Spent the morning sorting out photos including these taken in the Coteaux du Layon in October 2005 plus one further north in the Lebreton's Croix de la Mission at Saint-Jean-de-Mauvrets.

Pickers' cars and vans

The weather was magnificent and I had never seen producers so relaxed during the harvest able to take their time and pick the fruit just when they wanted.

Claude Papin pointing out details in a vineyard in the Layon

Cabernet Sauvignon@Domaine Ogereau's Côte de la Houssaye

Cabernet Sauvignon in La Croix de la Mission

17th June 2009

Eleven to dinner on Wednesday night, so several wines consumed in moderation with the highlight being a bottle of 1994 MD (Monts Damnés), Sancerre from Henri Bourgeois, which was showing very well with evolved notes of white truffle and delicate asparagus but still very fresh in the finish. Could be kept easily another five years. Interesting that 1994 was a difficult vintage – very humid September with a lot of rot. Served with cheese course.

Started with 2002 Saumur Blanc (some honey but quite austere and mineral) from Château de Villeneuve. Then the bright red fruited 2007 Domaine de la Roncée, Clos des Marronniers – delicious drinking now.

2007 Clos des Maronniers, Domaine de la Roncée, Baudry-Dutheil

2000 Côt Clos Roche Blanche

The 2000 Côt (AC Touraine) from Clos Roche Blanche is also showing very well at the moment – still quite youthful with animal and spice notes and good length. An illustration that well made Côt is the best red grape in this part of the Cher Valley and that if the proposed new AC of Touraine-Chenonceaux is to mean anything and be credible for reds wines it should include 100% Côt wines.

2005 L'Anclaie, Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu, Château Pierre-Bise

Our meal concluded with the rich, quite deep coloured 2005 L'Anclaie from Claude and Joëlle Papin (Château Pierre-Bise). L'Anclaie with its palette of citric fruits, especially orange peel is always one of my favourite sweet wines from the Papin range. Delicious at the moment but almost infanticide!

Château Pierre-Bise

I'm delighted that Claude and Joëlle Papin's lovely 2007 Quarts de Chaume, Château Pierre-Bise has won the Sweet Loire over £10 Trophy at the 2009 Decanter World Wine Awards. This wine is a beautiful example of a 2007 sweet Loire at its best. It has rich apricot and citric fruit, great precision and purity so typical of 2007 and clean length. Delicious now it has an astonishing ageing potential.

Joëlle, Claude and their sons take extraordinary care in the vineyards. Claude is a real specialist on geology and terroir and is one of the region's great thinkers about many aspects of Loire wines.

Claude Papin

Although I'm the regional chair for the Decanter World Wine Awards, all the wines are tasted blind and I have no idea what wine have been entered, so it was brilliant news when I got an advance copy of the Loire results on Monday.

The trophy is thoroughly deserved as the Papins make a lovely range of sweet wines from different parcels in the Layon, which are still very reasonably priced. The dry whites – Anjou Blanc and Saviennières – and the reds – remarkable Anjou Gamay and fine Anjou-Villages should also be tried.

Across the Layon: October 2005

Now in only its sixth year the Decanter World Wine Awards has become the world's biggest wine competition with 10,285 wines entered this year. The wines are tasted by small panels made up of experts from the region whose wines they are judging. Another characteristic is that the chief organisers are all women – Sarah Kemp, Christelle Guibert and Sophia Dempsey.

Claude and Joëlle Papin Château Pierre-Bise 49750 Beaulieu-sur-Layon

Tel: 02.41.78.31.44 Email: chateaupb@hotmail.com

UK stockists for the winning wine are: Lay & Wheeler, Lea & Sandeman and the RSJ Restaurant

Château Pierre-Bise

Saturday 31st January 2009

Visiting and tasting with Claude Papin (Château Pierre-Bise) is always an enjoyable challenge. The wines are invariably excellent. It is fully comprehending the ideas and often the need to translate them into English that is the challenge, especially as I'm aware that Claude's understanding of English is increasingly good even if he doesn't speak in English very often.

