Ladybird on some Pinot Noir@Montigny

Vines@Montigny

Road near Montigny with picking machine

Pickers on the lower slopes of the Clos de la Poussie (more detail below)

 Clos de la Poussie: dramatic erosion

On Sunday took another walk along the middle of the Clos de la Poussie to see whether this famous vineyard is on the way to recovery. The sad answer is that much of it remains a scene of desolation.

See the report on Les 5 du Vin.

Looking down from le Clos de la Poussie, owned since 1993 exclusively by Domaines Ladoucette, at the village of Bué

Sweep of the Clos de la Poussie with many patches of bare earth in the steepest part where there are a substantial number of missing vines: taken September 2007

Devastation in the central part of Le Clos: October 2008

Last early October I walked round Le Clos de la Poussie and was horrified by what I saw – I have never seen a famous French vineyard in such a parlous state. You'll find my posting following this visit here.

If you visit the section of the de Ladoucette website that covers La Poussie, you will find a rather different view: 'La Poussie, joyau du Sancerrois, vin de Sancerre voluptueux et parfumé. Parmi tous les crus qui assurent la séculaire renommée des vignobles qui dominent la Loire royale, la réputation de La Poussie a gardé toute son intégrité originelle.'

La Poussie is described as the 'jewel' of Sancerre which, of course, is what it ought to be but regrettably it is currently but a badly chipped piece of paste.

Domaines Ladoucette has recently appointed a new agent in the UK and I have asked them if they can find out what action, if any, Ladoucette is taking to try to reverse the serious erosion in Le Clos de la Poussie. I look forward to posting the measures that Baron Patrick de Ladoucette and his company are taking.

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View across the roofs of Chavignol and looking down the valley to Saint-Satur

The little village of Amigny, part of the commune of Sancerre – Chavignol is just over the other side of the finger of hill in the middle ground with the slopes of Les Monts Damnés in the distance

From the top of the Maison des Sancerres looking due south over the roofs to the vines – part of the silex section of the Sancerre vineyard

Looking south, south east up the Loire down at Ménétréol with the Loire in the distance on the left. In the middle ground is one of the bridges that carried the old railway