Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
Loire Part 3: Amboise, Idaho
On our way to Amboise, we stopped by Uss, the Sleeping Beauty chateau.
Several rooms contain quaint dioramas.
Our third hotel (Le Fleuray, in Cangey, near Amboise) belongs to a British family, so it was a relief to slip from the double negatives of French (je ne sais pas) to the more familiar elliptical negatives of Albion (I fear wed rather not). Lovely place, in beautiful countryside, well-kept, no stairs to climb, only manicured grasses to avoid. Without further ado, we sped off to Domaine Franois Pinon, where we were greeted by an extremely photogenic barrel.
No Secs Please, Were Pinon
The signs were auspicious. Franois speaks very clear French, the scent of lavender was in the air, and the figs scattered around his trees were remarkably succulent. SFJoe wrote about some of the wines we were about to taste in his 2010 Dive report, and I was most keen to try the unusually high acid 2008 Moelleux. I told Franois, hoping to garner brownie points, that Coads famous description of his visit has become, well, famous. I started my census by asking him whether he included botrytized grapes in the mix. With the donnish patience of one resigned to repetition, Franois told us that he has less need to avoid botrytized material because clay-silex (prevalent in his neck of the forests) generates wines with higher acidity than Vouvrays clay-limestone. On the subject of Vouvray, I confessed (he does look a little priestly) that I had been a bit disappointed with our visit to Huet, and he replied, possibly by way of explanation, that back in the day when temperatures were cooler, Chenin had a harder time maturing adequately on his clay-silex, and things were just right for the folks over in Vouvray. These days, however, thanks to global warming, multiculturalism and political correctness (OK, not the last two), it is becoming harder for clay-limestone to impart sufficient acidity, while clay-silex is hitting the acid spot. In addition to soil differences (there are also different kinds of limestone), Pinons vineyards are further from the Loire than, say, Huets, and the cooler microclimate tends to add an extra percentage point of acidity.
Pinon tries to pick at 13.5-14.0% potential alcohol. He looks for balance between not too much alcohol and not too little sweetness, or balance without alcohol. He says that, because of the acidity generated by his soils, he considers demi-sec to be the ideal expression of his wines (I believe he was only comparing demi-sec to sec, not to the sweeter cuves). When I suggested that the clay-silex wines that we were tasting seemed more closed than their clay-limestone brothers, he said that silex produces wines that are less aromatic than clay-limestone, and therefore need more time to open up. Riffing on the soil duality, he added that vines planted on silex have to be harvested earlier because such soils retain more heat, and water percolates through them faster. (As I write, I suspect a potential contradiction between silex generating higher acidity when it has to be harvested earlier, but there must be many other factors at play.) Malolactics usually dont take place at Pinon. Before bottling, he uses pauvre (0.65 microns) sterile filtration to eliminate yeasts (0.8 microns). Filtering allows the same amount (17/20 g/ml) of SO2 to be added to both moelleux and demi-secs.
Fraternit
2009 Sec 13.0%
Very little made, by choice (Pinon prefers demi-secs). Muted nose, citrus, minerals and white flowers. More acid than sweet, the acid tasting very citric. Appealing texture and weight. Contains less botrytis than demi-sec.
2009 Silex Noir Demi Sec 13.4%
Bottled April. Same nose as preceding, but more expressive. Balanced, good weight, bitter finish. Picked 10 days later, so riper, and contains more botrytis.
2008 Silex Noir Demi Sec 13.3%
Muted nose, more honey. Lovely mouth feel, perfect balance and light final bitterness. More structured than 09, but that may reflect the extra year in bottle.
2008 Les Trois Argiles Demi Sec 13.3%
Same cuve as Tradition in the U.S. More perfumed nose, delicate, almost sublime. More weight, more sweetness, less bitterness. Less botrytis.
2009 Les Trois Argiles Demi Sec 13.7%
Bottled September 8. Closed, but what does show is refined. Ideal balance and weight. Pleasant acidity. Excellent.
2006 Tradition Demi Sec 12.2%
2/3 clay, 1/3 silex. Closed. Nice weight, good balance, despite the lower acidity. Long finish. From 2007 onwards, the Tradition became 100% clay-limestone based.
2008 Moelleux 11.3%
74 g rs. With a whopping 7.1 gr/l acidity (normal closer to 4.0). Discreet peach aroma. Terrific mouth acid/sweet balance. Finally, a dessert wine with natural kick-ass acidity. Pinon says that 2008 was, like 1988 and 1993, paradoxically warm and high acid. September was cool, so acidity remained high. October remained cool, so harvest came late. There was no rain, so grape sugars concentrated.
2003 Moelleux 12.3%
Honey and mineral aromas. Lower acidity somewhat compensated by lower sugar (53 gr/l). Tastes light. Fine aperitif.
2005 Cuve Botrytis Licquoreux 10.7%
100% botrytis. Peach and white flowers. Marvelous, with perfect acid/sweet balance. Wow, what a way to end.
On leaving, I asked Pinon why he didnt make wine from his amazingly delicious figs. Poor man, the things he has to hear.
Feeling overly peripatetic, that night we took advantage of our hotel restaurants good reputation and gave Amlia a rest.
I had decided not to visit Aubusires, notwithstanding Schildknechts high regard, because most cuves are aged in stainless steel. But the presence of one on the hotel wine list menu gave us an opportunity to explore.
2009 Domaine des Aubusires Vouvray Silex 13.0%
Closed, with some minerality. Off-dry, rich and powerful, a bit more sweet than acid. Fine and pure, though perhaps a little lacking in soul. Marcia sneezed a few times afterwards, usually a sign of higher than usual SO2.
2003 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses 13.0%
From half bottle. Closed, with some cherry aroma. Attractive mouth feel, with grilled meat, smoke and forest floor notes. Definitely not too ripe, with good acidity and appealing tannins. Nice.
Tuesday, October 19
So Long Sologne
With some difficulty and luck - the property has no formal address and the man has little interest in being found - we managed to locate Claude Courtoiss Les Cailloux du Paradis. We came recommended by a good Brazilian winemaker who is a mutual friend, and Claude immediately said we had to stay for lunch. A bear of a man, with a short, bushy beard, short graying hair and fists the size of bricks, he looked more like a lumberjack than the hippie I had envisioned. First, he asked us to accompany him to the edge of the vineyard, where his shy but winsome younger son tienne was waiting. There, he gave instructions to a man who had entered the property driving an excavator a few seconds before us. Apologizing for the distraction, Claude explained that he was building a separate winery for tienne because the government wouldnt recognize tiennes domaine unless the physical facilities were distinct. When the excavator began to gash the earth, Claude picked up a chunk of the yellow limestone soil to show us.
Claude operates under the forfataire system that allows him to pay a flat annual tax but limits his operating size (but not his total size, if I understood correctly) to 4 hectares. tienne has another 4 hectares, and his oldest son Julien also has 4. I asked him why he didnt transition into the category in which he could cultivate more than 12 hectares, and he replied that, if he did so, he would be forced to make more and more money every year or go bankrupt. This instance of the general law of capitalist accumulation struck me as odd, but attempts to obtain a more precise explanation only generated semi-exasperated images of downward spirals, so I let the matter rest (later, another winemaker said that, after discounting for linguistic excess, the non-forfataire framework does make it fiscally difficult to remain small).
