Thierry Michon: Loire vigneron for Stage 1 Tour de France 2011

On Saturday the Tour swept through Brem-sur-Mer and past the Cave Michon (11 Rue des Vallées) where the Michon wines are on sale. Tomorrow the stage starts in Olonne-sur-Mer and heads northwards and initially inland – ducking to the east of Challans – before finishing in Brittany. Soon after the start of the stage the race will pass Thierry Michon's winery at La Croix Bégaud on the D32.

Thierry was my Loire vigneron for Stage One. However, as you can't be the Loire vigneron twice in the same edition of the Tour, I will be nominating someone else for tomorrow's stage, which passes through the southern part of Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu. I will be announcing my nominee for Stage 3 early tomorrow. 

Then there will be a gap until Stage 7: Le Mans to Châteauroux when there will again be a Loire vigneron for this stage. Apart from producing excellent wine, the nominated vigneron has to be on or very close to the Tour route.    

Thierry Michon from Brem-sur-Mer

The 98th edition of le Tour de France started today. The Vendée was chosen to host the first few stages. Today started at the Passage du Gois and finished at the Mont des Alouettes. Philippe Gilbert, the favourite for the stage which finished at the top of a tough hill, duly won neutralising an attack from Fabien Cancellara and holding off Cadel Evans to win by three seconds. 

The big losers on the day were Alberto Contador and Samuel Sanchez caught by a crash around 7 kilometres from the finish. There was a further crash but as it was within 3k from the finish those caught up got the same time as the first group, who finished six seconds behind Gilbert.

The route passed through Brem-sur-Mer, the home of Thierry Michon (Domaine Saint-Nicolas, Fiefs Vendéens).

Jerémie Mourat

Jerémie Mourat was one of four young Loire vignerons over for last week's London International Wine Trade Fair. The three others were Jerémie Huchet (Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine), Jean-Hubert Lebreton (Domaine des Rochelles, Anjou) and Alexander Cady (Domaine Cady, Coteaux du Layon). The four had a heavy responsibility looking after the veteran Loire courtier, Charles Sydney.  

Mourat Père et Fils (Château Marie du Fou) have 96 hectares of vines around Mareuil-sur-Lay in the Fiefs Vendéens. In addition Jerémie has 14 hectares of his own vines that he cultivates organically. Jerémie uses special egg-shaped vats to ferment some of his wines. I started with the  quite citric , lemony 2009 Collection – a equal blend of Chrdonnay and Grolleau Gris (  )  – with a touch of spice in the finish. Then the attractive 2009 Château Marie du Fou (70% Chenin Blanc; 30% Chardonnay), which is fermented and matured in 600 litre barrels with ripe mouthfilling fruit and good structure. 

Next a red – Collection Rouge which is a blend of 40% Pinot Noir, 30% Negrette (the Fiefs Vendeens is the only part of the Loire to grow this variety which is best in Fronton). This has good supple soft fruit, good length, some acidity and just a touch of greeness in the finish.  2009 Moratus from the organic vineyard is pure Pinot Noir – quite concentrated with rather edgy fruit. 

We finish with 2009 O.V.N.I. (UFO in English) – 90% Sauvignon Blanc with 10% Chardonnay with grassy Sauvignon aromas and nicely restrained on the palate with good length.

I can see that a trip to the Vendée is need both to visit the Mourats and revisit Thierry Michon. 

Jerémie Huchet, Domaine Huchet, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine

Among the wines I tasted yesterday were some from two promising young vignerons both called Jerémie. Huchet from Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine featured above with a wine from Château Montys using vines planted in 1914.

Jerémie Mourat from Fiefs Vendéens

More to add

Overall the current death toll from the terrible Xynthia storm is 52 (Ouest-France).  It is now clear that the Vendée and the Charente-Maritime suffered worst with 29 people killed in the Vendée – 27 in La Faute-sur-Mer, a commune on a spit of land a little to the north of La Rochelle. 

See also report from La Nouvelle République on the damage in the Vendée and Charente-Maritime including the damage to agriculture: 'Les agriculteurs de Vendée et de Charente-Maritime recensent plus de 45.000 hectares de terres envahies par l'eau salée, avec des cultures brûlées et du bétail noyé. Le ramassage des cadavres d'animaux qui flottent dans les champs est devenu une priorité en raison des risques sanitaires.'

Apart from the likely damage in the vineyards of the Fiefs Vendéens,* the rest of the Loire  vineyards seem to have escaped without serious damage, although a lot of homes were without electricity for around 36 hours. I gather in Epeigné-les-Bois the electricity was cut from 4am Sunday morning until Monday evening. Even now on Wednesday power may not have been restored to parts of Indre-et-Loire and Loir-et-Cher.

