Benoît Fouassier sampling his 2011 Sancerre 

I spent much of Thursday, all of Friday and small part of Saturday morning in Sancerre and Pouilly visiting as many producers as possible. I tasted juice and fermenting wine with a  number of the producers – all seemed clean with no off flavours. 

Here are comments from several Sancerre producers:     

Stephane Riffault – Domaine Claude Riffault

"We started on the 5th September and finished on 16th. Everything is picked by hand. We had to be very selective this year, especially with the reds, as grape quality fell away rapidly. On average the Sauvignon came in at 13% potential with an acidity of between 4.0-4.5 and with a ph of 3.20.   The Pinot Noir was between 12.5-13.0% potential with a ph of 3.40."

Benoît Fouassier, Domaine Fouassier:

Picking started on the 1st September and we finished on Wednesday 14th. For the white we had an average yield of 50hl/ha with potential alcohol between 12.5%-13%, acidity between 4 and 5 depending on the parcel and when we picked. The Pinot Noir was between 12.5-13% with a yield of 35-40 hl/ha. We had to be careful with the Pinot as there was rot, so it had to be picked over with the sorting table in the cellar. 

Benoît commented about the situation for some producers:  "Those who use artificial fertilisers or weedkiller their vines started to see rot in their grapes from the 15th August."

Certainly tasting the fermenting wines at Fouassier, who are now biodynamic, the wines were all clean and precise.   

Jean-Marie Bourgeois – the patriarch on the phone 

Jean-Marie Bourgeois, Domaine Henri Bourgeois
Tasted the 2011 fermenting wines with Jean-Marie on Friday. We went through much of the range from the Petit Bourgeois, their vin de pays launched back in 1995 (Sauvignon only at that time – a red followed later) through to MD and La Bourgeoise. As with Fouassier and Michael Vattan all the wines were clean and precise with differences between the parcels becoming apparent.  


Jean-Marie Bourgeois: 
"The secret of our Le Petit Bourgeois is that we always work with the same producers, who are serious, and we pay above the market price." We tasted two examples of 2011 PB – one from Faverolles-sur-Cher and one from Choussy, which is close to Oisly.    

A new Bourgeois cuvée?  

Jean-Laurent Vacheron

Jean-Laurent Vacheron: Domaine Vacheron

Jean-Laurent: This year it was very important to stop tilling/working the ground in our vineyards in July to let the grass grow and so absorb summer rains. We started picking on 1st September and finished last Tuesday (20th). There was quite a lot of rot in the Pinot Noir, especially at the end, so we had to be selective.

Ungrafted Sauvignon Blanc in the Vacheron's Clos just by Sancerre's remparts  

After a swift look round some of the vineyards we tasted the recently bottled 2010s – joined by Jean-Dominique Vacheron. Their range of single vineyard bottlings has been extended: Le Paradis (calcaire – caillottes), Chambrates (calcaire - thin soil), Guigné-Chèvres (Oxfordian limestone), Les Romains (silex - flint) and Pavé (argile-calcaire – clay limestone). At this stage my preferences among the 2010 was for Paradis, Guigné-Chèvres and Romains.

We also tasted the 2010 red Sancerre – attractive pure Pinot fruit – and the 2008 and 2007 La Belle Dame. The 2007 BD is drinking well now, while the 2008 needs time but has greater potential than the previous year.

 Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron tasting their 2010 white Sancerres 

Jean-Dominique
**

Claude and Laurent Champault

Roger Champault et fils: Claude and Laurent Champault

Claude: "We were surprised by how well the vintage turned out because before the start we were worried by rot. We picked the reds first – those of the hillsides (clay and limestone) were healthy, while on the caillottes (pure limestone) there was more rot. The Pinot is around 11.5% potential alcohol with just under 5 acidity, while the Sauvignon is between 12.5-13.5%. Yields – 50 hl/ha for the Pinot and 65 hl/ha for the Sauvignon."

Jean-Marie Bourgeois

Had a quick Skype chat with Jean-Marie Bourgeois this afternoon about the weather conditions. As reported previously mildew and other diseases have been a problem this year with mildew attacking both the vine leaves and the grapes themselves. They have also suffered some hail damage from frequent storms but nothing like as bad as Menetou-Salon, parts of which have been very badly hit. This year's harvest will again be well below average in quantity.

At the moment everything is in advance. If they have decent weather from now on Jean-Marie expects that the harvest could start between 15th and 20th September, which would be about a week to 10 days earlier than last year. On the other hand, of course, if it is cold and wet, then the harvest will naturally be later.

