Les Maisons Brûlées: horse during the 2008 vintage
See the trailer here: http://www.laclefdesterroirs.com
Includes a few words from Thierry Germain (Domaine des Roches Neuves@Saumur)
Showing posts with label biodynamics. Show all posts
See the trailer here: http://www.laclefdesterroirs.com
Includes a few words from Thierry Germain (Domaine des Roches Neuves@Saumur)
The second and concluding part of Gary's interview with Nicolas Joly is now available:
During the course of the interview Nicolas is strong on philosophy and theory but is interestingly vague when asked some specific questions like who else owns part of the La Roche-aux-Moines and who else do you think is making good wine in Savennières. To be fair Gary Vaynerchuk tends to be too quick to interrupt. Nicolas manages to remember that Pierre Soulez used to own part of the Roche aux Moines but fails to mention his neighbour, Madame Laroche, who he once took to court over the use of the name Roche aux Moines. Nor does he mention Claude Papin, who also has vines there.
Well worth reading in conjunction with Gary and Nicolas' chat is wine doctor Chris Kissack's updated profile of La Coulée de Serrant. Chris gives careful consideration to the divided opinions over the perceived quality of the estate's wines and looks at the wine-making methods used. It would be interesting to see what the results would be if someone like Noël Pinguet or Jean-Pierre Chevallier were put in charge of wine-making at La Coulée.
Well worth reading in conjunction with Gary and Nicolas' chat is wine doctor Chris Kissack's updated profile of La Coulée de Serrant. Chris gives careful consideration to the divided opinions over the perceived quality of the estate's wines and looks at the wine-making methods used. It would be interesting to see what the results would be if someone like Noël Pinguet or Jean-Pierre Chevallier were put in charge of wine-making at La Coulée.
Nicolas with Ales Kristancic, remarkable maker of sparkling wine in Slovenia@St Johns, Smithfield, London for the Circle of Wine Writers annual dinner in 2006Gary Vaynerchukt (The Wine Connoisseur) interviews Nicolas Joly (on YouTube): 26 minute clip. Although I'm not sure that calling Nicolas a 'certifiable wine legend' was the happiest choice of words.
Confirmation this morning that Guy Bossard, one of Muscadet's top quality producers, has put his Domaine de l'Ecu up for sale. Guy is now in his late 50s and with no one from his family to take over has decided that it is time to sell. Two disastrously small harvests in 2007 and 2008 may have contributed to his decision. In 2007 Guy made 9 hl/ha due to mildew, while in 2008 frost reduced his crop to 17 hl/ha.
Domaine de l'Ecu has around 17 ha of vines and Guy was one of the first in the Loire to embrace biodynamics – converting in 1986.
Domaine de l'Ecu has around 17 ha of vines and Guy was one of the first in the Loire to embrace biodynamics – converting in 1986.
I hope that whoever takes over will work to maintain the high quality of Guy's wine and not trade on his reputation with inferior wine.
Sign with hill and town of Sancerre in the background8 October 2008
After seeing Alphonse Mellot snr and jnr in their cellars near Porte César, I walked westwards through the streets of old Sancerre until I got to the roundabout at the western end of the town. A couple of hundred metres on from there in the direction of Bourges is the headquarters of the substantial (55 ha) and long-established Domaine Fouassier, which for many years has been run by two brothers – Pierre and Jean-Michel.
Although they were all very busy, Benoît Fouassier, the son of Jean-Michel, had tine for a quick chat.
BF: “I’m happy with the quality. We started the Sauvignon Blanc on 30th September and the Pinot Noir the following day. We were hit by the hail – 15 of our 55 hectares were affected and here the crop has been reduced by 10%-15%. For the Sauvignon the average yields are 45-50 hl/ha with between 12.5˚-13˚ degrees. We pick all our Pinot Noir by hand and is coming in at between 12.5-13.5˚ degrees potential. The yield is 30-35 hl/ha compared to an average year of 45-50 hl/ha. We expect to finish the harvest sometime in the middle of next week – the level of maturity this year has been quite spread out.”