It was pretty cold, but of course we said yes, we want to see the vines. Off we went, row upon row, Claude naming several of the more than 40 varieties he plants. Among them, less common names like Gascon and Csar (brought to France by Roman legionnaires, hence the name) and others I had never heard of (of these, I only remember Savonnires, or something like that). Most shocking, get ready for this, were vines of Nebbiolo and Barbera. Remember, you read it here first. And, shhh, please dont tell the AOC. Plus four different kinds of Gamay. Wonders never ceased.
The harvest was done, yet the vines still had the occasional bunch of grapes looking forgotten. These were secondary flowerings, said Claude, and are not used to make wine. He gave us some to try. Delicious. As Claude and I walked ahead, Marcia followed a few steps behind, contentedly munching on bunch after bunch of secondaries.
Most of the vines were massale, but when Claude showed us his very first plantings, he said these are clonale because at the time I didnt know any better. When he plants new vines, he says he feeds them once; after that, they are on their own. Much of the property is not cultivated, and Claude says that its important to leave parts of it fallow for future rotation because it takes 25 years for vine land to fully recover.
During the walk, Claude said that he is giving tienne and Julien a helping hand in the cellar, but they are already making very good wine on their own. He is beginning to grow tired, having worked since the age of 13, without ever taking a vacation. He travels poorly, speaks no other language, and is totally at a loss at an airport. So a chaperone is always required, making the proposition more expensive. He says he is totally incapable of handling a computer or accessing the internet. When I mentioned that at least he has a website, he said that it wasnt his. It was put up by fans, and the family had nothing to do with it.
When criticizing anyone, from Sarkozy to mediatique winemakers who never get their hands dirty, Claude would always stress their fake diplomas or lack of schooling, something he seemed particularly sensitive to. He believes it impossible for a winemaker to handle more than 4 hectares by himself, so anybody who works more than that cannot truly say that he works the land, being closer to a wine entrepreneur.
As we walked, Claudes deep connection with the surrounding land was everywhere evident. He was proud of the wild flowers that chose to grow at a certain spot, as if recognizing how special it was, and attracting swarms of bees. He showed us hare and rabbit droppings, saying they were signs of a vibrant ecosystem. He seemed impatient with the word biodynamics, calling it the magic marketing word in Paris wine bars. Everything seemed to be about achieving a personally unique intimacy with the land, impossible if you have too much of it or follow a system. He seemed proud of his non-conformist status, though one could sense the hurt behind the shield. If he feels rejected by many of his countrymen, there is some consolation to be found in overseas acclaim. His Japanese importer comes twice a year and, if he would only let her, would absorb 100% of his production.
When we returned from the walk it was time to step into one of the cellars and taste from Claudes barrels.
2009 Quartz barrel sample
95% sauvignon blanc, 5% menu pineau. White flower nose. Great acidity and balance, good weight, lovely promise. When I say how much I appreciate the high acidity, Courtois corrects me, saying that the acidity is actually low, its the minerality that gives a similar impression.
2009 Racines (blanc) barrel sample
Blend of 10 varieties, crushed together. Closed. Tastes curiously tropical, with a strong banana flavor. Odd.
2009 Chardonnay barrel sample
From vines planted in 2006. Fifth use barrels. Butter and wool. Excellent balance, fresh and substantial, excellent raw material.
2009 Pinot Noir barrel sample
Only 60 cases will be made. Rich raspberry, suave & sauvage. Lovely, juicy, balanced.
2009 Racines (rouge) barrel sample
Complex nose, animal, bramble, forest floor, fruity berry. Great vintage for this, says Courtois, should keep well for 20/30 years.
2010 Pinot Noir barrel tank sample
Put in barrels yesterday. Belle matire. Very promising.
2010 Quartz fermentation tank sample
Super rich, fruity nose. Good density.
2008 Magical Mystery barrel
We didnt taste this, but I found the purpose/concept fascinating, so call it a conceptual note. It contains an unspecified mix of very ripe grapes that are kept in 10Y wood and partially blended into the final Racines in order for it to become impossible to copy (inimitable). Oh, the joys of being a Vin de France.
We then moved to a different building, where we tasted from tiennes barrels, with Claude, tienne, and a winemaker friend of tiennes called Reynald Haul, who Claude described as one of his protgs.
2010 tienne Courtois Gascon barrel sample
Very rich. Spicy cherry. Acidic. Delicious. Will stay in barrel for 18 months.
2009 tienne Courtois Gascon barrel sample
Thick, delicious, round, very acidic, no tannins. Reminiscent of Barbera.
2009 tienne Courtois Romorantin barrel sample
Floral. Tremendous minerality, bright acidity.
2009 tienne Courtois Sauvignon Blanc barrel sample
Herbal. Great mouth weight, zippy acids, lovely. Will stay in barrel for 30 months.
2008 tienne Courtois Evidence (Menu Pineau) barrel sample
Tropical fruit. Very acid grape, must be picked late, otherwise too acidic.
2009 tienne Courtois Evidence (Menu Pineau) barrel sample
Reduced, but some white flowers and paraffin. Lovely minerality.
2009 tienne Courtois Cuve des Etourneaux barrel sample
100% Gamay. Reduced, with strawberry. Great acidity and minerality, lovely fruit.
2008 Racines barrel sample (not sure why this was in tiennes cellar)
Dense cherry and spice. Balanced, rich, complex. Lovely.
2007 Evidence (Menu Pineau) barrel sample
Last vintage made by Claude, after which it became Etiennes baby. Smells unpleasantly oxidative, but nobody says anything. As a way to delicately broach the subject, I asked him about oxidative v. oxidized and he pooh-poohed the difference, saying that he either likes or doesnt like. Then, suddenly, he realized that he had left the bung hole open the last time he had sampled it, so the contents had completely oxidized. Somewhat contrite, he pulled a sample from the adjoining barrel.
2007 Evidence (Menu Pineau) barrel sample
Closed, but completely different. Lovely, rich, complex, showing only a hint of oxidation. Clearly, the previous barrel had been ruined.
Sincerity sidebar: a lesson repeatedly learned at these visits is that its worth speaking your mind and venturing a sensory criticism if you can find a diplomatic way of doing so. If youre feeling something, theres a good chance others are feeling it too. At worst, youre seldom defenestrated, and more barrels and bottles are tasted as they try to show you counter examples. The visit becomes more interesting for them and, last and hardly least, the way youre treated gets a noticeable upgrade.
It was time for lunch. Claude showed Marcia the way to the bathroom and, turning to me, made an expansive gesture towards the outdoors and said, we, on the other hand, have all of nature to use. I followed him to an adjoining sauvignon blanc vineyard where Claude positioned himself between two rows of vines and unzipped. Unable to resist the call of mimesis, your friendly narrator did likewise, prudishly and prudently opting for the neighboring lane. Yessir, peeing in tandem with the master himself. So, next time you detect cat pee in your sauvignon, question the species.
Claudes oldest son Julien and his New Zealander wife Heidi joined us for lunch, where flavorful home cooking mingled with an assortment of delicious breads and cheeses.
2008 Chardonnay
Very floral and mineral aromas. Chewy, more sweet than acid.
2007 Romorantin
Aged 30 months. Closed. Very acidic, good weight, slightly oxidative. Needs decanting.
2008 Julien Courtois Originel (Menu Pineau)
Oxidative, mineral, white flowers. Dense, structured, fruity, rich, complex.
2007 Racines
Bottled in May. Closed, but round, smooth, balanced. Delicious.
2007 Clos Belle Croix Rive Droite (Reynald Haul)
100% Pinot Meunier. Mature berry aromas. Good balance, round, fine.
2008 Julien Courtois Cuve Ancestrale
Ct & Gamay. Nice berry aromas. Very nice texture and good balance. Very good.
