Pinot Noir 2010 in Sancerre (+ below)

My Tuesday post on Les 5 du Vin here.

This 2008 Sancerre Rouge from Gérard Fiou of Saint-Satur could I think be very good but in this vintage doesn't quite make it. It comes from vines planted on flint aged 60 years and more, is picked by hand with a yield of 40 hl/ha. There is some concentration of black fruits making it enjoyable to drink but it is a little rustic lacking the finesse and silkiness that can be found in Pinot Noir. Perhaps it is still to young and this slightly gauche duckling will in a year or so be transformed into a swan. I fancy that this wine would be improved by time in barrel – it has sufficient concentration to handle wood.

This was one of the wines I tasted at the Bureau du Centre in early June. 

Domaine Gérard Fiou

15 Rue Emile Hilaire
18300 Saint-Satur

Tel: 02.48.54.16.17 email: domaine.gerard.fiou@orange.fr

 Pinot Noir@Sancerre 2008

Day one of my two days spent in Sancerre tasting at the Bureau du Centre in early June concentrated on whites from Pouilly-Fumé, Quincy and Sancerre. On the second day it was the turn of reds from Menetou-Salon, Reuilly and Sancerre with those from Sancerre making up the majority. The wines were tasted blind.   

There were 25 red Sancerres – all from the 2008  vintage, except for one 2009. Of the 25, 13 were matured in tank and 12 in wood. It was evident from the tasting that at least for the 2008 vintage producers had two options. Either to make a very light cuvée, concentrating on the fruit and extracting very little tannin or to make a more serious concentrated wine which needs to mature in wood to soften the tannins. Otherwise you may well end up with a wine that has severe tannins, at least in its youth. All of the best noted wines here were matured in wood.

 François Crochet

My top wine

2008 Reserve de Marcigoué, François Crochet
From a  small parcel of vines (0.5ha) with a yield of between 35-40 hl/ha and picked by hand. matured in demi-muids (500 litre) for 12 months. This has excellent concentration of black fruits allied with a freshness that gives balance. 

Well noted (all 2008)

Bernard Fleuriet, Anthocyane (30 hl/ha, hand picked)
Pascal et Nicolas Reverdy, A Nicolas (35hl/ha, hand picked) 

Noted (all 2008 - matured in tank)

Roger et Didier Raimbault (50 hl/ha, machine picked)
Serge Laloue (43 hl/ha, hand picked)

1999 Les Cormiers, Saumur Blanc, Château de Villeneuve in the snow

Once again another example of the great cork lottery: two bottles of 1999 Les Cormiers, Saumur Blanc from Jean-Pierre's Château de Villeneuve on Wednesday night to celebrate a nephew's birthday. The first was deep gold and noticeably oxidative, although this became considerably less marked with a little time in glass. In contrast the second bottle was sublime with all the qualities of the first – the honeyed nose, mouthfilling palate and lovely balance – without the oxidative character and all in all greater precision. A wonderful reminder of the magical quality of Jean-Pierre's 1999 Les Cormiers. This was the first year that JP shaped his grapes in July – matching sure that the bunches were well spread out and that each was as perfectly shaped as possible.

As both bottles of Les Cormiers came from the same case and have been stored together, the only variable is the cork. There are those who maintain that variations between bottles are part of the charm of wine. I cannot go along with this nonsense: a producer works for the whole year in their vineyard to grow the best possible grapes and then in the winery to produce the best possible wine and then all their efforts are subject to the lottery of cork.

Interesting to see that Jamie Goode selected the screwcap as his personality of the last decade on his wine-anorak blog. Certainly the brave move by the 16 Clare Valley Riesling producers back in 2000 to go for screwcaps has had a big impact over the last decade, especially in Australia and New Zealand where screwcaps have become the norm. It has also forced the previously complacent cork producers to raise their game.

As I have already commented in previous posts the Loire has been slow, along with the rest of France, to embrace scewcaps, although their acceptance and use are now gaining ground. However, we are yet to see a major, top quality producer in Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé opt to use screwcaps on their top cuvées. As we are at the start of the teenage decade, I'll predict that by the time 2020 comes around very few Loire whites will be still closed with cork. Instead producers will have moved to screwcaps or possibly another alternative closure but not synthetic corks. I expect to see the most rapid change to occur in Muscadet.