An invitation to taste and buy
I asked Benoît about their plans to go biodynamic. “We will be starting to convert 18 hectares next year and then the rest of the estate will follow soon afterwards.” With 55 ha this is a significant move bearing in mind that the Vacherons, amongst others, are already biodynamic. It looks like the new generation – Benoît and Paul, the son of Pierre
From the Pays Nantais through to the Central Vineyards the Loire is increasingly a centre of biodynamic viticulture. In addition there are also a lot of producers, who are organic and whose practices are close to biodynamics.
While we talked Pierre Fouassier appeared with Michael Ott, their UK agent in tow. Pierre had pressed Michael Ott, their UK agent here on his annual harvest visit, into service – helping out of the lorry. Before they departed for another bout of the lorries, I asked Pierre for a photo of Michael working on a lorry and I look forward to posting one the site soon. Jean-Michel also appeared briefly.
Construction of a tunnel from the tasting room
to a new reception area for groups
The domaine is involved in mesvignes (www.mesvignes.com) – a vine sharing scheme similar to 3d Wines or Andrew Gordon’s WineShare. “Last Saturday,” explained Benoît, “was the day that mesvignes’ customers can to pick their Pinot Noir. Unfortunately the overnight temperature had dropped to only 2˚. It was horrible conditions for picking!”
After seeing Alphonse Mellot snr and jnr in their cellars near Porte César, I walked westwards through the streets of old Sancerre until I got to the roundabout at the western end of the town. A couple of hundred metres on from there in the direction of Bourges is the headquarters of the substantial (55 ha) and long-established Domaine Fouassier, which for many years has been run by two brothers – Pierre and Jean-Michel.
Although they were all very busy, Benoît Fouassier, the son of Jean-Michel, had tine for a quick chat.
BF: “I’m happy with the quality. We started the Sauvignon Blanc on 30th September and the Pinot Noir the following day. We were hit by the hail – 15 of our 55 hectares were affected and here the crop has been reduced by 10%-15%. For the Sauvignon the average yields are 45-50 hl/ha with between 12.5˚-13˚ degrees. We pick all our Pinot Noir by hand and is coming in at between 12.5-13.5˚ degrees potential. The yield is 30-35 hl/ha compared to an average year of 45-50 hl/ha. We expect to finish the harvest sometime in the middle of next week – the level of maturity this year has been quite spread out.”
An invitation to taste and buyI asked Benoît about their plans to go biodynamic. “We will be starting to convert 18 hectares next year and then the rest of the estate will follow soon afterwards.” With 55 ha this is a significant move bearing in mind that the Vacherons, amongst others, are already biodynamic. It looks like the new generation – Benoît and Paul, the son of Pierre
From the Pays Nantais through to the Central Vineyards the Loire is increasingly a centre of biodynamic viticulture. In addition there are also a lot of producers, who are organic and whose practices are close to biodynamics.
While we talked Pierre Fouassier appeared with Michael Ott, their UK agent in tow. Pierre had pressed Michael Ott, their UK agent here on his annual harvest visit, into service – helping out of the lorry. Before they departed for another bout of the lorries, I asked Pierre for a photo of Michael working on a lorry and I look forward to posting one the site soon. Jean-Michel also appeared briefly.
Construction of a tunnel from the tasting room to a new reception area for groups
The domaine is involved in mesvignes (www.mesvignes.com) – a vine sharing scheme similar to 3d Wines or Andrew Gordon’s WineShare. “Last Saturday,” explained Benoît, “was the day that mesvignes’ customers can to pick their Pinot Noir. Unfortunately the overnight temperature had dropped to only 2˚. It was horrible conditions for picking!”
Jean-Michel and Pierre Fouassier(12 August 2008)
Given that the Loire is towards the limits of successful grape growing and that the climate can be decidedly variable, I’m always surprised and impressed that so many Loire producers are either organic or biodynamic or a mix of the two.