2008 Julien Courtois Gamay
Sour berry aromas, not very reminiscent of Gamay. CO2 spritz, good body and balance.
2005 Petit Coin du Paradis (Licquoreux) 14.45%
100% Menu Pineau. Oxidative nose, with almonds and honey. Exquisite balance. Claude says, beaming this one I keep for my friends; I protect my friends.
N.V. Vin de Mistelle 17.0%
Claudes version of Port. Lively, ripe cherry and herbs. Good balance and body, a very fine (and inexpensive) Port body double, except refreshingly lighter.
Lunch was an animated affair, with Claude presiding at the head of the table like a benevolent but assertive papa bear, to whom all present owed fealty, be they humans, cats, or dogs. An alpha, dominant and domineering, presiding over his eminent domaine. After coffee I noticed, with a start, that six hours had vanished into the ether. We exchanged warm farewells, and were commanded to come for dinner next time. Certainly one of our most memorable winery visits, ever, immensely instructive and filled with human connection, warmth and generosity. Luckily I had not scheduled anything for that afternoon, so we staggered back to the hotel, where we later, unable to face a restaurant, limited ourselves to a light snack and an early night.
Oxidativeness sidebar: a significant proportion of the white wines we tasted were oxidative, particularly those made by the more radical experimenters and sans soufre practitioners. I usually have some trouble enjoying oxidative wines, and its sometimes hard to distinguish oxidativeness from low level oxidation. But I know lots of people like the taste, and have noticed that both Marcia and I are becoming increasingly tolerant. If its an acquired taste, I wonder if daily contact with oxidativeness has conditioned the palate of some natural winemakers, making them part company with even the average geek, not to mention the average drinker.
Wednesday, October 20
Domaine de Bellivire
In contrast to the previous days visit, Christine Nicolas seemed the epitome of good-natured normalcy. Without preliminaries, we went straight into the tasting room. Christine said that 2009 had been rich, but with very attractive acidity. 2010 was also looking very good, after a good summer. As evidence, 2/3 of the vines did not have to be treated, and the remainder just once. 2010 was an early harvest for them, and they had already picked everything by the time the rains came on September 24.
2009 Premices Jasnires 12.5%
Second vintage. From young vines converted to organic planted on clay-limestone. Closed. Lovely fruit, a bit sweet (meant to be sec tendre), decent acidity.
2008 LEffraie Sec Coteaux-du-Loir 13.5%
From 25Y vines. Under 2g rs. Lovely, rich fruit aroma, with white flower and petrol. Decadent. Lovely, vibrant fruitiness, perfect balance, complete. Christine says 08 was a jolie millsime for secs (no jokes, please).
2008 Les Rosiers Sec Jasnires 13.5%
Similar nose, to preceding, even richer and more decadent. Slightly sweeter, rich, delicious. Some botrytis, hence 4g rs.
2007 Les Rosiers Sec Jasnires 13.5%
Spent 12 months in used barriques. 07 summer saw rain, but September was good. Muted nose, with some white flowers and apple. Drier, appealing, but very light. Some botrytis. Christine explains that, the forest next to their Jasnires vineyards generates fog that encourages botrytis, so it shows up in Jasnires more than in Coteaux-du-Loir.
2008 Vieilles Vignes parses Coteaux-du-Loir
From 70-80Y vines. Spent 18 months in barriques, a little bit of them new. Fruity, mineral, white flower and botrytis aromas. Lovely texture, light to medium weight. Quite ripe, but nice.
2007 LEffraie Tendre Coteaux-du-Loir
LEffraie bottlings can be confusing because it can be Sec or Tendre. 15g rs. Botrytis aroma. Lovely texture, good acidity, but slightly too sweet to call balanced.
2005 Les Rosiers Jasnires 13.5%
From young vines. 15g rs. Their driest wine in 2005. Nose is decadent botrytis, very attractive. Body lighter than expected, again slightly too sweet to call balanced. Christine says this vineyard is normally among their last to be harvested, but in 05 they had to be harvest it in the middle. Interesting how, for some vineyards, riper years can be a mixed blessing if earlier harvests that dont allow as much complexity to develop.
2005 Vieilles Vignes parses Coteaux-du-Loir
20g rs. Rich white flower, honey, mineral, vegetable aromas. Superb fruit, close to balanced, but needs more acidity.
2009 Haut-Rasn Coteaux-du-Loir
Mix of young and old vines. 65g rs. Rich white flowers and mineral aroma. Lovely mouth feel, with awesome minerality.
At this point, after tasting only whites, Christines body language suggested that the tasting part was over. As a way of inquiring about the reds, I asked if we could purchase a bottle of their top cuve, the lHommage Louis Derr. She replied, with a modicum of dismay, that they didnt have ANY reds left. Until a few years ago, she said, they had a hard time selling reds, but then America discovered them, and now they simply have nothing left. After rummaging a bit, she found a bottle of Rouge-Gorge, and graciously offered to open it or give it to us.
2006 Le Rouge-Gorge 13.5%
Pineau dAunis. Lovely raspberry and forest floor. Perfect acid/sweet balance, pleasant tannins, lovely fruit, spicy, dark, exotic. Christine says it wasnt the best vintage, but very fruity.
After we finished tasting, Christine showed us the cellar.
All three stages (primary, secondary and levage) take place in barriques. Interestingly, the wines never underwent malos, but the hot weather of 2003 made them happen. As if some Pandoras Box had opened, they also happened in 2005 and 2006. As a result, Christine said, they converted to biodynamic in 2007 as a way to increase the natural acidity of the grapes, hoping to partially offset the new phenomenon of malos.
Pronunciation break: as pronounced locally, both ss in Jasnires are mute. Also mute is the t in Ct.
After Bellivire, we had an adequate lunch at Chez Miton in Chahaignes (try pronouncing that with poise), where the waiter brought us unexceptional glasses of Pineau dAunis. With a busy afternoon ahead, Marcia took the opportunity to smell the roses.
Domaine Le Briseau, Nathalie and Christian Chaussard
It wasn't easy to find our way to Nathalie and Christian Chaussards cleanly designed new winery, adjacent to their cleanly designed new home. Some of the Loire winery addresses are just the names of the buildings, known only to postmen and locals, and Amlia was unfamiliar with most of them.
Nathalie, who trained as a comedienne, poured us our first three wines, filling in for Christian, busy with a group of Japanese visitors.
2009 You Are So Fine Vouvray (not barrique version)
Heady mineral aromas. Chewy, good body and balanced, though quite ripe; attractive minerality.
2009 You Are So Fine Vouvray (barrique version)
Same aromas, but richer, more generous, with same acidity.
2009 Kharakter Jasnires
Ripe botrytis and oxidative nose; less oxidative when retasted 20 minutes later. Good acidity and structure; very fine, though less acid than the Vouvrays.
After Christian arrived and showered us with Patapon buttons, we began to hear about the domaine, and tasted four more bottles.
2009 You Are So Beautiful
Made from purchased Pinot Noir. Earthy, leathery, bretty, phaps a bit unclean. Fruity, but very dry, with bitter finish. Balanced acidity, but tough to like. Christian says this was created to meet Japanese demand for a PN that doesnt taste Burgundian. Mission accomplished.
2009 Patapon
Pineau dAunis with about 20% Gamay. Meaty cherry aromas. Good weight/body, leafy, but tarry and bitter. Another tough one. Improves with air. Perhaps sullen from having been bottled only two weeks prior.
2009 Cote dAlerte
100% Ct. Also bottled two weeks ago. Herbal and leafy aroma, suggesting bitterness. Good structure and grainy tannins, balanced, less angry than others, but still tough.
