Rapport de Michel et Anne-Marie Mergot
Michel est le Maire d’Epeigné-les-Bois

(Report from Michel and Anne-Marie Mergot. Michel is Mayor of Epeigné-les-Bois)

'Samedi 5 et dimanche 6 septembre 2009, nous étions à Saumur pour le 5e marché des vins de Saumur.

Nous sommes allés chez Eric Charruau de Domaine Val Brun à Parnay. Nous avons apprécié le Saumur Champigny ‘bay rouge’ fruité et gouleyant à 6 € la bouteille ou 35 € le box de 10 litres !

Nous avons aussi ramené quelques bouteilles de Coteaux de Saumur liquoreux – Robe jaune or, arômes de fruits secs, de raisin de Corinthe, bouche opulente qui finie sur les fruits confits – d'après le viticulteur.

Eric Charruau: the batting sensation of the cricket match between SC producers and UK press team: August 2005

Samedi à 17h00, nous avions rendez-vous pour la randonnée de 11 km au pied de l'imposante église des Ardilliers du 17e siècle.

The start of the walk@L'eglise des Ardilliers

Chaque randonneur a été équipé d'un verre et de son porte-bouteille. Nous sommes montés sur le coteau par la rue du tire-jarret entre des maisons troglodytes.

Up in the vines of Saumur-Champigny – the grass looks pretty dry

Un jeune vigneron nous a fait découvrir le vignoble de Saumur Champigny : 1 500 hectares sur 9 communes. L'appellation compte une centaine de vignerons.

Une dame nous a expliqué la démarche des vignerons pour la biodiversité. Ils plantent des arbustes pour accueillir les insectes et les oiseaux : cornouiller, fusain, troène, érable, amandier... Ces plantations servent aussi à ralentir l'érosion. J'ai été étonné du sol sableux ou argileux différent de celui de nos vignes tourangelles.

Explanations...........

Nous avons fait une première pause dégustation avec les vins de la cave coopérative de Saumur et quelques amuse-gueules. Là, nous avons admiré le panorama sur le château de Chaintré qui a son vignoble entouré de murs. Nous avons aperçu la ferme d'Aunis qui doit son nom au cépage devenu très rare. Cette ferme fut construite par les moines de l'abbaye royale de Fontevraud pour la fournir en fruits, légumes, viandes et vins. Les autres cépages sont le cabernet sauvignon et bien sur le cabernet franc (95%).

Nous sommes revenus par un sentier qui surplombe la Loire et par la rue des moulins. Cette rue comptait 29 moulins à vent en activité au 19e siècle. Nous nous sommes retrouvés au pied du château de Saumur dont la pierre était dorée par le soleil couchant. Nous étions attendus pour un buffet froid accompagné des vins du Clos de la Seigneurie de M. Foucher.

Tasting@the Château of Saumur

Nous sommes alors descendus dans les vieilles rues de Saumur, guidés par une passionnée d'histoire. Que de belles demeures et de récits !

En soirée, les vignerons proposaient un dîner découverte avec 12 plats et 12 vins. Dimanche, nous pouvions encore déguster au marché des vins de Saumur. Nous avons découvert les fouées de la Confrérie des Faiseux de Fouées.'

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Nous avons couché en chambre d'hôtes au centre de Saumur – La Cendrière.

We stayed at La Cendrière, a chambres d'hôtes in the centre of Saumur and would be happy to recommend this address to our friends.

My thanks to Michel and Anne-Marie for their report and the photos.

Thomas pointing out Le Puy-Notre-Dame – the source of their Chenin for the Saumur Blanc

Thomas Meunier, officially commercial director for Frédéric Mabileau but actually part of the family, did a brilliant job on Monday evening presenting Frédéric's wines to 50 people in the upstairs part of the RSJ restaurant in London's Waterloo. It was good that all of the wines showed well.

2008 Osez Rosé

Aperitif: 2008 Osez Rosé, Rosé de Loire
Guests were welcomed with a glass of 2008 Osez made from 100% Cabernet Franc. This is very pale coloured rosé – the colour only comes from pressing the grapes as there is no maceration. Osez is really light and fresh with attractive pear character will be a great summer drink, assuming we get a summer this year.

Serving

The first vintage of Frédéric’s Saumur Blanc was next – 100% Chenin Blanc from vines at Le-Puy-Notre-Dame, south of Saumur and not far from Montreuil-Bellay. The grapes were harvested on two different occasions. First the golden grapes at the end of September 2007 to give the wine freshness and then the rest some two weeks later with a proportion of grapes affected by noble rot to give weight and richness to the wine. The initial selection was vinified in stainless steel tanks (35%) with the second batch (65%) in 500 litre barrels. (In 2008 the proportion in wood was raised to 80%.) The 2007 Saumur Blanc was wonderfully expressive before bottling. Since bottling it has been decidedly closed but the richness is now coming out – well balanced with mineral acidity in the finish.

It was 60 years since the Mabileau last made a white wine. The last vintage that Fréderic’s grandfather, Armand, made was the 1947 from Chenin Blanc planted on the clay-limestone hillsides behind Saint-Nicolas. The creation of the Saint-Nicolas appellation in 1936 meant that the small production of white in the village stopped and the Chenin vines were replaced with Cabernet Franc.

2007 Les Rouillères, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil

2007 Les Rouillères, St Nicolas de Bourgueil £9.85

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Anjou Rouge,
The 2007 Les Rouillères is all about soft, easy fruit with very little tannin – very much the ideal approach in 2007 when there wasn’t the ripeness to justify long maceration and a lot of extraction. Young this while it is young – no point in keeping it.