After our visit to the Gralls we stumbled upon one the latest organic/biodynamic converts: Domaine Fouassier, who have just opened a smart and stylish new shop in the centre of Sancerre. I gather that they are starting to convert some 18 of their 50 hectares. Jean-Michel Fouassier was in charge of the shop so we took the opportunity to quickly taste a number of the Fouassier wines.
Domaine Fouassier, 180 Avenue de Verdun, 18300 Sancerre. Tel: 020.48.54.02.34
Email: contact@fouassier.fr
Web: www.fouassier.fr
Given that the Loire is towards the limits of successful grape growing and that the climate can be decidedly variable, I’m always surprised and impressed that so many Loire producers are either organic or biodynamic or a mix of the two.
After our visit to the Gralls we stumbled upon one the latest organic/biodynamic converts: Domaine Fouassier, who have just opened a smart and stylish new shop in the centre of Sancerre. I gather that they are starting to convert some 18 of their 50 hectares. Jean-Michel Fouassier was in charge of the shop so we took the opportunity to quickly taste a number of the Fouassier wines.
Domaine Fouassier, 180 Avenue de Verdun, 18300 Sancerre. Tel: 020.48.54.02.34
Email: contact@fouassier.fr
Web: www.fouassier.fr
To be continued
Jean-Laurent Vacheron: biodynamic vine cuddles!
(13 August 2008)
We spent our last morning in Sancerre with the Vacherons – Jean-Louis and son Jean-Dominique, Denis and son Jean-Laurent. I’m not sure why it isn’t Jean-Denis perhaps his parents decided that if everyone was called Jean it would be confusing but it does break the symmetry. Reminds me of when I was teaching in South London and, when arranging the classes, I put all the Jasons, then a popular first name, in the same class. Simplified matters as a call of “Jason!” covered nearly a third of the class ... but onto more important matters.
The Vacherons are a close-knit family and are amongst the leaders of the appellation. Quality has long been high but the younger generation, Jean-Dominique and Jean-Laurent, are taking the wines to new heights. In 1997 they started to convert the now 40 ha estate to biodynamics. This coincided with Jean-Laurent’s return from working for six months in Australia after having been in California for three years. Jean-Laurent was clearly busy in Australia as he spent time at a number of wineries including Plantagent (Western Australia), Bannockburn and De Bortoli (both Victoria) and Tatachilla (South Australia). Sarah and I started our morning visiting some of the vineyards with him.
New vineyard below Château de Sancerre Most of the Vacheron vineyards, 40 parcels in all, are close to Sancerre. Indeed a circular tour around the conical hill of Sancerre covers many of them. We made a number of stops including La Belle Dame, Les Romains and a newish vineyard on the north east side of the hill of Sancerre, below the Château de Sancerre, planted four years ago, using selection masal vines. “The masal vines gives both us more sugar and acidity,” Jean-Laurent explained. The new plantings are at 9000 vines per hectare and we now use a cordon pruning system rather than the more customary Guyot. “We prefer the cordon because it reduces the amount of fruit and gives us smaller bunches,” Jean-Laurent explained. “The Guyot system can produce very high yields.”
Across to FontenayWe visited the Vacheron’s compost and spray preparation plant. Natural composts and sprays are a central part of biodynamics. The Vacherons make enough for their own use as well as supplying others. “I like Noël Pinguet’s (Domaine Huet in Vouvray) pragmatic approach to biodynamics – using it because it works.," said Jean-Laurent. The sprays are dynamised before use. Stirring them up introduces oxygen, so increasing the amount of bacteria which makes the treatement much more effective.” Like most biodynamic producers I have visited recently they use a machine – like a large mixing bowl – for dynamisation. However, in the early 1990s I remember visiting a producer in Cahors who used a large wooden pole to dynamise – decidedly hard work, especially if you have to stir for 20 minutes or more!