2009 Les Mortiers (tank sample)
Pineau dAunis, Gamay, Ct. Harsh, cherry, leafy, herbal aromas. Very acidic, very tannic, bitter. Desperately seeking food.
In addition to Domaine Le Briseau, Christian and Nathalie have a ngociant sideline, called Nana Vins et Cie. Purchased grapes are organic, if possible, otherwiselutte raisone. Nana wines are made in their new facility next to the home, whereas Le Briseau wines are made in their old winery in the town of Maron. Christian said that being a ngociant allows him to make wines that he couldnt otherwise make, but requires a special talent for evaluating what is the optimal destination for a parcel of grapes. He feels he has a special talent for this, and cited Thierry Puzelat as the only person he has ever met that is even more gifted.
Like others we met on this trip, Chaussard prefers to handle residual sugar by filtering instead of jacking up the SO2. He said, a few times, that he only uses 1 or 2 g of sulfur, but perhaps he was not talking mg/l (unless he is into homeopathy). Because the wines are fragile, he suspends winery sales to private visitors between June and September. Before doing so, hed sell wines to people who would leave them in hot cars for hours while they visited other wineries or chateaux, and would later complain that they were spoiled. 70% of his production is for export, and Chaussard insists that all of that be shipped in refrigerated containers. Laughing, he said that the Japanese are so meticulous that a recent shipment had temperature gauges attached to the bottles, and those showed only a 2 degree variation during the journey.
No carbonic maceration is used. Wines are subjected to daily pigeage for 10 days to 4 weeks and, he stressed several times, there is never any remontage (pumping over). I was getting confused with the terminology so we took time out for a dictionary break: Foulage (initial foot stomping), Pigeage (subsequent foot stomping), and Remontage (pumping over).
On the subject of oxidativeness, Christian said that he exposes the pressed juice to oxygen before alcoholic fermentation. This makes certain oxidative elements disappear, making the liquid more resistant to oxygen after fermentation. I didnt quite understand how this works, but Im sure theres a fascinating sidebar there somewhere. Preemptive oxidation, hmm, why not use it to vaccinate against premox?
Christian is currently president of the Association des Vins Naturels (AVN), and hopes to lobby for a measure that would require wine labels to contain the same table that one sees on food packaging that lists the nutritional values, the composition, the ingredients, etc. At a minimum, he wants to replace contains sulphites with the actual dosage. He thinks consumers have a right to know how much SO2 there is in a bottle, especially the allergic ones, and its ridiculous that producers who use bucketfuls can hide behind the vagueness of those two words while AVN members are running considerable commercial risk by using minimal amounts.
After the fourth red in a row (the 09 Les Mortiers) tasted harsh, I asked Chaussard if he vinified them so dry in order to minimize SO2, venturing that such extreme dryness makes them a bit hard to approach at this point. He replied that his objective is to make wines with character, austere wines, wines that may be reserved initially, but become expressive later. Like women, he asks me, or men, he adds to Marcia, would you want to be with someone who reveals everything initially and holds no surprises for later? If a wine flatters me, I become suspicious; a wine that flatters me at the beginning will have a hard time being a vin de garde. At this point I began to hold back on the compliments. Christian continued: his 2002 Les Mortiers, for example, was beautiful that morning with the Japanese visitors.
Soo keeoot!
We accompanied Christian to the Le Briseau winery, where we tasted from a few barrels.
2009 Chenin (Kharakter) Jasnires barrel sample
Very rich aromas. Tastes demi-sec, more sweet than acid.
2009 Chenin (Patapon blanc?) barrel sample
From a different parcel, fermenting for over a year. Richly aromatic, with minerals, smoke and nuts. Lovely, dense, chewy, great stuff.
2002 Chenin Coteaux-du-Loir (in incredibly moldy barrique)
Incredibly, 8 years in this barrique (so covered with champignons that it looks like a hairy ape), without sulfur, to be bottled at year-end. Nuts, almonds, pine resin, and epoxy glue aromas. Light, round, with volatile acidity, light bitterness. Fascinating.
Alas, we had no opportunity to check out the 2002 Les Mortiers, possibly due to the matinal overconsumption of others. Christian continued to regale us with tidbits that I labored to absorb: very long levages are good for whites because they accumulate esthers and glycerol; they give impression of sweetness even when you vinify as dry as possible (which he always tries to do). For reds, on the other hand, very long levages can be bad because the tannins dry the wine (or the tannins become dry). Troglodytic caves are important allies; they make everything possible without temperature control.
Though most of the Chaussard reds were tough to love, this was a fascinating visit, among the most instructional.
Champignon sidebar: throughout our trip, winemakers kept referring to the fungi playing everywhere as champignons. Frankly, I take exception to this. I refuse to, say, attribute athletes foot to champignons. Marcia assures me that, under a microscope, the little buggers are, indeed, mushrooms, but I refuse to budge from my impressionistic mycological hierarchy. Fungus is one thing, the low rung on the totem pole, the yucky stuff you cant individuate. Mushrooms, on the other hand, are gummy umbreloids that you can see, but some of them can kill you, so they dont deserve a cutesy French word. The word champignon should be reserved for the highest expression of the species, the delicate edible ones that, blanched or not, enthrall and delight the buds.
Robinots Hood
Beginning to show signs of cerebral fatigue, we stumbled into the lair of Jean-Pierre Robinot, wacky wine scientist and zero sulfur paladin non pareil. We were met by the amiable Mme Robinot, who took us to the entrance to a series of mountain-side cellars, in one of which Jean-Pierre was hard at work.
Jean-Pierre wears glasses with lights, allowing him to work at all hours and peer into his barrels to inspect the contents.
He never refills his barrels, so the whites are always oxidative. With manic energy and leprechaunish enthusiasm, he zigged and zagged, with us dizzily in tow, from tank to barrel and back. Like a mantra, he kept chanting the words zero soufre! before every fill of our glasses.
Tank samples:
2009 Bistrologie
Jasnires. Rich oxidative aromas of white flowers and nuts. CO2 spritz, fat and thick. Very nice.
2008 LIris du Loir Jasnires. 24 months in tank. From 40Y vines. Similar oxidative aromas. Citric, chewy, more stately and elegant. Lovely.
2007 Charme du Loir
Coteaux-du-Loir. 36 months in tank. Light oxidation, floral. CO2, attractive texture, acidity and minerality.
2008 Charme du Loir
Coteaux-du-Loir. 24 months in tank. Elegantly oxidative, mineral, floral. CO2, excellent acid/fruit balance; incredibly vibrant.
Barrel samples:
2008 Cuve Juliette Robinot
24 months in barrel. From 50/80Y Jasnires vines and 100Y old Coteaux-du-Loir vines. Closed. Mouth shows great density and structure; top notch. Only 2/3 barriques per vintage.
2005 Cuve Juliette Robinot
60 months in barrel. Very fine oxidative honey aromas. Light botrytis, balanced, perfect texture. Very fine. Robinot showed us the voile with a flashlight.
2005 Vignes Centenaries
Coteaux-du-Loir. One barrel only. 60 months in barrel. 100% from vines >100Y. Indescribably ethereal perfume. Soft and delicate mouth feel, delicious in an almost not there manner. Oddest sensation of putting a wraith in your mouth. A privilege to taste.
2005 Enuaj
Enuaj = voile spelt backwards. From 40Y vines. Oxidative nose. Tastes like a vin jaune.
From bottle:
2009 LAnns Folles Ptillant Naturel
Pineau dAunis. Mthode Ancestrale. Mineral, yeast and white flowers. Good balance, fine perlage.
