Charly Foucault plus assistant connecting the hose 

Charly Foucault watching grapes and must going into vat down in cellar 

Foucaults: at the sorting table

Thierry Germain checking grapes

Red light in le Petit Pressigny

During dinner at La Promenade on Saturday night, Xavier Fortin, the restaurant's long-serving sommelier, kindly invited us to visit the restaurant's cellars the next morning around 11am. This gave me time to wander around the village (population: 326 in 2006) and, in particular, to admire the new traffic lights in the centre of the village. These are a traffic calming measure – changing colour as cars etc. approach.

Getting the green light

Among the treasures in La Promenade's cellars, there are some very old bottles from the Foucaults (in Chace). The oldest being a 1900 Saumur-Champigny.

1900 Clos Rougeard, Saumur-Champigny (Foucault)

Xavier Fortin who has been at La Promenade since 1988

2004 Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine, André Michel Brégeon

Xavier kindly opened a 2004 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine from André Michel Brégeon. Now one of the crus communales it spent five years on its lees. Light to mid-gold in colour this has a richness and complexity that one doesn't normally associate with Muscadet. At the same time it is brilliantly precise and mineral in the finish. A grand vin but not at a grand vin price.

1986 demi-sec Savennières Château d'Epiré

Dinner with Chenin appreciating friends so a good opportunity to look at a mature Savennières. Despite a short cork, this Château d'Epiré is still in good condition. Mid-burnished gold in colour, slightly fungal aromas with good mouthfilling honeyed fruit and the richness nicely balanced by vibrant, quite austere background of acidity. made a complex and intriguing aperitif and proved to be a good match for a Greek style salad as first course.  

2010 Les tufolies, Saumur-Champigny, Domaine des Champs Fleuris

For the main course a sort of North African shepherd's pie we went from middle aged to nearly extreme youth with this vibrantly fruited, young Saumur-Champigny full of soft round fruit. This is an ideal bottle to enjoy now, though it will doubtless last easily another three or four years but to what purpose? 

Arnaud and Yves Lambert@2009 Salon des Vins de Loire

I was very sorry to get the news this evening that Yves Lambert, Domaine de Saint-Just (Saumur and Saumur-Champigny) died of cancer yesterday.

Sadly I'm not entirely surprised as I was shocked to see Yves at this year's Salon des Vins de Loire – he was very thin, gaunt and clearly unwell. Yves explained that he had had cancer but that it was stable and he was improving.

I will remember Yves both as a fine producer of Saumur and Saumur-Champigny at Domaine de Saint-Just and as a generous and intelligent man with great warmth and energy. He was in at the beginning of a new adventure with vineayrds of Château de Brèze, which he and Arnaud, his son, took over running in 2009.

Les Obsèques se tiendront lundi 4 juillet à 15h00 à l'église de Saint Cyr en Bourg (49260).

My sincere condolences to Yves' family.

Château de Brèze

See here for a report on a visit to Yves and Arnaud in June 2009.

2005 La Grande Tablée

Les Grandes Tablées du Saumur-Champigny:

10th anniversary

Les vignerons vont une nouvelle fois investir le centre de Saumur pour deux soirées début Août.
Gastronomie de terroir, découverte du Saumur Champigny, musique et bonne humeur sont au programme les Mercredi 3 et Jeudi 4 Août. Près de 10000 personnes sont attendues dans les rues de Saumur à partir de 19h jusqu’à la nuit.

10 ans et toujours pas l’ombre d’une ride. Touristes de passage ou Saumurois, les grandes tablées ne cessent de charmer. Les viticulteurs de Saumur Champigny arroseront leur anniversaire le 3 et 4 août prochain à Saumur. Une édition qui risque de ne pas passer inaperçu. Au programme : gastronomie, dégustation de vins, musique et ambiance festive sur les bords de Loire.

Ces dix ans des Grandes Tablées promettent d’être l’incontournable cet été en Val de Loire. Les vignerons du Saumur Champigny vont investir une nouvelle fois le centre de Saumur pour 2 soirées début août. Plusieurs milliers de personnes flâneront entre Loire et Saumur historique et 3000 personnes seront attablées chaque soir en plein cœur de la ville pour déguster le menu « terroir » confectionné de produits locaux. Le succès est tel que chaque année, les repas affichent complets 15 jours avant la date de la manifestation. Pour obtenir une place, les convives devront réservés à l’avance à l’Office de tourisme. Il faut dire que l’affaire est bonne, Pour seulement 10 euros : un verre gravé, un menu du terroir et du Saumur Champigny à discrétion comme cela se dit dans la région.