Also on Jamie's blog is a report on the Semillon used in the crucial AWRI closure trial.

Although I had been expecting to serve this over the next few days, this got pressed into serve unexpectedly on Sunday night when a bottle of 1999 Amarone della Valpolicella was horribly corked. In the event this 2004 Belle Dame went well with some sirloin steaks from Duncan Fraser, a very good butchers in Inverness. Ideally the 2004 Belle Dame needs another couple of years but I wanted to see how it is developing. Deep coloured this has good concentration of black fruits and firm structure, although clearly not as rich as the 2003. It is more edgy: a more classic Loire Pinot Noir than the 2003 and, perhaps, the 2005 as well. Ought to keep for another good ten years or so, this is a real success for one of the more difficult recent Loire vintages.

Jean-Dominique Vacheron tasting in the family cellars

The Vacheron's Belle Dame comes from their silex (flint) vineyard, Les Romains, which is in the commune of Sancerre. The Vacherons are increasingly using large wooden vats to reduce the amount of oak in their wines.

This very deep coloured Sancerre Rouge is very typical of the very hot 2003 vintage. Powerful, concentrated and mouthfilling with rich pruney and figgy fruit, this is atypical of a Loire Pinot Noir – more reminiscent of a wine from further south in France. Although not typical, well made red Sancerre is delicious, incidentally another well-made wine by Gilles Crochet. The 2003 is drinking well now but I'm sure you could keep it for at least another four or five years. Vinve la difference!

Sancerre: ripe Pinot Noir October 2008

My article on the on-going red revolution in the Central Vineyards has now been published in Decanter. It was due to appear earlier in the year but unfortunately publication got delayed. Here is a brief taster:

'Sancerre’s red revolution gathers pace

As Sancerre Rouge celebrates its first 50 years of appellation contrôlée status, the red revolution that started in the early 1990s continues. After years of making light, often dilute reds from Pinot Noir, an ever-increasing number of Sancerre producers are making more noteworthy and substantial reds.

I first became aware of the change in the late 1990s when I tasted the 1995s and 1996s from Alphonse Mellot, Domaine Vacheron and Nicolas and Pascal Reverdy.'

Continued in the September 2009 issue of Decanter ................

•

Unfortunately due to lack of space the wine I recommended from Fabien Geoffrenet was cut, here are the details:

Châteaumeillant
Two stars 14 points

2007 Extra Version, Domaine Geoffrenet-Morval 8.20€

From 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Gamay, this has attractive red fruits with some complexity. (Now-2010)

Opened this excellent red Sancerre on Sunday night to go with slow roasted belly of pork. Domaine Lucien Crochet in the heart of the village of Bué is now run by Gilles Crochet. The 2005 Cuvée Prestige has lovely sweet ripe black fruits. It has opulent texture but is beautifully balanced with good freshness in the finish.

There has been some jokey comment recently on Tom Cannavan's wine forum that 2003 red Sancerres are good because it is one of the very rare occasions when Pinot Noir actually got ripe. Admittedly 2005 was a very good vintage but this beautifully judged red is shows that ripe Pinot is not that rare around Sancerre.

Sorting table@Lucien Crochet 6th October 2008

Alphonse Mellot rightly gets a lot of attention for his red Sancerres but, while Gilles Crochet makes less noise, his reds are certainly among the top four or five in the appellation. He is always one of the few in Sancerre to make an interesting rosé that justifies the price.

7th March 2009

This is undoubtedly one of the new-style red Sancerres – an example of the rolling red revolution happening in Sancerre and elsewhere in the Central Vineyards. Empreinte is another of the wines that I picked out from the December 2008 tasting.

From a plot of 1.3 hectares with vines aged at least 45 years – hand-picked fruit with a yield of 26 hl/ha. Deep coloured red, concentrated black fruits – a powerful wine with some toasty wood notes that would be difficult to identify as a Sancerre red. If the Pascal Jolivet 2005 Exception was in the style of a Côte de Beaune, Empreinte is more Côte de Nuits with a nod towards Chile – perhaps Cono Sur’s 20 Barrels? Ideally needs more time and would surely age happily for at least five to eight years. Certainly impressive but I suspect that in vintages of Empreinte to come, Paul and Benoît Fouassier will be looking for a style that has greater finesse.

