Philip Fournier

Loire Regional Trophy: White Loire over £10 Trophy

2008 Savennières, Château de Chamboureau, Domaine FL

This brilliantly precise Savennières shows the heights that Chenin Blanc can attain and illustrates that it is often the more difficult, cooler vintages like 2008 that produce the finest dry white Loires. 2008 was a cool summer with little sun. The sun came out in September and October but the temperatures remained cool – rarely above the low 20s˚C. The grapes ripened slowly with a significantly longer hang-time than normal. The result – very pure flavours, minerality and a wonderful backbone of acidity.      

Domaine FL is the creation of Philippe Fournier, a telecommunications tycoon in Angers. FL combines the Domaine Jo Pithon in the Layon and the vineyards of Château de Chamboureau in Epiré (Savennières).

A long established domaine in Savennières likely to have been producing wine for some 400 years, it is at the western end of the village of Epiré. The vines are planted on schist. In 1949 the property was bought by the Soulez family. The vineyards were sold by Pierre Soulez in 2006 to Fournier. The following year the Bordeaux consultant, Stéphane Derenoncourt, was hired to advise here and for Domaine Jo Pithon. This led to the acrimonious departure of Pithon. Fournier then combined the two estates under the Domaine FL umbrella in 2008. A new winery is now under construction at Rochefort.

Hugues Daubercies, Pierre Soulez’s nephew is the winemaker. The grapes are picked by hand with three sweeps through the vines selecting the fruit at just the maturity needed. Native yeasts and fermentation and aging in barriques for 12 months. 

The 2008 is remarkable value: retailing at just 15.60€ a bottle on the FL site (www.domainefl.com). It has the potential to last for 20-30 years.  

Philippe's son, Julien, looks after the commercial side of Domaine FL.


** Back in November 2009 I asked here whether Philippe Fournier was 'serious'. The quality of the 2008 Chamboureau answers my question: he is certainly serious!

On my return from Kent yesterday I found this sample from Philippe Fournier waiting for me along with a letter explaining what had gone wrong at the lunch on 18th November 2009 when he had been due to present his wines to a group of UK wine writers but in the event neither Philippe nor his wines were able to make the lunch.

We opened the 2007 Les 4 Villages last night with cheese – the same selection as we had with the 1969 Clos de Catherine we drank the night before and as good a match. Interestingly Les 4 Villages, although obviously much younger, is similar in style – moderately rich but not super sweet as the Domaine FL site explains:

'Les 4 Villages

Assemblage de différents terroirs sur Rochefort, Beaulieu, St-Aubin et St-Lambert. Tris de grappes en partie botrytisées, généralement entre 80 et 100 grammes/litre de sucres résiduels.'

Rochefort, Beaulieu, St-Aubin et St-Lambert are at the western end of the Layon Valley and are among those villages allowed to add their name to the Coteaux du Layon appellation.



The 2007 Les 4 Villages is a very pale gold with honey, citric flavours as well as pineapple and has the purity and precision that is typical of the lovely 2007 sweet wine vintage in the Loire. As well as being a fine foil for cheese, this would work well with patés and probably rich duck dishes. I must try this style of Layon with Pekin duck sometime. The 2007 would have been picked and started its fermentation during the very end of the Jo Pithon era as the split occured at the end of 2007 with its élèvage completed post-Pithon.

I expect taste some other wines from Domaine FL at the Liberty Wines tasting this week as they are FL's UK importers.

Previous postings on Domaine FL here, here, here, here and here.

Philip Fournier (February 2009): is he really serious about building FL as an internationally reputed brand?

Today I was invited to a lunch at Rowley Leigh's Café Anglais in London to meet three producers: Philippe Fournier of Domaine FL (a fusion of Domaine Jo Pithon, AC Anjou, and Château de Chamboreau, Savennières), Dominique Meneret (Château de Brondeau and Domaine de Courteillac Bordeaux Supérieur) and the son of the owner of Tenuta la Novella in Chianti.

I have met Philip Fournier once before at a dinner in Angers in early February during the Salon des Vins de Loire. Fournier's stated ambition is 'to make Loire wines of the highest level at FL and to create an internationally reputed brand'. Thus it was more than a little curious to arrive and be told by an exasperated Christine Ontivéro, who until now has done PR for Domaine FL, that neither Fournier or his wines were present. Apparently Fournier had turned up at the railway station only to discover that his passport was out of date. It is not known why FL's wines hadn't arrived but suffice to say that those from Dominique Meneret and Tenuta la Novella had arrived at Café Anglais and were served during the excellent lunch.