En plus de devenir le plus grand restaurant du monde durant ces deux soirées estivales, Saumur se transformera en mini festival.

Informations et réservation

Dates : Mercredi 3 et jeudi 4 août 2011 - à partir de 19h30
Attention les tickets sont datées du jours de la soirée et ne sont en aucune façon interchangeables
Tarifs : Repas + verre de dégustation 10 € - verre de dégustation seul 4 €

Réservation ouverte

Office de Tourisme du Saumurois
Place de la Bilange
B.P 241
49418 Saumur Cedex

Attention la manifestation affiche généralement complet 15 jours avant la date.
Contact: 02 41 40 20 60

More details here.

•••

Promenades biodiversité

Promenade - découverte de la biodiversité

Les vignerons de l'appellation plantent des haies au bord des parcelles de vignes pour acueillir la biodiversité. Cette promenade vous emmène à travers le vignoble pour découvrir le paysage viticole, la vigne, les plantes et les insectes bénéfiques.

18 juillet 2011 - Dampierre sur Loire

Départ 9h15 - parking à l'entrée du Camping.

Circuit de 3h00 environ - 5km.

3 août 2011 - Dampierre sur Loire

Départ 9h15 - parking à l'entrée du Camping.

Circuit de 3h00 environ - 5km.

Informations et inscriptions

Tous âges - Gratuit.

Prévoir des chaussures de marche.

Pour toutes les randonnées le nombre de places est limité à 40 personnes.

Renseignements et inscriptions auprès de Marie-Anne SIMONNEAU au 02.41.51.16.40 ou au 06.28.34.40.22.

Ces promenades sont labellisées par le Parc naturel régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine.

•••

Foulées du Saumur-Champigny: le dimanche le 11 Séptembre

A votre guise, 8 kms, 16 kms ou 35 kms de courses dans le vignoble, entre vignes et domaines viticoles.

En 2011, le Saumur-Champigny allonge la foulée !

La 10ème édition proposera donc le dimanche 11 septembre, en plus des 2 distances traditionnelles de 8 et 17 kms qui sont maintenues, un nouveau circuit en course nature de 35 kms avec un dénivelé positif d'environ 400m.

+ de distance, + d'animations et + de sites remarquables à visiter.

Les déguisements seront fortement conseillés et les inscriptions se feront de préférence en ligne !

35 kms : 18 euros - 17 kms : 13 euros - 8 kms : 11 euros

Voici le nouveau et le seul n° de téléphone à contacter désormais : 06.06.425.488

Jean-Noel Hameau
CO des foulées du saumur champigny
13 rue du pont Gallimard
49 400 St Hilaire St Florent

Laissez votre message et vos coordonnées, nous vous rappellerons dès que possible.

More details here.

Gateway@Cos d'Estournel

Yesterday the price of the 2010 Cos d'Estournel was released and is now available en primeur from Farr Vintners@£2180 a case of 12 ex cellars, so duty and vat will be payable on them if you want to remove them from bond to drink once they are delivery in the first part of 2013. By the time vat and duty at the current rates are added the cost is £2642.06 per case.

In contrast I can buy a bottle of Jean-Pierre Chevallier's excellent 2009 Le Grand Clos Saumur Champigny Château de Villeneuve for 18€including taxes from the property in Souzay-Champigny. For the price of 12 bottles of 2010 Cos I can have 164 bottles of JP's Grand Clos. The lunatics continue to run the asylum!

Château de Villeneuve   

To be fair, of course, I could doubtless make similar comparisons between good value, well made wines in the Côtes de Bourg and elsewhere in Bordeaux.