While we were at the plant Jean-Laurent showed us a new device on one of their tractors that significantly improves the fuel efficiency. Details on: www.hypnow.fr
Rue des Puits Poulton, Sancerre Vineyards visited it was back to the labyrinthine Vacheron cellars in the old part of Sancerre with its narrow streets. We started with the reds. “We are now searching for more finesse and less tannin,” Jean-Dominique explained. “We are very careful over the selection of fruit and have ten people around the sorting table. I think we went for too much extraction in the past. We have reduced the amount of new oak barrels that we use and we have opted for 600 litre barrels. We are also lengthening the time before releasing the wines – La Belle Dame will not be released until 24 months after the vintage.
The Vacherons have 10.75 hectares of Pinot Noir in some 11-15 blocks. It was Grandfather Jean, the first of the family to move from polyculture to concentrate on wine, who provided the impetus to make Pinot Noir an important constituent of the domaine. Of the several unfinished reds we tasted the spicy 2006 La Belle Dame was the most impressive – currently showing finesse and balance.
The move to fermenting the whites in conical wooden vats has moved them up at least another notch emphasising the purity and precision of the fruit flavours. This shows in the both the 2007 Les Romains, made from only 25 hl/ha but not yet bottled, and in the lovely minerality of 2006. By this time it was lunch, so time for us all to repair to La Tour and taste some older vintages in comfort.
Lunch@La Tour
Sancerre has three very good restaurants – La Tour, Le Pomme d’Or in Sancerre itself and La Côte de Monts Damnés in Chavignol. Unfortunately I haven’t eaten at the Pomme d’Or for some long time as it always seems to be closed when I’m in Sancerre. It closes mid-week and is shut at the end of January and the beginning of November. But I do continue to get good reports on the Pomme. The cheapest menu at all three is around €28 – offering very good value for money. As it is easy to eat badly in cheaper restaurants around Sancerre for around €22, I think it well worth spending the extra €5-€6 for a much better meal and much better value as you get all the usual additional mise-en-bouches, etc.
Centre of Sancerre looking towards Porte César.
La Tour is just to right of Lotto shop
La Tour is now run by Baptiste Fournier, who has largely taken over from his father Daniel. Under Daniel the restaurant was rather up and down. Now it is more consistent and over the past couple of years I have had some very good meals there. Happily our lunch, which included delicate oeufs poches avec girolles and perfectly cooked turbot with ginger and green vegetables, was excellent.
We were treated to a range of vintages. From Les Romains – the rich 2000, which suffered a bit in comparison to the racy 2006, the 2003 showing the richness typical of that heat wave year but with a good fresh finish, which is less usual, and ending with the wonderfully pure and precise 2004. With the reds we started with the 2006 Domaine with delicious Pinot Noir fruit. Then a series of La Belle Dame starting with the silky 1996 – proof that these reds benefit from ageing. 1996 was the last year the Vacherons did the malolactic in tank before the wine was transferred to barrel. From 1997 onwards the malo has been in barrel. Then to the smoky, richly fruited 1999 with still some wood notes – 100% new oak was used in this vintage. The 2002 is quite rich but needs time to open, while the silky textured has quite marked tannins, which need time to soften.
Denis Vacheron has a wonderfully dry and wicked sense of humour. Over lunch he made two very funny observations. The first featured vintages of the century. These, Denis explained, are announced if in late July it is hot and sunny in Burgundy when Parisian journalists pass through on their way to spending August on the Côte d’Azur and if the weather is equally good in Burgundy on their return to Paris. The serious point being that as far as the Loire is concerned it is September, which is crucial in determining the quality of the vintage. “Increasingly I think it is the first fifteen days of September that make all the difference,” said Jean-Dominique. In Bordeaux it is August that is the month that counts.
Denis then showed how statistics lie. “A man has his feet in a freezer and his head in a micro-wave. The statistical average shows that he is relaxed and comfortable but actually he is dead!”
After a great visit with the Vacherons Sarah and I headed back to Touraine via the vines of Quincy and Reuilly. Reaching Touraine in time to enjoy a glass or so of the Huet's Le Bourg demi-sec 1996.
Domaine Vacheron, Rue du Puits Poulton, 18300 Sancerre.