Today Claude gave a fascinating explanation as to why cultivating (ploughing and harrowing) the soil regularly often as a way of avoiding using weed killer is a mistake. On a previous visit Claude had expressed reservations over cultivation as it disturbs the soil's natural profile. However, this was a much more full-throated condemnation – explanation that the practice was decidedly harmful.

To make his case Claude drew an exact analogy with a car. The fuel is the humus, the power or size of the cylinder is the depth of the soil and the amount of water that it can hold, while accelerator is the amount of air in the soil. The more air in the soil the faster the humus is burnt and the more nitrogen produced. The problem with frequent cultivation of the soil is that it puts more air into the soil and thus increases the nitrogen produced. This inbalance affects the vines' leaves and also makes it more susceptible to disease.

If this is correct, then it has significant implications given the increasing number of vignerons who cultivate their soils.

Claude Papin

Claude is predicting that within five years weed killers as we currently know them will have ceased to be used in the vineyards and that the bio-intelligent will have arrived. Instead there will be sprays based on plants that will keep grass and weeds under control, or there will be plants developed and used in the vineyards that are less vigorous and are less greedy with their use of water, or cultivation will be used. Obviously Claude hopes that at least one of the first two options will be available, so that cultivation can be avoided.

Claude also talked out the effects of global warming in Anjou, especially in relation to the increased level of transpiration. Between 1968 and 2008 the average min temperature has risen by 1˚ and the max by 2˚. At the same time the amount of sunlight has increased and transpiration has consequently risen by 30%. In 1978 around 600 mls of water was lost per annum through transpiration. As the average rainfall was 550-600 mls this was in balance. In 2008 the transpiration rate was 830 mls per annum – so out of balance with the result that some of the oak trees around the Layon are now dying. Apparently there is a new vine rootstock that has been developed whose transpiration rate is 30% less than existing rootstocks.

Among the raqnge of Claude's wines that we tasted, I particularly liked the following:

2007 Haut de la Garde, Anjou Blanc
Rich and long

2007 Grand Beaupréau, Savennières
Honeyed with a mineral finish from the joint-venture with Vincent Ogereau and Yves Guignard

2005 les Rayelles, Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire
Rich citric flavours – brilliantly pure.

2007 Quarts de Chaume
Opulent fruit with wonderful lacy balance, showing how good some of the 2007 Loire sweet wines are.

2007 Spilite, Anjou Villages
Good concentration and texture for the year.

2006 Spilite, Anjou Villages
Rich concentration – gamy character. Good bottle now but will certainly keep three or four years.

Claude, Joëlle, Réné and Christophe Papin, Château Pierre-Bise, 49750 Beaulieu-sur-Layon,
Tel: 02.41.78.31.44
Email: chateaupb@hotmail.com

Name plate outside Château Pierre-Bise

Just got back to the Hotel du Mail after a busy day – four excellent visits starting with Claude Papin, then Vincent Ogereau, followed by Domaine des Rochelles – Jean-Yves, Jean-Hubert and Anita Lebreton – and Christophe Daviau to finish. Now off to Le Relais for dinner with Sarah Ahmed (the wine detective), Chris Kissack (the wine doctor), Neil Irvine (HG Wines) and Tom King (RSJ Restaurant).

The four visits provided not only the opportunity to see how the 2008s and some of the 2007s are developing but also raised anumber of very interesting issues including a detailed explanation from Claude Papin about the harmful effects of working the soil, several mentions of the use of osmosis machines in Anjou during the 2008 harvest to convert grapes picked at around 14˚ natural into sweet wines, and the possibility of the Coteaux de l'Aubance banning chaptalisation. Clearly all themes to return to in more detail but if the Coteaux de l'Aubance do have the courage to ban the chaptalisation in the making of sweet wine – then bravo you will have put a stop to an aberration! Hopefully the Coteaux du Layon would rapidly follow your example.

Claude Papin: "Le travail du sol is an aberration"

Similarly the use of osmosis machines, if indeed they have been used and Jim's Loire would be delighted to hear from any Anjou producer who has used them, surely undermines the hard work that a good number of Anjou producers have put into the remarkable renaissance of quality sweet wine in Anjou since 1985.