Back to barrels, switching to reds:
2009 Regard Du Loir #2
4/5 week cuvaison. Dark for Pineau dAunis. Musk, spice, pepper. Acidic, tannic, very dry.
2009 Cuve Nocturne
Pineau dAunis. 80Y vines. 2 barriques per vintage. Dusky, spicy, smoky, woodsy. Delicate, lightweight, balanced.
2009 Cuve Camille Robinot
Pineau dAunis. 80Y vines. Similar nose as preceding, plus cherry. Tastes delicate, exotic, extraordinary.
2009 Charme du Loir (blanc)
Coteaux-du-Loir. 12 months in barrel (needs 12 more). Very floral. Lovely, tastes ready. Robinot says this is the most forward barrel, others not so ready.
2009 Iris du Loir
Jasnires. Lime, white flowers, minerals. Nice potential, needs time.
2009 Cuve Juliette Robinot
Jasnires. Mineral and white flowers. Rich, marvelous structure, needs tons of time.
2009 Iris du Loir late harvest 16.5% (two barrels)
Jasnires. From 7/8Y vines. Lovely, very rich botrytis aromas with minerals and white flowers. Perfect balance and structure; lovely weight; light yet substantial. Second barrel even richer. Awesome stuff.
Moving from the frigid cellars into the messy office, graced with tables inherited from Robinots 1990s Paris wine bar LAngevin, we sampled a handful of bottles:
2009 Opera des Vins Concerto dOniss 12.0%
Bottled in August, from purchased grapes from vineyard that became organic two years ago. Herbal and guava aromas. Austere dryness, good acidity, meaty, smoky, needs time.
2009 Le Regard du Loir #1 12.5%
From a vineyard that became organic eight years before. Stemmy cherry, exotic and spicy. Lovely minerality, excellent balance, good mouth weight. Lovely. Playing soon at a theater near you.
2006 Cuve Nocturne (Vieilles Vignes)
Smoky, dense, complex berry aromas. Good balance, tannic, quite austere. Decant.
It felt like an exquisite privilege to be able to taste such intriguing adventures in winemaking. Robinot, in turn, seemed to feed off our fascination. Robinot seems to be pushing the natural wine envelope to the edge of going postal. For the most part, money seems like a totally secondary concern to him, a necessary evil that must be attended to with sufferance.
Exhausted and shivering flesh is weak, so it was a relief to enter our car, turn on the heater, and drive back into the arms of Morpheus. But the memory of that flashlight peering into the dark bung holes will linger long after all that is liquid melts into air.
Thursday, October 21
Our morning appointment with Emile Herdia had to be cancelled, but it felt like a consolation to have the morning off. We drove to Chenonceau, the chateau we were most eager to visit. Built in the XVIth century, its most unusual characteristic is that it is also a bridge, spanning the river Cher (looks better at high tide).
During WWII, the Cher marked the border of occupied France and Vichy, and the Resistance passed large numbers of people across Chenonceau into the free zone. The Chateau is superbly maintained and every detail seemed impeccable, starting with the cornucopia of mushrooms in the parking lot.
Then the well provisioned gift shop expertly located at the entrance/exit, the charming vegetation along the tree lined entrance, the logical succession with which we visit each room or chamber, the clear explicatory leaflets, and the astonishingly inventive flower arrangements that graced every room and floored even your botanically-challenged narrator.
Finally, after a series of rooms each more beautiful than the other, the unbelievable walls of this last bedroom, where Louise of Lorraine, wife of King Henry III, retired to mourn his assassination.
Burning Down the House
Refreshed by Chenonceau, we knocked at Domaine des Maisons Brules, home of Michel and Batrice Aug. Michel greeted us in the parking lot and led us into the house to meet Batrice. He then took us to an adjoining building where he showed us a mechanical press in which some Gamay was being crushed and pumped-over (here I remembered Christian Chaussard stressing repeatedly that he never does pump-overs). Next came a walk around the vineyards. Handling clumps of earth with great affection, Michel showed us how alive the soil was with insects and weeds, and stressed the importance of keeping it from being compacted by the weight of tractors or other mechanical devices (he now uses a horse for many of the plowing activities).
From the summit of the vineyard, Michel pointed to several places in the surrounding countryside where fields appeared divided into rectangular plots. He described how, in medieval times, the land used to be owned by abbeys, who divided it into ouvreus or basselous, areas manageable by one day of work for the average family. The abbey got its share, and the families could keep the rest. Markers, like Obelixian menhirs, were placed to demarcate the limits of each family but, after the mechanization of agriculture, many of the plots were combined, and the markers that had divided them for centuries were unceremoniously demolished. Like Pierre Breton earlier in the week, Michel described how the local rivers used to overflow, pushing the edges of cities to a safe distance. After Napoleon channeled the rivers in the early XIXth century, the alluvial soil, too rich for vineyards, became agricultural land. (How Napoleon found the time to channel the rivers of France between one campaign and another, while bringing back obelisks from Egypt and bronze horses from St. Marks, beggars the imagination.)
While we were standing at the summit, Michel talked about biodynamic agriculture, and I ventured that I was all in favor, but skeptical about some of the more esoteric practices. As if feeling challenged, he took us down to a lower part of the vineyard, and asked us to describe the feeling generated by the two places. I said that, at the summit, I had felt more exposed, while here I felt more protected. He seemed politely unimpressed. Marcia said that, at the summit, all she could hear was the sound of insects; here, all she could hear was the sound of birds. That response seemed to open the floodgates of admiration. Michel kept repeating Marcias response, wanting to hear more. Apparently, in biodynamic terms, the summit corresponds to a place of deep connection to the earth, while the second place is connected to the air, so the insects and the birds would make sense.
On the property, there was once a cluster of houses that was burned down during the turmoil of the French Revolution. Michel wishes he could discover their exact location, but has so far been unable to do, even after examining whatever county records remain. Some mystical causality seemed to hover, unexplained, attached to these houses.
Born locally in 1955, Michel has been cultivating the property and making wine for the last 36 years. He seemed curious and well-read, familiar with subjects ranging from Nietzsche to Ayurveda (one of Marcias medical specialties). Most of all, he seemed to possess a tranquil center, a quiet self-assurance, the kind urban types might ascribe to daily congress with elemental truths. Leaving these places of power, we walked to a small building where there is a tasting room, and there we were joined by Batrice. Michel relayed Marcias response to her, and they both smiled knowingly, shaking their heads in wonder. We had relatively little contact with Batrice, but she left a profound impression on both of us. There is something earthy yet beatific about her, an unassuming grace, like a soul on the last rung of the reincarnation ladder.
OK, enough hippie talk, what about the wines? We tasted just a handful, but it was some handful.
2007 Suavignon VdF
These French and their love of puns. I just cant relate. This was bottled in June. Ripe grapes, with a touch of botrytis, no filtration. Lovely mineral, chalk, and white flower aromas. Good weight, texture, balance. Excellent.
2004 Voile VdF
Sauvignon Blanc. Sous voile, like vin jaune; spent 3 years in barrique. Oxidative nutty aromas. Very mild, round, and rich, made more pleasurable by a touch of sweetness. I suggest to Michel that this tastes friendlier than vin jaune because of the sweetness. He replies that its totally dry, so the impression of sweetness comes from glycerin. Superb.
2008 Herdeleau VdF
Blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir (half & half), with 10% Pineau dAunis. Dark berry, herbs and leather. Smells like 100% Pineau dAunis. I venture this and Michel rewards my audacity by saying its incredible how the Pineau dominates the others. Mouth-filling, rich, lively, with light tannins and excellent balance. Lovely wine.