The lunch had long been arranged, so it would seem foolish to get together a small group of journalists including influential figures like, Tim Atkin MW, Nick Faith, Rosemary George MW and Margaret Rand and to fail to get there. It is not as though Philip Fournier is some country hick. Instead he is the founder and managing director of the Afone telephone group with a turnover of €50million.

Kevin Judd: The Landscape of New Zealand Wine

Managed a quick half-hour at Liberty Wines autumn tasting@The Oval Conference Rooms before heading off to the RSJ Restaurant for the Loire offline (later posting). Just time to taste the Loire whites being shown by Liberty plus have a quick chat with Kevin Judd, famous as Cloudy Bay's winemaker and now with his own venture Greywacke plus a new book called The Landscape of New Zealand Wine. The stunning photos are Kevin's, while he shares the words with Bob Campbell MW. This new book project is something Kevin has been planning for ten years. It will be published in October by New Zealand publisher Craig Potton.

Kevin is keen to find distribution in the UK, so any publisher interested in adding this beautiful book to their list should contact Kevin on kevin@greywacke.com

•••

Notes on wines tasted@Liberty Wines
Domaine FL

2007 Le Chenin, Anjou

2007 Le Chenin, Anjou Blanc £10.50 plus vat
Attractively clean with quince and peach fruit.

2007 Chamboureau, Savennières

2007 Chamboureau, Savennières £17.50 plus vat
This has the typically clean precision of the 2007 vintage – it's mineral, lean and long.

2007 Roche aux Moines, Savennières (apologies for the rather hazy image – taken at speed!)

2007 Roche aux Moines, Savennières £32 plus vat
More weight than the Chamboureau but the oak is currently far too dominant. Will it marry with the fruit in time? Maybe but the oak treatment looks rather clumsy at the moment. Not convinced that it is worth nearly twice the price of the Chamboureau.

•

Other Loires tasted
2008 Sauvignon Blanc VDP, Vignerons de Valençay £5.38 + vat

Easy drinking grassy, crisp, lemony style – not assertive.

2008 Valençay, Sebastien Vaillant £6.28 + vat

Sauvignon Blanc closed with a screwcap – lemony, crunchy fruit with some depth of flavour.

2008 Quincy, Domaine des Ballandors, Jean Tatin and Chatal Wilk £8.50 + vat
Precise, grassy, gooseberry and apricot flavours although still quite lean. May well take on further weight with more time in bottle. Jean and Chantal's website is here.

2007 Sancerre, Domaine Nicolas Girard £9.25 + vat

Closed with a screwcap, some weight and a touch of sweetness and some green asparagus flavours in the finish. This appears to be the same producer as the one below, also at Les Brosses.

2008 Sancerre, Domaines des Brosses, Alain Girard £9.35 + vat

Rather green and lean, crunchy style and decidedly green in the finish. Alain Girard is a producer (www.pays-sancerre-sologne.com/cqa/girard.htm) in Veaugues with nine hectares.

2008 Pouilly-Fumé, Domaine de Bel Air £9.55 + vat
Again, a lean and minerally style, grassy and good length – certainly more attractive than the two previous Sancerres. Producer in Pouilly-sur-Loire itself (www.belairpouilly.com)

2008 Sancerre Domaine Sautereau £9.70 + vat
Richer style than the previous Sancerres with attractive peachy fruit. Produced by David Sautereau, who has an 18ha estate at Les Epsailles, Crézancy.

I also tasted three South African Chenins with the 2008 Dancing Chenin Blanc from Fairview being the most attractive with its apricot and peach flavours and clean minerality.

•••

South African Chenin Blanc: Is the consumer confused by the range of styles?

Article here on a conference held by The Chenin Blanc Association

Chenin Blanc at the raisins dorée stage in the Layon 2005

Reports on the Renaissance des Appellations tasting and the launch of Domaine FL are now complete. There are still additions to be made to the reports on various visits made before the Salon as well as further comments on the Salon des Vins de Loire. However, the launch of Pithon-Paillé is now also complete as is the write up on Charles and Philippa's soirée.

Monday 2nd February 2009

Philip Fournier

The new Domaine FL, a fusion between the Domaine Jo Pithon (Anjou) and Château de Chamboreau (Savennières), was presented to the press over dinner at Une Ile, 9 Rue Max Richard. FL is owned by Philip Fournier, the founder of the telecommunications company, Afone, based in Angers.