Thierry tasting down in his cellar

Early last Friday morning Nigel and I headed off to Saumur with a first stop with Thierry Germain (Domaine des Roches Neuves) in Varrains. First off we tasted the 2010 whites where Thierry continues to look for freshness and minerality, very different in style from the rich whites he made when he first arrived in Saumur back in the early 1990s. Solitaire 2010 Saumur Blanc, the second wine has minerality and balance. Isolite 2010, which is vinified and aged in a mix of 12 hl foudres and 500/600 litre barrels, has more ripeness and weight than Solitaire, although the finish is quite austere.

Thierry demonstrating how the vines are curled into each other

Before we started tasting we had a quick look at the Cabernet Franc vines by the winery. Thierry explained that they now have a trellis system with five wires to maximise the leaf area, and so maximise photosynthesis. He explained that they no longer trim the tops of the vines as is common practice throughout most of France. Instead the vine shoots are curled into the foliage, which appears to top them growing.

Then onto the reds. Firstly the 2010 Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur-Champigny with its vivid, easy drinking primary fruit from a short maceration. This cuvée has been bottled, while the rest of the reds we tasted from barrel. The 2010 Franc de Pied from ungrafted vines has an attractively soft texture and very pure black fruit flavours.

We finished down in the Roches Neuves extensive and warren-like cellars where the still unbottled , richly opulent and complex 2009 Marginale was particularly impressive.

 Further cellar shots

•••

Château de Villeneuve

From Thierry Germain's Roches Neuves in Varrains we crossed from the south of the Saumur-Champigny appellation to the north that overlooks the Loire. To Jean-Pierre and Florent Chevallier's Château de Villeneuve in Souzay-Champigny. Jean-Pierre is a close friend of Thierry's and his wines continue to be among the top wines from the Loire, although JP's quality tends to get less media coverage than they deserve.

We started with the yet to be bottled rich and lemony 2010 Saumur Blanc with its pure and mineral finish. JP said that due to a hail storm on 2nd May they will only have a very small harvest of Chenin Blanc this year. The 2009 Les Cormiers, which was vinified and aged in 12 hls foudres, needs time with the wood still showing a little but it has a fine mineral tension in the finish.

The new spring cuvée, 2010 Clos de la bienboire, is exactly what it is designed to be – deliciously, fruity. 2010 is the first commercial release, although JP made some in 2008 and 2009 as an experiment. The wine has no added sulphur, so needs careful handling and most of it will be sold locally. The 2009  domaine Saumur-Champigny is quite closed and tight needing time, so enjoy the Clos why this comes round. In contrast the floral and elegant 2009 Vieilles Vignes is more open and accessible. We finished with the finely structured 2009 Le Grand Clos with its silky texture. Presently closed in comparison to the VV, this has greater potential. Now 18€ a bottle from the domaine, it remains a bargain particularly in relation to Bordeaux wines of similar quality.       

Although Villeneuve has been effectively organic for the last nine years, JP is now seeking certification so the domaine is now in its second year of formally converting to organic viticulture. Jean-Pierre talked about the improvements Saumur-Champigny over the past 20 years. How he had been ashamed of them in comparison to Bordeaux back in the early 1990s but that now was certainly not the case anymore. The days of picking unripe and adding sugar have gone for good producers. Jean-Pierre stopped chaptalising in 1993 and hasn't added sugar to any of his cuvées since then. 

He spoke also of the influence on him of Charles Joguet, especially the wines from 1989 and 1990, which had convinced him of what was possible here.     

The church of Souzay-Champigny close to Villeneuve 

Chinon to follow separately tomorrow.

Château de Villeneuve released this new easy-drinking cuvée in time for Easter. Le Clos de Bienboire is a 1.5 ha vineyard, which Jean-Pierre Chevallier vinified separately this year for early release. Over the last few years even the straight Villeneuve domaine wine was being released later every year. The 2009 wasn't released until early 2011, so there was a need to return to a cuvée printemps style – juicy with the accent very much on the fruit. The 2010 Bienboire certainly meets that objective and is deliciously, soft easy drinking. Best served lightly chilled during the summer.

Bienboire is very much in the style of Audace from Les Champs Fleuris, except JP has yet to opt for a screwcap! See post here.