6 March 2008

Started with Jacky Blot's Triple Zéro, Montlouis Pétillant from the latest batch, released just before Christmas. Enjoyable fizz but ideally needs another three to six months in bottle to show as well as previous editions of Triple Zéro.

Then on to the 2005 Exception Sancerre Rouge, Pascal Jolivet with an attractively seductive Pinot Noir nose, quite silky, mid-weight, some finesse and well balanced. It coped surprisingly well with a take-away curry. From 50 year old vines planted on argile-calcaire (clay-limestone). The grapes were picked by hand and yield was 40 hl/ha. The wine was aged for 12 months in barriques.

Domaine Pascal Jolivet, Route de Chavignol, 183000 Sancerre
Tel: 02.48.78.60.00
Email: info@pascal-jolivet.com
Website: www.pascal-jolivet.com

3 March 2008

Fish Hoek Chenin Blanc 2008

A couple of bottles on taste yesterday. Firstly the sleek Fish Hoek 2008 Chenin Blanc from celebrated winemaker Bruce Jack in South Africa. Crisp, very well made with some peachy fruit and very attractive to drink as an aperitif or with seafood, although it does lack a little length. Loire producers could note that it is closed with a screwcap, although I was pleased to see that Baudry-Dutour now put their Chinon Blanc into this closure. Fish Hoek retails for £6.19 and is available in Booker, Premiere Retail Club, Somerfield, Somerfield, Spa, Tesco and Threshers.

2007 Sancerre Rouge, Domaine Serge Lalou

The 2007 Sancerre Rouge, Domaine Serge Lalou was one of the wines I picked out from the large Central Vineyards tasting I made in Sancerre in mid-December 2008. I have to admit some disappointment with this particulalr bottle. Although it had some weight and was quite impressive for 2007, there was a slight earthiness and an occasional mustiness about it. I don't think it was corked but the cork may have played a part as my notes indicate that it tasted better in December.

Last night nearly 30 people attended another successful Monday night tasting and dinner at the RSJ Restaurant in London's Waterloo. It was good to see many regulars present but also some people here for the first time.

Aperitif:



2007 Sauvignon Domaine de Bablut, VDP Val de Loire (that very well known Sancerre!)
From Anjou but a vin de pays and from Christophe Daviau. Some weight but overall very typical of the 2007 vintage – clean and precise.

White:

The first two Sancerres were served by themselves without food.

2007 Les Pierris

2007 Les Pierris, Roger Champault et fils

The Champaults are based in the same hamlet of Champtin between Bué and Crézancy and this comes from vineyards planted on clay-limestone. This was many people's favourite wine of the evening, combining the purity of the 2007 vintage with attractive weight.

2007 La Vigne Blanche, Henri Bourgeois
Comes from vines planted on chaillottes – white limestone with very little or, in places, no soil. Decidedly austere and lightly mineral.

Served with first course: an assiette of fish with herb risotto and pepper coulis


2007 Le MD, Henri Bourgeois

From Les Monts Damnés (damned slopes), the steep, south facing slopes above Chavignol, this is one of the Bourgeois' best Sancerres, which ages well. Characteristically minerally and with more weight and length than Les Vignes Blanches.

Note that the spelling of Chavignol, the commune, is in larger print than Sancerre, the appellation. However, the difference is not as marked as it used to be.

2004 Les Culs de Beaujeu, François Cotat

Les Culs de Beaujeu is another steep vineyard above Chavignol but on the other side of the valley from Les Monts Damnés. On the evening the Cotat was a bit of a puzzle. Often the Cotat wines are quite rich, while this, admittedly from 2004, was quite austere and seemed to tighten up over time, although going back to it right at the end it had opened up more. A wine to carafe and give an hour or so to open up?

Red:

The reds: 1996 Vacheron, 2006 Côte de Champtin, 2007 Les Pierris

2007 Les Pierris, Roger Champault et fils
Light and charming wine with the accent on the fruit, which worked surprisingly well with the lamb. One to enjoy when young.

2006 Côte de Champtin, Roger Champault et fils

Another steeply sloped vineyard, this 2006 unsurprisingly had more weight and concentration but is currently less expressive than the 2007. Needs another couple of years in bottle.