The hidden control room in the Bourgeois winery where the Bourgeois triumvirate: Arnaud, Jean-Christophe and Lionel met to plan their harvest strategy

J-M B: 'En ce qui concerne les vignes, comme tu sais il y à eu plusieurs petites grêle, qui ont fait des dégats répétitif, de plus nous avons beaucoup de maladies, mildiou des feuilles et des grappes! en fait la récolte sera vraissemblablement de quantité faible, entre moins 30 à moins 50%, quand à la qualité pas de souci, nous avons beaucoup d'avance, les vendanges devraient être précose! Ceci vaut pour Sancerre et Pouilly mais pas pour Menetou-Salon, là ou la grêle à fait de très gros dégats!!!!'

Jean-Christophe Bourgeois – i/c vinification etc. Tasting the 2008 red Sancerre from barrel

••

Jim's Loire is always happy to receive reports from producers throughout the Loire on the weather and how the vines are doing.

Benoît Fouassier (Domaine Fouassier, Sancerre): Quelques nouvelles de nos vendanges
'Elles sont terminées chez nous depuis mercredi dernier, le 15/10.

Nous sommes très satisfaits de ce millésime 2008 du point de vue de la qualité. Nous avons rentré nos sauvignons avec des degrés entre 12 et 14 et des acidités de 5,5 à 6,4. Le rendement moyen est de 52 hl/ha en sauvignon. Pour les pinot noir, les degrés vont de 12,5 à 13,5 et les acidités de 5 à 5,5. Le rendement moyen en pinot noir est de 35 hl/ha cette année.

En ce qui concerne notre conversion en agriculture biologique et en biodynamie, nous avons conduit 18 ha pour la campagne 2008 et cette année nous conduisons nos 55 ha de vigne en biodynamie. C'est un challenge passionnant et une autre approche de la viticulture.

PS : Je n'ai pas de photos de Michaël Ott en vendanges, dommage!

Benoît Fouassier (Domaine Fouassier, Sancerre): Some news of our 2008 harvest:
‘We finished the harvest last Wedndesday (15th October)

‘We are very satisfied with the quality of 2008. The Sauvignons came in between 12%-14% potential with acidities between 5.5 and 6.4 gms. The average yield for the Sauvignon was 52 hl/ha. With the Pinot Noir the degrees were between 12.5%-13.5% with acidities between 5 to 5.5 and an average yield of 35 hl/ha.

‘As far as our conversion to organic and biodynamic viticulture, we have converted 18 ha this year and we are now starting to convert the rest of our 55 ha. It is a passionate challenge for us and a different approach to viticulture.

‘Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of Michaël Ott (UK agent) harvesting. A pity!

Jean-Marie Bourgeois, Henri Bourgeois, Sancerre etc
A cautious assessment of the quality of 2008:
“Absolutely fantastic! We have been greatly surprised. However, the vintage is 20% of normal in quantity.

Jêrome Choblet, Domaine des Herbauges, Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu
“We finished the Muscadet on 29th September and harvested the Chardonnay on 29th and 30th. Because of the tiny harvest it only took us six days this year. We have had 18 hl/ha – we had thought to make 20-25 hl/ha but because of the lack of juice in the grapes the actual yield was lower. This is even worse than 1991 (overall the worst frost experienced in the Loire and western France in recent times). In 1991 we made 19.5 hl/ha. The average yield here in Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu is only 15 hl/ha. The overall average yield for Muscadet (Sèvre-et-Maine etc.) is 22 hl/ha.

“Although we were very stressed by our decision to wait for our grapes to ripen properly and to stop picking for a week after we found that our first grapes harvested on Monday 15th September were not properly ripe and with high acidity levels, the decision was absolutely right. We are very happy with the quality of 2008. Waiting that week extra gave us 2% more potential alcohol and reduced acidity, which had been at 8 gms but came down to between 5.6 and 6 gms. There is a lot of tartaric acidity and a lot is dropping out during fermentation.

“Because of the severe shortage of 2008 I can confirm that of all our large customers around the world Waitrose (UK supermarket) is the only client to whom we have guaranteed to supply. We have worked together for a long time and we have a long-term partnership – they will have UK exclusivity.”

Jean-Claude Dagueneau, Didier's father,
on a horse as a young boy.