Tel: 02.48.54.09.93
Email: vacheron.sa@wanadoo.fr
Restaurant La Tour, 31 Nouvelle Place, 18300 Sancerre
Tel: 02.48.54.00.81
Email: info@la-tour-sancerre.fr
Web: www.la-tour-sancerre.fr
The Vacherons have 10.75 hectares of Pinot Noir in some 11-15 blocks. It was Grandfather Jean, the first of the family to move from polyculture to concentrate on wine, who provided the impetus to make Pinot Noir an important constituent of the domaine. Of the several unfinished reds we tasted the spicy 2006 La Belle Dame was the most impressive – currently showing finesse and balance.
The move to fermenting the whites in conical wooden vats has moved them up at least another notch emphasising the purity and precision of the fruit flavours. This shows in the both the 2007 Les Romains, made from only 25 hl/ha but not yet bottled, and in the lovely minerality of 2006. By this time it was lunch, so time for us all to repair to La Tour and taste some older vintages in comfort.
Lunch@La Tour
Sancerre has three very good restaurants – La Tour, Le Pomme d’Or in Sancerre itself and La Côte de Monts Damnés in Chavignol. Unfortunately I haven’t eaten at the Pomme d’Or for some long time as it always seems to be closed when I’m in Sancerre. It closes mid-week and is shut at the end of January and the beginning of November. But I do continue to get good reports on the Pomme. The cheapest menu at all three is around €28 – offering very good value for money. As it is easy to eat badly in cheaper restaurants around Sancerre for around €22, I think it well worth spending the extra €5-€6 for a much better meal and much better value as you get all the usual additional mise-en-bouches, etc.
Centre of Sancerre looking towards Porte César. La Tour is just to right of Lotto shop
La Tour is now run by Baptiste Fournier, who has largely taken over from his father Daniel. Under Daniel the restaurant was rather up and down. Now it is more consistent and over the past couple of years I have had some very good meals there. Happily our lunch, which included delicate oeufs poches avec girolles and perfectly cooked turbot with ginger and green vegetables, was excellent.
We were treated to a range of vintages. From Les Romains – the rich 2000, which suffered a bit in comparison to the racy 2006, the 2003 showing the richness typical of that heat wave year but with a good fresh finish, which is less usual, and ending with the wonderfully pure and precise 2004. With the reds we started with the 2006 Domaine with delicious Pinot Noir fruit. Then a series of La Belle Dame starting with the silky 1996 – proof that these reds benefit from ageing. 1996 was the last year the Vacherons did the malolactic in tank before the wine was transferred to barrel. From 1997 onwards the malo has been in barrel. Then to the smoky, richly fruited 1999 with still some wood notes – 100% new oak was used in this vintage. The 2002 is quite rich but needs time to open, while the silky textured has quite marked tannins, which need time to soften.
Denis Vacheron has a wonderfully dry and wicked sense of humour. Over lunch he made two very funny observations. The first featured vintages of the century. These, Denis explained, are announced if in late July it is hot and sunny in Burgundy when Parisian journalists pass through on their way to spending August on the Côte d’Azur and if the weather is equally good in Burgundy on their return to Paris. The serious point being that as far as the Loire is concerned it is September, which is crucial in determining the quality of the vintage. “Increasingly I think it is the first fifteen days of September that make all the difference,” said Jean-Dominique. In Bordeaux it is August that is the month that counts.
Denis then showed how statistics lie. “A man has his feet in a freezer and his head in a micro-wave. The statistical average shows that he is relaxed and comfortable but actually he is dead!”
After a great visit with the Vacherons Sarah and I headed back to Touraine via the vines of Quincy and Reuilly. Reaching Touraine in time to enjoy a glass or so of the Huet's Le Bourg demi-sec 1996.
Domaine Vacheron, Rue du Puits Poulton, 18300 Sancerre.
Tel: 02.48.54.09.93
Email: vacheron.sa@wanadoo.fr
Restaurant La Tour, 31 Nouvelle Place, 18300 Sancerre
Tel: 02.48.54.00.81
Email: info@la-tour-sancerre.fr
Web: www.la-tour-sancerre.fr