1996 Domaine Vacheron in magnum

The Vacherons have long been one of Sancerre's top producers. This had wonderfully, seductive Pinot Noir aromas – autumnal undergrowth, mushrooms (French use the term – sous bois) and just shows what a decade or more in bottle can give.

All three reds were served with: roast saddle of lamb, fondant potatoes, Savoy cabbage, carrots and a red wine jus


Dessert: Lemon & mixed berry roulade

RSJ Restaurant, 33 Coin Street, London SE1 Tel: 020-7928 4554.

20 February 2009

Jean-Christophe Garnier's 'vin mousseux de qualité'
To be fair the wine's colour was darkened by the flash and has been tweaked by Photoshop, although the actual colour was slightly lighter but the wine was just as muddy.

During dinner with the Cabernet Franc Ambassadors we tried a few other wines as O'Bistro has an interesting and eclectic list. The last 'wine' was the most memorable for all the wrong reasons. From Jean-Christophe Garnier, and apparently made from 100% Grolleau, this is a textbook example of the type of wine that gives 'natural wines' a bad name. Described as a vin mousseux de qualité (quality sparkling wine), it was light brown in colour and distinctly cloudy. Indeed far more reminiscent of rough farmyard scrumpy than a sparkling wine.

As it is virtually undrinkable I can only assume that this is a sophisticated joke by Monsieur Garnier of Saint-Lamber-du-Lattay – otherwise how could you put such a faulty and poor wine on the market? Equally I can only assume that this is the reason that it is probably stocked in 'cutting edge' wine bars. The alarming thing is that I'm pretty sure that this is not the worst wine that I have tasted from Jean-Christophe Garnier as he exhibits every year at the Renaissance des Appellations. I'm not against 'pushing the envelope', exploring the limits, but you have to be able to recognise when something is a miserable failure.

Several around the table questioned how this could be possibly described as 'mousseux de qualité', even 'vin' and Jean-Christophe calling himself a 'vigneron' raised eyebrows.

Before we were served the excerable mousseux we were served a couple of reds blind. The first was considerably lighter in colour than the Cabernet Francs we had been enjoying. I thought it was from the Loire and opted for a Pinot Noir from the Central Vineyards as did Gérard Vallée. Perhaps I should have been more courageous and plumped for a Sancerre, which, in fact, it was – 2006 Terre de Maimbray from Pascal and Nicolas Reverdy. The second was similar in colour but a little lighter in body. I surprised myself by guessing that it was a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir. Actually it was 2007 Les Andilles, Cherveny from Hervé Villemade – 80% Pinot Noir 20% Gamay. Pleasant enough but not memorable – still it was 2007. Jérome felt that the finish was bitter.

Alphonse Mellot snr drawing a sample of 2008 Sancerre Rouge

My fourth visit on the eve of the big Pinot Noir tasting on 19th December was to Domaine Alphonse Mellot where I tasted the latest cuvées with Alphonse snr. The visit reinforced the overall quality of the Alphonse Mellot reds as indeed the tasting the next day where the Mellot reds performed consistently well. As Chris Kissack recently asked, "How can you make red Sancerre this good?" Low yields and meticulous work in the vineyards is a large part of the answer. Another significant part of the answer is the vision and determination of Alphonse Junior, who, when he joined his father in running the business in 1993, told him that he wanted to make high quality Pinot Noir. Alphonse snr famously told him it wasn’t possible. Junior soon proved his father wrong

Alphonse Mellot snr

Tasting area in the Alphonse Mellot cellars

With Alphonse we tasted a number of impressive 2008 barrel samples both white and red as well as the just bottled Génération XIX 2007 Sancerre Rouge that had very impressive depth and finesse for this difficult vintage. Next was the trio of the Mellot top reds from 2006 – Les Demoiselles, En Grand Champs and Génération XIX. Although the first two were very good, particularly the rich and soft En Grand Champs, Géneration XIX had a balance and completeness that Les Demoiselles and En Grand Champs didn’t have.

Alphonse spoke about the importance of touch and feel in winemaking. “To make great wine,” you have to take a risk,” he maintains.

The bi-plane that dominates the Mellot tasting room in the cellars –
sadly ironic following Didier Dagueneau's fatal plane crash in September 2008

To be continued with more reports from my visit to Sancerre in mid-December 2008.