* 10.30am: Interloire have told me that fortunately the vineyards of Fiefs Vendéens escaped serious damage as did the rest of the Loire's vineyards. The vines in the Vendée are far enough from the sea not to have been affected by the flooding and the worst path of the storm missed the vineyards.  

An appropriate shirt for tasting wines of Domaine Aloha

Hervé Lalau, fellow blogger and also shortlisted for the Salon des Vins de Loire Wine Blogger Trophy, has kindly brought this Fiefs Vendéens estate and their blog to my attention.

'Dear Jim,

As a Loire-lover, but also as a flowered shirt lover, this "far west"
estate might interest you:
http://hlalau.skynetblogs.be/post/6711693/les-carottes-daloha

Regards

Hervé'

I haven't yet tasted their wines but must do so. Perhaps I'll manage to get down to see that star, Thierry Michon at the Domaine Saint-Nicolas, again this year and fit in a visit to Domaine Aloha. Once again this underlines how many interesting producers there are to see at the Salon des Vins de Loire and even with two days reasonably flat out you only manage to scratch the surface.

Domaine Aloha, Le Poiré, 85150 Vaire
Tel: 06.31.29.55.05
Email: smegnan@wanadoo.fr
Website: www.domaine-aloha.com

With the deadline only some five weeks away, Jim's Loire has heard how some other Loire VDQSs have opted between seeking AC status or VDP – now to be called IGP. The Fiefs Vendéens, Coteaux d'Ancenis and Châteaumeillant will all be seeking promotion to appellation status. My guess is that Saint-Pourçain, which has previously applied for full appellation status, will apply again. And why shouldn't all of the above be successful if Orléans-Cléry is considered worth of being AC!

See also: Gros Plant decision

2008 harvest in the Pays Nantais with Che

The VDQS Gros Plant Syndicat has opted to apply for IGP (Indication Géographique de Provenance) status. By the end of this year all those still remaining in the VDQS (Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure) category will have to opt for either AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) or IGP. From 2009 to the end of 2011 only those that have applied either for AC or VDP status will be able to continue to sell their wines as VDQS.

The Loire has many of the now limited number of VDQS remaining, so it is make your mind up time for Châteaumeillant, Coteaux d’Ancenis, Côtes d’Auvergne, Fiefs Vendéens, Haut-Poitou, Saint-Pourçain and Thouarsais.

The château at Ancenis. Coteaux d'Ancenis is one of the
remaining VDQSs, who now have to opt for AOP or IGP

The Gros Plant Syndicat decided that Gros Plant would be better off as a IGP than trying to become AOP (similar to the existing AOC but a European-wide designation) because this will allow them to blend Gros Plant with other varieties such as Colombard, Montils and Pinot Gris (Malvoisie in the Pays Nantais). Going for AOP status would have meant reducing yields and some of the existing Gros Plant vineyards would have been left outside the new zone.

The Syndicat's decision is not a surprise. The production of Gros Plant declined considerably and it was very likley that it would have struggled to get AOP status. It will, however, be a shame if all Gros Plant ends up being blended with other varieties as good examples remain a wonderful match with oysters.

In early June 2008 as part of the European Union reform of the wine industry the French government adopted AOP and IGP. AOP is almost identical to the AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controllée) while IGP is a more flexible version of VDP (Vins de Pays). Under IGP producers can use whatever varieties they wish and it is possible to use oak chips and add tannins and acidity.


From: E-Lettre Vitisphere No 324 21st Novembre 2008
Pays de Loire : Le VDQS Gros Plant choisit l’IGP
Le syndicat du VDQS Gros Plant du Pays Nantais s’est prononcé pour un passage en IGP (Indication Géographique de Provenance) dans le cadre de la future segmentation de l’OCM qui entrera en application en août 2009. La disparition annoncée des VDQS avait déjà conduit le syndicat à se prononcer il y a quelques années sur son passage en AOC. Aujourd’hui le syndicat revient sur cette position, estimant que le cadre de l’IGP proposé par l’Europe correspond mieux aux ambitions de l’appellation Gros Plant. «Cette catégorie de vin offre une souplesse qui cadre bien avec ce qu’est actuellement le Gros Plant. Le choix de l’AOP nous aurait conduit à des baisses de rendement et des restrictions de l’aire d’appellation qui ne nous semblent pas opportunes. Par ailleurs, nous envisageons d’élargir notre encépagement en autorisant les assemblages avec le Colombard, le Montils et le Pinot gris. Ce projet a plus de chance d’aboutir dans le cadre de l’IGP que de l’AOP », argumente Jean-Michel Morille, vice-président du syndicat.