The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, AC Anjou comes from a parcel of vines just to the west of the Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil appellation. A little more structured than Les Rouillères this is still a wine to drink young to enjoy its youthful blackcurrant fruit.

First course:

Pan seared cured salmon, mash & thyme jus

We had two more 2007s with the first course:

2007 Racines, Bourgueil £12.75
From vines planted on clay and gravel, this spends nine months in 600 litre barrels. This was the most structured of the four 2007s served but still with an accent on the fruit and ready to drink.

2007 Les Coutures, St Nicolas de Bourgueil £14.25
“This is the little brother or sister of Eclipse, Frédéric’s top wine,” explained Thomas. “We don’t make l’Eclipse every year only when the quality of vintage is good enough. When we don’t make L’Eclipse the wine normally destined for L’Eclipse goes into Les Coutures.” The 2007 has lovely stylish, sweet fruit.

Both wines went very well with the salmon again demonstrating that Loire reds are often a very good match for fish, particularly the more ‘meaty’ varieties. The quality of these 2007 reds is a tribute to Frédéric’s skill in a difficult vintage.

Tom King serving

L’Eclipse

Main course:
Roast ribeye
buttered carrots, mangetouts,
French beans, fondant potatoes
Red wine jus

L’Eclipse

We then moved onto a small vertical of l’Eclipse featuring 1999, 2000 and 2001 with the main course.

Frédéric made his first vintage of L’Eclipse in 1996. It comes from the oldest part of the vineyard where the vines at 50 years old. Originally it was aged in barriques but since 2001 Frédéric has reined back on the oak and instead now uses 600 litre barrels.

In terms of the three vintages 1999 and 2001 are very similar with some rain during harvest, while 2000 was dry until around the 18th-20th October when it started to rain and hardly stopped until the following March.

Of the three wines 2000 was easily the most full bodied and tannic. It would benefit from further aging. 1999 still has charm but is beginning fade, while the 2001 is between the two. Of the three vintages it is the most marked by oak – it spent 18 months in barrique and has a somewhat international tone about it. The 2001 has rather grainy tannins.

Although I would be happy to drink all three, my preference was for the 2000, especially with the beef, which successfully hid the tannins.

Dessert:
Pear and pistachio jalousie with chocolate sauce

Tom in discussion

Special thanks again to Thomas Meunier for a great presentation.

(23rd December 2008)

Fortunately we had booked because Le Pot was full. We kicked off with a coupe de Crémant de Loire Brut from Domaine des Varinelles, owned by the Daheuiller family and one Crémant de Loire Rosé from Domaine de la Petite Roche in Tremont, which is well to the south of Saumur. We were particularly impressed by the rosé.

The four of us enjoyed four good first courses: compote de lapin, onion soup, feuillette de champignons and oeufs en cocotte, the house speciality. With this we made a start on our rich and pruny 2005 Les Adrialys, Saumur-Champigny, Domaine Saint-Vincent from Patrick Vadé. As well as making good reds, Patrick’s Saumur Blanc is often impressive. The problem at Le Pot is that there is such a choice of interesting wines on the wine list that selection is not easy.



Patrick’s rich wine went particularly well with the deliciously tender biche aux girottes that two of took as well as the fine ris de veau à la crème that the other two took.

Profiteroles au chocolat followed by coffee completed an excellent meal. Le Pot de Lapin is great – just make sure you book, especially at lunchtime.

More photos from early November 2007. Starting near Bonnezeaux and heading eastwards.

Looking across the Layon towards Bonnezeaux

Looking across the Layon towards Bonnezeaux

The ruined château at Martigné-Briand and its landmark chimneys

Ripe Chenin Blanc for Coteaux de Saumur@Domaine de Nerleux

Château d'Eternes, AC Saumur

Château d'Eternes, AC Saumur

2001 Cuvée Prestige L’ Arpenty Chinon Francis & Françoise Desbourdes
Francis and Françoise are one of several wine-making Desbourdes in the village of Panzoult – a wonderful name and so Rabelaisian! Panzoult is effectively the eastern end of the Chinon appellation. Although there are a few villages further to the east that are within the appellation, I have yet to come across any significant growers there.

Certainly this is fully mature – a hint bricky and some mid-weight evolved, delicate fruit. Unlikely to improve further and best drunk within the next year.

UK importer: Yapp Brothers



Two Sancerre whites from Henry Natter (Montigny)
2007 Sancerre
2006 Cuvée François de la Grange de Montigny

Fascinating contrast of vintages here – the 2007 domaine all zippy, zesty, citric and mineral while the 2006 is more concentrated and powerful – more yellow plum than the citric fruits that are often characteristic of Sancerre. Admittedly the Cuvée François is from old vines and has more bottle age, even so there are marked differences between the two vintages. 2007 domaine makes an ideal aperitif, while the 2006 Cuvée François is best with food – many types of fish and most chicken dishes.


Web: www.henrynatter.com





1989 Coteaux de Saumur, Domaine de Val Brun
Lovely sweet wine from this great vintage and made at a time when Eric Charruau was taking over from his dad, Jean-Pierre. Also at a time when the Coteaux de Saumur appellation was being revived. Attractive, vibrant mid-gold colour with a fine balance of rich citric fruit including orange peel. Coteaux de Saumur is often in the citric register rather than the honey and apricot found in the Coteaux du Layon. Best sipped on its own or with some Stilton. Not had the best storage conditions but should be good for at least another 10 years, longer if stored in ideal conditions.

Web: www.valbrun.com