2010 Audace, Saumur-Champigny, Domaine Champs Fleuris

We took advantage of an invitation to the the Journées Nationales du Livre et du Vin, which has been held every year since 1996 at Bouvet-Ladubay, to drop in on the Portes Ouvertes at Domaine des Champs Fleuris in Turquant — a most welcoming and well-organised event. The estate has 34 hectares of vines – 30 Cabernet Franc and 4 Chenin Blanc. It is run by Patrice and Catherine Retif and Denis Rétiveau.

Patrice Retif

We started with the youthful, floral and easy drinking 2010 Domaine Saumur Blanc before trying the more complex 2008 Les Damoiselles Saumur Blanc. Les Damoiselles is vinified and aged in 400 litre barrels. This 2008 has a good balance of fruit and minerality with some oak spice and vanilla still present. Shows once more what an attractive vintage 2008 is in the Loire for dry whites. We also tried the recently bottled 2009, which is richer but a bit ungainly and tight in the finish – suffering from its recent bottling but just a question of giving it a few months in bottle.

Their 2010 Cabernet de Saumur is a very agreeable summer rosé with red cherry fruit. At 13.5% the alcohol is quite high, so although it is balanced too many glasses might induce a substantial siesta.

The reds (Saumur-Champigny) started with the screwtopped 2010 Audace, easy drinking and designed to be drunk young. Audace has a short maceration of just five days and then is bottled young. It has good fruit with sooty and green pepper overtones. 2008 was the first vintage. They missed 2009 and have now brought out the 2010.

Next up was the more substantial 2010 Les Trufolies (14-15 days of maceration) with attractive riper fruit and naturally more structure and tannins. Needs a little more time. As does the 2010 Vieilles Vignes, which has already been bottled as the domaine has virtually run out of wine. The VV has ripe plum and black fruits and quite marked tannins in the finish, which need to be left to round out.

Next a step back in time with the 2002 Les Rotissants, one of my favourite wines of the tasting. Now nicely evolved, mature fruit and showing all the balance of fruit, structure and acidity that one associates with 2002. The Rotissants vineyard is in the neighbouring commune of Montsoreau.

We continued with the fine 2008 Les Roches, which is the best plot on the Rotissants vineyard. Les Roches is aged in 100% new oak. Despite this the 2008 is not overoaked, although there is a touch of wood spice along with the concentrated red and black fruits.

We had a Crémant interlude trying the Rosé and then the white, which has zero dosage. Both are clean and easy to drink – unfortunately I just find Vouvray or Montlouis, especially when they are pétillant, more interesting. The 2007 Cuvée Sarah Coteaux du Saumur with its rhubarb and citric fruit – orange and tangerine – is a lovely balance of sweetness and clean, precise acidity and is everything that makes 2007 such a good sweet vintage.

The entrance to the cave

La cave

It was relatively quiet when we arrived but the courtyard soon filled up

This coming weekend (7th–8th May) the domaine has another Portes Ouvertes.

Fredrik  Filliatreau

Gremlins appear to have got into my article on the 2009 Loire Vintage in this month's Decanter where I allege that wines from Domaine Filliatreau are not available in the UK. Even I know this is nonsense and wasn't as far as I can see in my submitted copy, so it must have been affected by its passage thru the ether.

Yesterday afternoon I received this  email from an understandably slightly miffed Jason Yapp of Yapp Brothers:

'Great to see the Domaine Filliatreau Saumur Champigny 2009 in the latest edition of Decanter but it’s disappointing to see it being listed as unavailable in the UK.

'We’ve been shipping it in every single vintage for over 30 years & have plentiful stocks of the 2009!'

A tanned looking Christophe Surget, export manager for Couly-Dutheil, with 2005 Clos de l'Olive

Tuesday was the annual Thorman Hunt tasting held in the traditional surroundings of the Merchant Taylors Hall in the City of London. Entirely appropriate surroundings for the traditional values Thorman Hunt & Co Ltd, who concentrate chiefly on shipping French wines, although they do bring in some from Italy and a few from New Zealand, California, Australia as well as Massaya in the Lebanon's Bekaa Valley – partly French owned of course. There is nothing flashy about the company but they do have some excellent names in their portfolio such as Alain Brumont (Madiran/ Pacherenc), Charles Hours (Jurançon), Yves Cuilleron (nothern Rhône), Vincent Girardin (Meursault), Vincent Durreuil-Janthial (Rully), Jean Durup, and Christian Moreau from Chablis.