2009 Alterit VdF
Ros made from cabernet sauvignon. Mthode ancestrale. Lovely salmon pink. Closed (that happens right after dgorgement). Lovely mouth feel and caressing perlage. Very balanced, with light yeastiness and gently bitter cherry finish. Delicious.
Michel uses a crown capsule lined with alimentary-grade resin (resine alimentaire) for all his wines. He experimented with screw caps, but found the results variable. Asked about the reportedly greater incidence of reduction with screw caps, Michel said that wine cannot become reduced after bottling; if a wine smells reduced, then it was already bottled reduced. I asked him if the presumably greater oxygen ingress of a cork might not be a way to slowly eliminate the smells of wines bottled in a reduced state, he came up with a startling response.
Fiat Lux (maybe) moment #3: unless there is a defect, air never enters a bottle because atmospheric pressure is always greater inside than outside; in other words, its fallacious to talk about ideal rates of oxygen ingress; there is only egress.
Well, that turns some things upside down. We had another visit to run to, but left with the sensation of having met a pair of truly special people. Henceforth, we shall endeavor to seek out these little known but precious wines, establish material possession, and imbibe with the hope of acquiring the virtues of their makers.
Screw cap joke: what do a screw cap and a walrus have in common? Answer: they both love a tight seal!
We Loved Her Like a Rock
From the Augs it is only a stones throw to Clos Roche Blanche, home of natural wine superstars Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet. We drove up a winding path and, half way up, found Catherine, Didier and a co-worker burning a huge pile of tree stumps and branches. Catherine told us to drive all the way up, where she would meet us at, you guessed it, the place of white rocks.
There we introduced ourselves, immediately connecting with this immensely likeable woman. She took us to the vineyards, where we saw majestically grizzled centenarian vines.
I asked her about rumors of impending retirement and she joked aha, so you were sent as spies! They had downsized from 18 to 9.5 hectares because they were getting older and it had become a chore to make that much wine. But, have no fear, at the current scale they intend to continue for the foreseeable future. Asked about the future of their prized Gamay, she said that, because of the way the plots are divided, the land leased to Noella Morantin contained 3 of their 4 hectares, so their current (and future) Gamay output is down to 25%.
Catherine said that 2010 was looking like an excellent vintage. 2009 was good, but compromised by low yields. Stepping into the cellars, she kept apologizing for the bazaar, or mess.
Before tasting them, she explained the difference between their two sauvignon blancs:
#2: macerated for 12/24 hours under dry ice before pressing to develop fruitiness; aged in stainless steel to conserve freshness.
#5: pressed directly and aged in oak for micro-oxigenation to develop more richness and minerality. Riper grapes, and those from older vines, go into #5.
Catherine fetched some unmarked bottles and poured for us in the bazaar.
2009 Sauvignon Blanc #2 Touraine
Closed, but some minerals, white flowers and chalk. Good texture, but a bit sweet. Baby fat.
2009 Sauvignon Blanc #5 Touraine
Bottled at the end of August, needs another year in bottle. Unfiltered. Similar aromas. Thicker, more mineral, less sweet. Liked this better.
2008 Sauvignon Blanc #5 Touraine
Terrific aromas, rich, herbal, citrus, white flowers. Great balance, lovely texture and satisfying body. Delicious.
2009 Gamay Touraine (from half bottle)
Since we had been talking about this, Catherine scrounged a half-bottle, apologetically saying thats all they had left. Intriguing, caramelized banana aroma (confirmed by Marcia, lest you think Im hallucinating). Lovely texture, balanced, surprisingly present tannins. Catherine says the grapes didnt have much juice, so the wine turned out more tannic than usual.
2009 Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon Touraine
75% CF and 25% CS. Rich and complex nose. Good texture and weight, very tannic. I venture that I cant really taste either grape, and Catherine says they were macerated together to cancel the individual characteristics of each. Thierry Puzelat would say pretty much the same thing the following morning, so consider this Fiat Lux moment #4: if you want to retain varietal characteristics, macerate separately and then blend; if you dont, macerate together.
2009 Ct TouraineBottled end of August, beginning of September. Closed, with a hint of cherry. Lovely balance, fine tannins, delicious.
The visit was short, but we connected well, laughed a lot, and spoke highly of SFJoe. As we made our way back down, Didier was still burning wood, absorbed in the work, oblivious to the driversby.
Dinner at LHerbe Rouge, Valaire
For our last dinner in the Loire, we went to a place that Scott Reiner had assiduously recommended. We introduced ourselves to Ccile, the owner, and ended up being the only dining customers that night. Two guys were sipping and talking wine at one of the tables, but soon left. A friend was morosely chatting with Ccile at the bar. Everything was homey, just the way we like it. The wine list was terrific, the food was excellent, and the ambiance unpretentious and warm. Cciles large terrier, was sleeping on the floor.
He perked up when I received a cheese plate as a final course. I was pretty full by then, so I fed him over half of it, piece by piece. Trust a French dog to have such a palate (Ccile said he really loves cheese).
2005 Domaine des Maisons Brules Poussire de Lune 14.5%
White flowers and minerals. CO2, sweetness a bit caramelly, needs more acid. Curiously, label says no contains sulphites. Phaps the word added is missing.
2009 Noella Morantin Gamay (by the glass)
Very dark. Lovely and classic Gamay raspberry/strawberry, but more acid than the average Beaujolais. Very nice, bordering on delicious. Much more easygoing and less tannic than the CRB Gamay tasted earlier in the day, though probably far less age worthy.
N.V. Sebastian Brunet Vouvray Le Naturel Ptillant
Compliments of Ccile, we enjoyed this very much. If representative, this is a winemaker to seek out.
Towards the end, entirely happy with the experience, I said to Ccile that if this were So Paulo instead of Valaire, shed have the house full every night, all year round. She smiled and said that, just yesterday, they had had eight tables for dinner, and it was busier from May to September. Plus, she said, I am married to a local vigneron, so I have to stay in the area. I said oh really, is your husband someone I might have heard of? She replied Its Thierry Puzelat. Damn you, Scott, what happened to the art of debriefing? But then it dawned on me that my friend had acted with the discretion of a gentleman. Discretion being, of course, the better part of Valaire.
Friday, October 22
With considerable relief at the impending close of our hedonistic ordeal, we checked out of our hotel and set off for our final appointment.
Wheres the Boeuf?
When we arrived, Thierry Puzelat and an associate were behind the winery, fixing some machinery, so he asked us to wait a few minutes in a small tasting room, curiously decorated with sausages hanging from nails hammered to the columns. In a few minutes he was back, bearing bottles.
For a superstar winemaker, we found Thierry remarkably grounded, with no trace of self-importance or theatricality. As the conversation developed, so did a sense of connection. Thierry said he was pleased with the 2010 vintage because it would prove to be drinkable early. Buvabilit. He talked of his fathers time, when great vintages were few and far between, and most wines were for everyday drinking. In his time, the situation seems to have inverted, and global warming has brought about so many great vintages that require ageing that he actually yearns for older style vintages.
At some point, we started talking about a trio of separated-at-birth characteristics that are hard to identify. He mentioned how volatile acidity can be mistaken for ethyl acetate, premature oxidation with oxidativeness, and age-related characteristics like leather with brett. He told us an interesting story about a workshop that he and several other winemakers had been required to attend because most only drink their own wines and are ill-informed about wine in general. During a test, only 5 of the 25 winemakers present were able to correctly differentiate volatile acidity from ethyl acetate. As we talked, we tasted through a seemingly random series of cuvees from the (to me, at least) bewildering array of Puzelat and Clos du Tue-Boeuf bottlings that exist out there.