(12 August 2008: Didier Dagueneau @ 3 Rue Ernesto Che Guevara 58150 Saint-Andelain)

I never really feel I know where I am with Didier: rather like tiptoeing across eggshells. Sometimes the shells remain whole – sometimes, perhaps with no warning, they break into pieces. Didier can be charming as he was the last time I met him in mid September 2007 during a press trip, which included a very fine tasting of his whole range over several vintages held in his converted chapel. (To be posted shortly.) In contrast, I well remember tasting from barrel with him many years ago. After tasting several samples I observed that the wine we had our glasses “had a little more wood”. Not intended as a criticism, merely an observation on an unfinished wine. Didier immediately snapped: “This is a professional tasting.” Perhaps it was a misunderstanding – those egg shells again.

Vineyard portrait of the young Jean-Claude with his father Louis Dagueneau.
Louis was one of the wine-makers who inspired Didier.

He was forbearing on the first occasion I met him back in the early 1990s. I had a long afternoon of visits organised by the producers of Pouilly, who had been over-optimistic about how much ground could be covered reasonably in a day. Didier was the last visit and, as so often happens, the programme had slipped, I was hopelessly behind time and we arrived at 3 Ernesto Che Guevara, Saint-Andelain well over an hour late. Very sensibly Didier, who then had a striking golden halo of hair, said that a visit to the cellar was out – it was already well after 7pm and a cold mid-January night. Instead he opened a bottle of Silex – I have no recollection of the vintage though I might find it buried in a notebook somewhere – and we chatted.

Whatever the year the Silex was it was delicious. Didier is certainly a beacon of quality in Pouilly-Fumé, an appellation that can too often be disappointing and offering poor value for money in comparison with the best Sauvignons from eastern Touraine.

Didier Dagueneau's abode in Saint-Andelain

(12 August 2008)

On this occasion, it was still pouring with rain when we added our hire car to the array of motors already parked in and around the Rue Ernesto Che Guevara– would the eggshells hold today?

We never did find out as it was his daughter who looked after us. Although we were able to taste some of the 2006s, tasting the 2007s out of barrel was out as Didier was not present. This was disappointing as I had agreed the appointment with Didier back in early July, although he did warn then that he might be away. However it was clear that he was around as his daughter, who has just returned from three years in Burgundy with Faiveley, asked us whether we had already seen him.

We tasted three Pouilly-Fumés from 2006 – the Blanc Fumé, Pur Sang and Silex. All three were showing the weight that many 2006s (PF and Sancerre) have taken on. Pur Sang from three hectares on argile calcere had rich, very pure fruit, power and length, while Silex showed gentle wood spice, weight and a lovely minerality in the finish. We finished with ripe, minerally Les Monts Damnés 2006 from Didier’s 0.57 ha estate in Sancerre. We asked what the taste difference was between Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. “More floral and more acidity,” was the response. The higher acidity certainly showed on the Monts Damnés.

Sarah was shocked and appalled to see the cellar price of Asteroïde – €460 a bottle if I remember correctly. It is, however, from a tiny parcel of 18 rows of ungrafted vines in the La Folie vineyard (source of Pur Sang) at Moussard, north east of Saint Andelain but we didn’t taste it. Pity, too, that we didn’t have the opportunity to taste the 2007s that would have given us a fuller picture. Difficult not to contrast Didier's non-appearance with Jean-Marie Bourgeois, who unbeknown to us very kindly put off his departure on holiday by a day so that he was there to receive us yesterday. So our visit was brief and not the highlight that Sarah had hoped it would be.

Still raining and having much more time than we envisaged we did a quick circuit of some of Pouilly’s vineyards – passing by Ladoucette, Les Loges and the very pretty hamlet of Tracy right by the Loire– before heading back to Sancerre to visit La Maison des Sancerre.

Didier Dagueneau, 3 Rue Ernesto Che Guevara, 58150 Saint Andelain. Tel: 03.86.39.15.62

Jean-Marie Bourgeois

The retiring chairman!
(11 August 2008: Sancerre trip)

From a rising star to a meeting with one of Sancerre’s and the Loire’s most influential personalities – Jean-Marie Bourgeois. Doubtless Sancerre’s current fame owes something to it being easy to pronounce in English. But it was people like Jean-Marie, Alphonse Mellot and the Vacherons that continued the pioneering work of their parents – Henri Bourgeois, Alphonse Mellot and Jean Vacheron – who established the fame of Sancerre and brought it to the attention of English speakers. Their parents established the name in Paris, while it was Jean-Marie and his generation who took Sancerre around the world. In 50 years the life of this small corner of the Berry in central France – with Bourges 45 kilometres south-west of Sancerre claiming to be the centre of France – has been transformed completely. At the excellent Maisons des Sancerre (www.maison-des-sancerre.com) a number of vignerons reminisce about these early expeditions to sell Sancerre in Paris.