Philip was born in Saint-Etienne and, as his father worked for a bank and was frequently moved from branch to branch, he saw quite a lot of France during his childhood. Philip then spent 25 years in Paris before setting up afone in Angers in 1999. He had a second home in Britrtany, so Angers was conveniently on the way.

Philip: "In 2005 I was introduced to Jo Pithon by Catherine and Gérard Bossé (then owners of Les Tonnelles and now Une Ile in Angers), who were good friends. Jo was in financial trouble and I agreed to buy 95% of Domaine Jo Pithon. Then following year I bought Château de Chamboreau from Pierre Soulez in 2006. We are now combining the two estates under one name – Domaine FL."

Fournier and Longchamps were the names of Philip's parents. The idea is to build Domaine FL up as a brand as a way of getting away from the generally poor image of Anjou, especially Anjou Blanc. At FL there are now 21 hectares south of Angers – the old Domaine Jo Pithon, which has been organic since 1997, while there are 18 hectares in Savennières – the old Château de Chamboreau, which has been in conversion since 2006 to organic culture. 88% of FL is planted with Chenin, 11% Cabernet Franc and just of 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, which will soon be grubbed up.

Hugues Daubercies

In 2006 Hugues Daubercies, the nephew of Pierre Soulez, was brought in to look after the vineyards and the winemaking. Hugues made wine at La Courtade on the Ile de Porquerolles just of the coast of the Côte d'Azur near to Toulon before returning to Anjou in 1994. Then in 2007 Stéphane Derenoncourt, the well-known and much in demand Bordeaux consultant, agreed to come involved. By the end of January 2008 Jo Pithon found himself no longer in agreement with the direction and philosophy of the two estates, so he left.

Hugues continues in charge of the vineyards and the wine-making at both properties. "We have changed the style of the wines," Hugues explained. "We want to make finer, more precise, fresher wines and to emphasise the fruit and to avoid an oxidative style. We want wines that are capable of aging better. I'm pragmatic and we now use more SO2 when necessary."

Philip Fournier

Over a very good dinner cooked by Gérard Bossé – very lightly poached oysters over a red cabbage salad, roasted scallops, perfectly cooked sandre de Loire (pike perche) with a delicious beurre blanc, and a rare fillet steak – we tasted a number of the FL wines. We started with the only finished wine of the evening – the quite rich and mineral 2007 Le Chenin Anjou Blanc. (11€ TTC from property). This new cuvée combines two Jo Pithon's old cuvées – Les Bergères and Les Pépinières. My preferred wines were the minerally 2008 Roches aux Moines Savennières (49€ for 2007), currently with decidedly marked acidity, and the richly textured 2006 Cabernet Franc, AC Anjou (16.50€). We finished with easily the least convincing wine of the evening – the 2007 Quarts de Chaume (35€ for 37.5cl). It lacked the precision of the other FL wines and, although not in bottle, is well below the standard of other 2007 Quarts de Chaumes made by other producers.

Christine Ontivéro: relations presse


The new restaurant: Une Ile

Domaine FL, 11 Place François Mitterand, 49100 Angers
Tel: 02.72.73.59.41
Email: info@domaineFL.com
Site: www.domaineFL.com

More to follow.....

Les Tonnelles to Angers

After many years on the island of Béhuard, the highly recommended restaurant Les Tonnelles is closing its doors on the 20th December and moving upstream to 9 Rue Max-Richard, Angers, which is a short walk from the railway station. It will be open in time for the Salon des Vins de Loire at the beginning of February and may perhaps open in Angers some time during January 2009.

Current address:
12 Rue du Chevalier-Buhard
49170 Behuard
Tel: 02.41.72.21.50

This should mean that there will now be three good restaurants in Angers. The other two are:

Le Relais
9 Rue de la Gare, 49100 Angers
Tel: 02.41.88.42.51
Email: c.noel10@wanadoo.fr
Web: www.destination-anjou.com/relais

Le Petit Comptoir
40, Rue David d' Angers, 49100 Angers
Tel: 02.41.88.81.57

Domaine FL

Philip Fournier, the CEO and chairman of the Angers based company Afone (www.afone.com) and who bought Domaine Jo Pithon in 2005 and Château de Chamboreau in 2006, has merged the two estates to form Domaine FL with 40 hectares of vines. A new winery will be built ready for the 2010 vintage. Bordeaux based Stéphane Derenoncourt is the consultant and Huges Daubercies is the maître de chais. Domaine FL will be farmed organically.

I guess that the creation of Domaine FL may mean that Jo Pithon will again be able to use his name commercially.