2009 Frileuse Cheverny 14.0%
1/3 Sauvignon Blanc, 1/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Fi Gris (huh?). From clay-silex. Rich and lovely white flower aromas. Ripe, with good balance.
2009 Le Brin de Chvre Touraine 13.0%
Mostly Menu Pineau, with 10% Meslier (huh?) from 70Y vines. Closed, some florals. Good balance and acidity.
2009 Le Buisson Pouilleux 13.8%
Old vine Sauvignon Blanc from gravel soils. Mildly oxidative, with white flowers. Good balance and structure, citrusy acidity. Thierry says that SB tends to be more oxidative because less acidic.
2009 Pinot Gris VdT 15.0%
Oxidative nose. Lovely texture, good balance. Rich, and neither hot nor cloying, given the alcohol. Thierry says that malos started while this was fermenting; after the malos ended, the yeasts restarted the fermentation. Broke every rule in the book. But no problem.
2009 Clos du Tue-Boeuf Rouillon VdT Touraine
From young ( Gamay 1987 and Pinot Noir 1991) vines planted on clay-silex. Burgundian nose, gamey and lovely. Light body, balanced, light tannins, mild astringency.
2009 Clos du Tue-Boeuf La Callire Cheverny
100% Pinot Noir. Lovely rose petals (Thierry says this is typical of PN on planted on silex; like Vosne Romane), with some volatile acidity. Lovely mouth feel, round, structured, perfect balance.
2009 La Guerrerie Touraine
2/3 Ct 1/3 Gamay, macerated together to efface varietal characteristics. Asked why he would do this, Thierry says to represent the place. Reduced leather and animal aromas. Good structure, balanced, with nice tannins and acids.
2007 Clos du Tue-Boeuf La Callire Cheverny 11.5%
2007 a lighter vintage, a millsime de soif (for thirst-quenching). Lovely color. Reduced, with rose petals. Lovely mouth feel and structure, excellent balance.
At this point, not too satisfied with how the PNs were showing, Thierry went out and came back with an older bottle.
1999 Clos du Tue-Boeuf La Callire Cheverny
Very floral, with rose petals, berries and cloves. Meaty and balanced. Light-footed, yet rich and deep. Fabulous.
Thierry said, with a chuckle, that this wine had already died twice but then came back. I said that its lovely combination of delicacy and resonance reminded me of another 1999, a bottle of Overnoy Poulsard that had been one of our epiphany moments on the last night of a visit to Paris. Thierrys eyes lit up. He said it made him very pleased to hear this, because Poulsard was one of his favorite grapes and Overnoy one of his favorite producers. He believed that Poulsard could age even longer than Pinot Noir, and told us about a recent celebration of Pierre Overnoys 80th birthday in which a group of friends had been treated to twenty vintages between 1963 and 2003. All had been sensational. With that, and after a quick hello from Ccile, our visit came to a close. We said goodbye and, as we were walking towards the car, the shy Jean-Marie Puzelat, whom we had not met, came calling after us, saying that Thierry was asking us to wait a minute. After a few seconds, Thierry came out of the storage room holding a bottle of the 1999 Pinot Noir.
We were the beneficiaries of considerable generosity during our trip, but whereof we cannot speak, we must remain silent. But this gesture warrants disclosure because of what it says about Thierry. Our Loire visits could not have been brought to a more affecting close.
Loire Part 4: Paris
As Romorantin fans, on the way to Paris we had to stop in Cour-Cheverny for lunch.
I admire this appelations un-businesslike monogamy, mated for life, like seahorses and parrots, except quixotically, to single, relatively obscure variety, too acidic for the international palate. We ate at the pleasant Hotel des 3 Marchands, where the owner brought us glasses of two similar and adequately acidic Cour-Chevernys (a Christian Tessier and a somebody else whose name I dont remember; no Cazins to be had.) On the way to the toll road, we passed by Chateau de Chambord. It was too daunting to visit (the grounds alone occupy an area equivalent to the 16 arrondissements of Paris), but worth a Disney-inspired picture.
That evening we had dinner at Le Baratin, a celebrated place that attracts the gamut of reactions, from swoons to frowns. We came recommended by a friend of the owner, Philippe, who acknowledged this with glasses of N.V. Jacques Lassaigne Champagne (yeasty, almonds, oxidative; very dry; appealing). Despite the hospitality of the gesture, he remained detached throughout the evening, and it was hard to tell if he is constitutionally shy or thought we were lucky to be there. The atmosphere is lively, quintessential bistro, with the ideal pitch of informality. Locals had to step outside for a puff but Raquel, the co-owner and chef, could be seen smoking away in the kitchen. I have no substantive complaints, really. Our waiter was efficient and informative, and the food very good, if not completely memorable, except for a fabulous medley of stewed vegetables. The by-the-glass wines listed on the blackboard were interesting enough, so we ordered some of those.
2008 Domaine de Bellivire (Eric Nicolas) Jasnires
Closed, some white flowers. Lovely mouth feel, but more sweet than acid; a bit cloying.
2009 Domaine LAnglore (blanc)
Mineral and white flower. Full bodied, ripe, needs acidity, short finish. Sharon said this was balanced in 2008.
2009 Domaine LAnglore Cuve de la Pierre Chaude VdF 13.0%
85% Grenache, 15% Clairet. Color almost ros. Crushed flowers and guava aromas. Like drinking alcoholic rosewater. Lively, but thin. Yet fascinating.
2007 Foillard Morgon Cote du Py
Closed, but some elegant fruit peeking through. Dark, dry, balanced. A bit sullen right now.
Saturday, October 23
On Saturday we tried to take a nephew, currently living in Paris, to lunch at La Crmerie. Fully booked, not difficult, as it only has a dozen seats. So we stepped into the competent Le Petit Vatel, a few doors down.
2009 Yvon Mtras Beaujolais 13.0%
Closed, but good structure.
2009 Domaine du Moulin (Herv Villemade) Cheverny 13.0%
Very fruity and pleasant. Had a second glass.
That night we had dinner with Sharon to look forward to, and the place chosen to host this historic summit was Le Repaire de Cartouche, where chef Rodolphe specializes in game. I am not overly fond of exotica, like tripe and body parts that have specialized functions, but I was determined not to embarrass myself. In short, I was game for game. Availing ourselves of Sharons expertise, we kicked off with a delicious N.V. Jacques Selosse VO, served smartly in a white wine glass. The waiter brought us amuse bouches, but I had no camera, so cannot regale you with images of an amuse bouche going into our muses bouche. Rodolphe came over to advise us on the choice of red, and promptly vetoed all of the several older vintages of Dard & Ribo Hermitage that had caught our eye. He also vetoed the two vintages of Jasmin Cote Rtie. I began to despair, but then he acquiesced to a bottle of 2005 Antoine Arena Patrimonio Grotte di Sole Corsica 13.0%. I was curious about Arena due to a recent thread on Corsica. The word is redolent of gladiators, so I expected something rustic and fierce. But it was sweet. Sharon said, well, its a hot climate wine. Rendered speechless by the irrefutability of that observation, that might have made a more experienced me hold out for something closer to the Artic, I persevered, though I still prefer my coffee without sugar (whatever that means).
