PetNat la Folie Lucé

Next stop after Frédéric Mabileau was the Pot de Lapin in Saumur. We started with a glass of PetNat rosé. This time from a new producer – Loïc Terquem at La Folie Lucé, who has taken over Yves Drouineau's vines in Dampierre. 2009 was Terquem's first vintage. His PetNat is a little sweeter than some with attractive red fruits. Later on in the meal Olivier Thibault, owner of Le Pot, gave us Terquem's soft and fruity 2009 Saumur-Champigny to try. 

Having talked about Yves Drouineau and the quality of the wines that he made it seemed appropriate to choose a bottle of his 2000 La Seignère, Saumur-Champigny. Still quite youthful, although showing just a touch of brickiness, Yves 2000 is medium weight with attractive mellow fruit. Good for a few more years, this shows the quality of Yves as 2000 was not an easy vintage in the Loire.

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While on the subject of pétillants Jacky Blot told us that over the weekend he had decided to bring forward the first release of his Triple Zéro Rosé to this December. Bottled in January it will have had nearly 12 months sur latte by the time it is released. The rosé is a roughly equal blend of Grolleau and Gamay.    

   

Saumur and its château

If you are staying in Angers a day trip to Saumur is perfectly possible as it is only an attractive hour's drive along the banks of the Loire. It's even quicker by autoroute (A11 and A85) but less fun and you will have to pay tolls. Head out through Angers via Trélazé on the D952. This will take you along the north bank of the Loire until you reach Les Rosiers. Turn right over the bridge and then follow the Loire on the south bank to Saumur. On a sunny day this will be a very attractive drive. 

In Saumur I'd naturally have lunch at the Pot de Lapin. The Bistrot de la Place would be an alternative or if you just want a quick bite then the Brasserie de la Bourse in centre of Saumur near to the tourist office is always reliable.

There is a big choice of producers in easy reach of Saumur to go and see. Ones I would recommend include:

Château de Villeneuve (Souzay-Champigny)

Château de Targé (Parnay)

Château de Hureau (Dampierre)

Domaine de Val Brun (Parnay)

Domaine de Nerleux (St Cyr-en-Bourg)
Domaine des Roches Neuves (Varrains)

Antoine Sanzay (Varrains)
Château de Chaintres (Chaintres)

Domaine Filliatreau (Chaintres)

Among the sparkling wine houses there are Langlois-Chateau (Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent) and Bouvet-Ladubay (Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent).

See part one here.

   

Anita@Le Pot de Lapin flanked by a glass of PetNat from Antoine Sanzay

Today we had the first real spring day: bright sunshine, largely blue sky and temperatures up to 23˚C by mid-afternoon. We spent the day wandering over to Saumur – stopping to take pictures on the way (see separate post). Once again we had a very good meal. Starting with a glass of PetNat from Antoine Sanzay – red fruits balanced with good fresh acidity makes this an excellent apéritif – we all opted for the oeufs en cocotte avec fromage. This is a Pot signature dish and it was very good once again with the eggs yolks runny in the middle. To follow on I had a very sizeable entrecôte with excellent chips, while the others had a sort of shepherds' pie but made with boudin noir. Nearly defeated we opted for a single crème brûlée between the three of us.  

 

Interior of Le Pot 

We drank a very good bottle of Bruno Dubois' 2005 La Cuvée du Coin, Saumur-Champigny. Powerful and concentrated with notes of sous bois, a touch of gaminess and well integrated ripe tannins. A 2005 that is delicious to drink now but will doubtless keep well over the next five years or more.   

 

Sign of the rabbit

Olivier Thibault: chef-patron of Le Pot de Lapin