With best part of 450 wines available to taste and arriving later than I hoped, I only had time to concentrate on the Loires starting with Joseph Drouard's Muscadets (Domaine des Hauts Pemions in Monnières). The 2009 seemed quite lean and minerally at the moment, while his 2010 Muscadet La Hallopière was attractively youthful – floral and lemony.  

2005 Clos de l'Olive

Next a short range from Couly-Dutheil, presented by a tanned looking Christophe Surget – a few days recently in Martinique or was it the position of my flash that gave him such a healthy glow? Amongst the wines the 2010 Blanc de Francs (white made from Cabernet Franc) was showing well as was the 2009 La Baronnie-Madeleine (Chinon) with its sweet opulent fruit. The 2008 Clos de l'Echo and the 2005 Clos de l'Olive showed the contrast of the two vintages. The 2005 with rich, sweet, ripe fruit reflecting the sunshine of 2005, while the 2008 Echo, admittedly three years younger, a more classic Loire expression perhaps and quite tight and austere at the moment and, as one would expect, clearly needs more time in the cellar.

2008 Les Cormiers

Jean-Pierre Chevallier's Les Cormiers, Saumur Blanc, Château de Villeneuve is always a reference for Loire Chenin. The 2008 is wonderfully clean and precise with weight balanced by its minerality. Can be drunk now but I expect it to take on further complexity with age. J-P's 2009 Saumur-Champigny has only recently been released. It is still quite tight – needing more time, so instead look for his 2008, which is drinking beautifully at the moment.

Other wines to be covered in next post.     

Part of the view from the Decanter tasting room: chimney of Tate Modern and St Paul's

The biodynamic calendar is divided into four types of day – leaf, fruit, flower and root. Wine is believed to taste at its best on fruit days when it will be more expressive and less well on the other days.

Over the last two days I have been involved in a Decanter magazine tasting of Saumur red, Saumur Le Puy Notre Dame and Saumur-Champigny. Like the rest of the panel I was looking forward to tasting some lovely wines. Sadly many of the wines we tasted yesterday were very disappointing, closed up, tannic and lacking charm. Having tasted a number of delicious 2009s recently I was very surprised.

After the end of yesterday's tasting – we assessed between 30 and 35 wines, I went on to the Charles and Philippa Sydney's Loire tasting at the Royal Society of Arts. Here the whites, especially 2010 Muscadets and various 2010 Sauvignons were showing well. The reds, however, which included some wine that I had tasted very recently and liked were as dumb as the reds from Saumur in the Decanter tasting. This was confirmed by Charles Sydney who wondered where all their fruit had gone.

A plausible explanation arrived this morning as it was immediately obvious that many of the remaing wines were showing much more attractively today than yesterday. Tasting over we discovered that today was a fruit day. Whether this was the factor or there were other atmospheric changes or changes of pressure, etc, I'm not sure. However, the wines generally tasted better today. Did the wines change? Did we? Or did both change?

Elisabeth de Tigny-Mourot and Richard Desouche

Elisabeth is the daughter of Bernard de Tigny, the owner of Château de Chaintres. She has just recently started working for the château. 

Jérôme filming Antoine during the 2010 harvest 

Here is a short film made by Jérôme Paressant of the 2010 harvest@Antoine Sanzay in Varrains, near Saumur. Click here. 

2010 Cabernet Franc for Saumur-Champigny

 Elegantly attired picker: Mi-Pente, Domaine de la Butte

We did a quick sweep through Chinon, Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny yesterday to see how the 2010 Cabernet Francs are looking. We were lucky to have a glorious autumn day with temperatures up to 25 – a considerable relief after miserable weather from Monday to Wednesday.

My overall impression is that the reds have held up a lot better to the rains of late September than the Chenin has in Montlouis and Vouvray, although there are worries that it is starting to get a hold. Some growers fear that it will spread quickly especially with the warm weather. However, the grapes we saw yesterday whether on the vines or just picked look healthy and tasted ripe. It is likely that there will be variations in ripeness depending on type of soil, cultivation and the amount of grapes.

Cabernet Franc: Mi-Pente, Domaine de la Butte, Bourgueil

Separate reports to follow on Chinon, Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, and Saumur-Champigny.