I well remember the time I first met Jean-Marie. It was towards the end of October 1989, that famously wonderful vintage – both summer and autumn. On my way to Chavignol with friends we drove up through Bué – the autumn colours on the steep hillsides were breathtakingly beautiful. The Bourgeois were in the middle of their vendange tardive. Despite this not being the ideal time to receive a newly hatched journalist, we spent a memorable two hours or more with him.

Jean-Marie says he is now in semi-retirement but he is still traveling the world, including New Zealand to check up on Clos Henri, the Bourgeois outpost in Marlborough.

We started with a quick visit to the Bourgeois winery that is steadily making its way up the steep road out of Chavignol. Back in 1989 most of the Bourgeois operation – winery and offices – was crammed into one building. In 2000 work started on the new gravity winery, just above the old one. It is impressively hi-tech and functional – more functional than trying to buy wine bottles these days. "At the moment we have to order 6 to 8 months in advance,” Jean-Marie explained. 40% of the harvest is by hand, 60% by machine with all of the Pinot Noir picked by hand. They are now equipped for screwcap bottles.

For a company that now has 70 ha of vines plus contracts with other growers in various appellations such as Pouilly-Fumé and Quincy covering another 70 ha and a total annual production of around two million bottles I’m always impressed by the consistent quality of the Bourgeois wines throughout the whole range, from Le Petit Bourgeois Sauvignon vin de pays upwards.

Back in 1950 the family had 2.5 ha of vines along with goats, rabbits and vegetables. The area of vines had grown to 3.5-4 ha in 1956 when Jean-Marie (J-M) started working full-time. The previous year (1955) they filled 15,000 bottles. “An enormous quantity for those days,” J-M explained. “In 1957/58 we started making deliveries en vrac (in bulk) in a Peugeot van to Paris. In 1965 my brother built the first cuve (vat).

We asked J-M about the change from Pinot Noir to Sauvignon Blanc at the beginning of the 20th century. “Chavignol always had more white than red. Les Mont Damnés was white. Sauvignon Blanc was planted so that growers had two wines to offer – a red and white.”

Plaque outside the tasting room in Chavignol

We tasted various wines including their Clos Henri from Marlborough, New Zealand, starting with Le Petit Bourgeois – the first of their French wines to go into screwcaps. I picked out the racy, minerally 2007 MD, the rich and weighty Jadis 2006 from a parcel of old Sauvignon Gris vines on the Mont Damnés, which is vinified in barriques of 3 to 5 wines and bottled unfiltered. We also tasted the 2000 MD again – this time a little fatter than the one we had drunk the previous evening in Touraine. However, the powerful and concentrated Sancerre d’Antan 2006 from silex vineyards in Fontenay (just to the west of Saint-Satur) and in Saint-Satur itself from vines planted between 1935 and 1939 was my stand-out white. "The silex of Fontenay is purer and harder than that in Saint-Satur, which has more clay," explained J-M. "My father was born in Fontenay and also had vines in Saint-Satur."

I have never felt that the reds from Bourgeois are at the same level as the whites but I think that recent vintages are showing increasing promise. The rich and spicy 2005 La Bourgeoise (old vines on silex) needs more time but shows considerable potential. I also liked the soft and supple Clos Henri 2006 with attractive black cherry fruit. I wonder if making two vintages of Pinot Noir a year is paying off. It will also be interesting to see what comes from their recent Pinot Noir plantings on the Monts Damnés once they are established.

We finished with the late harvest 1997 Vendange Saint-Charles, which has to be labelled vin de table. Picked on 4 November it has rich, honey and apricot flavours. Saint-Charles has been made in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1997 and 2005. Despite the frequent mists around Chavignol these late-harvest wines are from grapes dried by the sun on the vine (passerillage) rather than botrytis. Depending on the vineyard site there are a few botyrtis late-harvest wines made in Sancerre by other producers.

Tasting over, Jean-Marie joined Sarah and I for a glass of Champagne in his son’s new hotel in Chavignol – the subject of the next post.

Domaine Henri Bourgeois, Chavignol, 18300 Sancerre. Tel: 02.48.78.53.20
www.bourgeois-sancerre.com