A palette of wine from Lucien Crochet being loaded in the centre of Bué

Some empties: Sancerre and a Champagne bottle

Part of the centre of Bué


Eau non potable (not drinking water)

Statue

Jean-Christophe Bourgeois (Henri Bourgeois, Chavignol)

Bertrand Minchin, La Tour Saint Martin – Menetou-Salon and Valençay

2008 Valençay Sébastien Vaillant (Colchester Wine Company £9.50 mixed case or £10.55 a bottle)

I can find little information about Sébastien Vaillant*. A Google search suggests that he may be Claude Lafond's (Reuilly and Valençay) oenologue but the specified site no longer exists and a new version of Claude's site is now under construction. Any further information about M.Vaillant would be gratefully received.

Sébastien Vaillant (tasting Liberty Wines, London 19.1.2010)

Anyway this 2008 is bottled at Le Cave de Valençay at Fontguenand (http://www.cave-valencay.com/) a few miles north of Valençay. It is a blend of 80% Sauvignon and 20% Chardonnay – the legislation for the Valençay appellation obliges producers to add a percentage of Chardonnay to their Sauvignon as pure Sauvignon is not allowed. Why? you might well ask. I suspect that this has more to do with wine politics than famously hallowed typicité. As you can see the label is modern – also the bottle is closed with a screwcap. The wine is clean and well-made with refreshing lemon and grapefruit characters and the addition of the Chardonnay rounds and fills out the palate. It has a citric and mineral finish. Good as an aperitif with fish, especially shellfish, and probably with a goats' cheese from Valençay, which comes in the form of a truncated pyramid.

* 24th January 2010: I'm told that it is Sébastien's brother who works for Claude Lafond in Reuilly. Sébastien trained with Jean Tatin (Domaine des Ballandors/Domaine de Tremblay) in Quincy before returning to Valançay. I gather that Sébastien, along with a friend called Damien, have resurrected the Valançay cooperative, which used to be a fairly large coop until it fell into disrepair. The coop now has just two members making it a serious candidate to be the smallest coop in France.   

Francis Jourdain – Touraine and Valençay
This is a 20 hectare estate based in Lye, which is a few kilometres east of Saint-Aignan and right at the eastern end of the Touraine appellation. There are eight hectares in AC Touraine and 12 in Valençay. The vineyards are grassed over except for some 15-30cms under the vines. They use native yeasts.

Of the three whites I tried I preferred the 2007 Les Terrajots Valençay – 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Chardonnay and 5% Sauvignon Rose. The vines are planted on soil called cherts, which is limestone and flint. The wine spends 6-8 months on its lees and has some attractive grapefruit weight and length with the Chardonnay giving some additional roundness. Their 2008 Touraine Sauvignon lacked a bit of zip and punch in the finish.

I liked the spicy and peppery 2008 Valençay Rosé with its crisp finish. It’s a blend of Cabernet Franc, Côt Gamay, Pinot Noir and Pineau d’Aunis. 50% is from pressurage direct (immediately pressed) and 50% saignée (juice run off from red wine vats).

The Jourdain reds tend to be rather rustic. I suspect that the fruit is good and that a little fine-tuning in the winery would make of them better. For me the spicy and weighty 2006 Touraine Côt was the best.

1 March 2009

This evening I opened a bottle of Jacky Preys et Fils Touraine Côt 2005 Cuvée Princière. Quite rustic and dusty but does have some Loire Côt (Malbec) character, a thread of acidity running through it and is quite attractive. However, it does not have the same concentration as the Côts from, for example, the Clos Roche Blanche, Domaine Sauvete or Jean-François Merieau (Bois Vaudons). I suspect that the yields are higher. The rather old fashioned label tells its own story.

Jacky Preys and his son Pascal are based in Meusnes to the east of Saint-Aignan at the eastern limit of the Touraine appellation. Over the past 40 years, Jacky Preys has built up the domaine, which now has 75 hectares – mostly in Touraine but some in AC Valençay. Over the years I have tasted Jacky’s wines and found them well made with his Sauvignon Gris (Cuvée de Fie Gris) often being the most interesting. Sauvignon Gris or Sauvignon Rosé is now a rare variety of Sauvignon. There are a few parcels of it in Sancerre, although it is not officially entitled to the appellation.

Right at the end on the Tuesday of the Salon des Vins de Loire I quickly tasted some of the domaine’s wines. The 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Les Pillotières (not bottled) was aromatic, quite rich with a hint of residual sugar remaining. The 2008 Cuvée de Fié Gris (not in bottle) had attractive gooseberry and grassy notes. Then I tried two reds: the easy drinking, juicy 2006 Pinot Noir Cuvée Royale AC and the spicy Valençay 2007, which is a blend of 40% Pinot Noir, 40% Gamay and 20% Côt.

I need to find time this year to go and visit the domaine.

Domaine Jacky Preys, 536 Rue Debussy, 41130 Meusnes
Tel: 02.54.71.00.34
Email: domainepreys@wanadoo,fr
Site: www.domainepreys.com