As an appetizer, I braced myself and ordered boudin. Found it disconcertingly delicious, and much easier to process than an andouilette that I had gingerly downed in Montlouis earlier in the week. I have to say, these things are perfectly edible if you think of anything other than what you are eating. As a main course, I gamely went for Rodolphes specialty, Livre a la Royale. I was brought a terrine-like rectangle of compacted hare meat covered by a thick sauce reminiscent of Mexican mole. I asked the waiter if it was chocolate. Not amused. It tasted good, like a fine meat loaf, but a bit sweet, like the Arena. I gave Sharon a taste, and she liked it better than I, making me feel doubly unappreciative of the hares sacrifice for the benefit of my education.
Marcia and Sharon were happy with their choices, as was I, but the true main course was getting to know Sharon better and learning a bit about her Franco-American history. We also gossiped about board members, of course, and the vagaries of combinatorial analysis: how A being friendly with B and C doesnt mean that B will be friendly with C. On a lilywhite napkin, we drew a horizontal axis labeled Like and a vertical axis labeled Respect. We proceeded to place each forumite somewhere on the field. The final result was perfectly scattered, like white noise. OK, this didnt really happen. But it could have.
Sunday, October 24
After two weeks of hard work-study, Sunday and Monday were given over to lazing around a chilly but always lovely Paris, and visiting the crowded Pompidou Center for the Gabriel Orozco exhibition. Sunday morning we shopped at the excellent organic street market on the Boulevard Raspail, and ate the proceeds that same evening at the apartment where we were staying, accompanied by the bottle given to us by Sophie and Ludo, of the Bourgueil bar--vins La Promenade.
2008 Nadine et Gerard Marula Les Gruches Touraine 12.5%
Sans soufre, blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon & Grolleau. Raspberry, crushed petals. Fruity, balanced, leafy, very nice, bordering on excellent. Importer alert!
Looking back on the trip, I am struck by how gracious all the winemakers were, despite the inconvenience of our timing. When I made the appointments, several mentioned that they were going to be busy with the harvest, but none used this as a reason to say no. I was also struck by how timidity is not rewarded. The more inquisitive you are, the happier it makes them; they must be bored out of their minds by the kinds of consumers they meet at store tastings, and seem to really appreciate the effort to meet them on their own turf, especially if you come from far away. Don Rice and David Lillie turned me on to the recently published Le Chemin des Vignes Vale de la Loire, by the editors of LeRouge & LeBlanc, and it proved invaluable. David was extremely helpful in nudging me this way and that when I showed him my list of potential victims. His innocent words "say hello to everybody" turned out rather helpful. To those I know he likes, I would start the visit by saying "David Lillie says hello," immediately raising our status. Finally, I would like to dedicate my Oscar to Google Maps, thanks to which I was able to cluster our visits and limit the consumption of gasoline, made increasingly scarce by strikes over the inept way the government handled the raising of the retirement age from 60 to 62.
On our way to Amboise, we stopped by Uss, the Sleeping Beauty chateau.
The signs were auspicious. Franois speaks very clear French, the scent of lavender was in the air, and the figs scattered around his trees were remarkably succulent. SFJoe wrote about some of the wines we were about to taste in his 2010 Dive report, and I was most keen to try the unusually high acid 2008 Moelleux. I told Franois, hoping to garner brownie points, that Coads famous description of his visit has become, well, famous. I started my census by asking him whether he included botrytized grapes in the mix. With the donnish patience of one resigned to repetition, Franois told us that he has less need to avoid botrytized material because clay-silex (prevalent in his neck of the forests) generates wines with higher acidity than Vouvrays clay-limestone. On the subject of Vouvray, I confessed (he does look a little priestly) that I had been a bit disappointed with our visit to Huet, and he replied, possibly by way of explanation, that back in the day when temperatures were cooler, Chenin had a harder time maturing adequately on his clay-silex, and things were just right for the folks over in Vouvray. These days, however, thanks to global warming, multiculturalism and political correctness (OK, not the last two), it is becoming harder for clay-limestone to impart sufficient acidity, while clay-silex is hitting the acid spot. In addition to soil differences (there are also different kinds of limestone), Pinons vineyards are further from the Loire than, say, Huets, and the cooler microclimate tends to add an extra percentage point of acidity.
Pinon tries to pick at 13.5-14.0% potential alcohol. He looks for balance between not too much alcohol and not too little sweetness, or balance without alcohol. He says that, because of the acidity generated by his soils, he considers demi-sec to be the ideal expression of his wines (I believe he was only comparing demi-sec to sec, not to the sweeter cuves). When I suggested that the clay-silex wines that we were tasting seemed more closed than their clay-limestone brothers, he said that silex produces wines that are less aromatic than clay-limestone, and therefore need more time to open up. Riffing on the soil duality, he added that vines planted on silex have to be harvested earlier because such soils retain more heat, and water percolates through them faster. (As I write, I suspect a potential contradiction between silex generating higher acidity when it has to be harvested earlier, but there must be many other factors at play.) Malolactics usually dont take place at Pinon. Before bottling, he uses pauvre (0.65 microns) sterile filtration to eliminate yeasts (0.8 microns). Filtering allows the same amount (17/20 g/ml) of SO2 to be added to both moelleux and demi-secs.
2009 Sec 13.0%
Very little made, by choice (Pinon prefers demi-secs). Muted nose, citrus, minerals and white flowers. More acid than sweet, the acid tasting very citric. Appealing texture and weight. Contains less botrytis than demi-sec.
2009 Silex Noir Demi Sec 13.4%
Bottled April. Same nose as preceding, but more expressive. Balanced, good weight, bitter finish. Picked 10 days later, so riper, and contains more botrytis.
2008 Silex Noir Demi Sec 13.3%
Muted nose, more honey. Lovely mouth feel, perfect balance and light final bitterness. More structured than 09, but that may reflect the extra year in bottle.
2008 Les Trois Argiles Demi Sec 13.3%
Same cuve as Tradition in the U.S. More perfumed nose, delicate, almost sublime. More weight, more sweetness, less bitterness. Less botrytis.
2009 Les Trois Argiles Demi Sec 13.7%
Bottled September 8. Closed, but what does show is refined. Ideal balance and weight. Pleasant acidity. Excellent.
2006 Tradition Demi Sec 12.2%
2/3 clay, 1/3 silex. Closed. Nice weight, good balance, despite the lower acidity. Long finish. From 2007 onwards, the Tradition became 100% clay-limestone based.
2008 Moelleux 11.3%
74 g rs. With a whopping 7.1 gr/l acidity (normal closer to 4.0). Discreet peach aroma. Terrific mouth acid/sweet balance. Finally, a dessert wine with natural kick-ass acidity. Pinon says that 2008 was, like 1988 and 1993, paradoxically warm and high acid. September was cool, so acidity remained high. October remained cool, so harvest came late. There was no rain, so grape sugars concentrated.
2003 Moelleux 12.3%
Honey and mineral aromas. Lower acidity somewhat compensated by lower sugar (53 gr/l). Tastes light. Fine aperitif.
2005 Cuve Botrytis Licquoreux 10.7%
100% botrytis. Peach and white flowers. Marvelous, with perfect acid/sweet balance. Wow, what a way to end.
On leaving, I asked Pinon why he didnt make wine from his amazingly delicious figs. Poor man, the things he has to hear.
Feeling overly peripatetic, that night we took advantage of our hotel restaurants good reputation and gave Amlia a rest.
I had decided not to visit Aubusires, notwithstanding Schildknechts high regard, because most cuves are aged in stainless steel. But the presence of one on the hotel wine list menu gave us an opportunity to explore.
2009 Domaine des Aubusires Vouvray Silex 13.0%
Closed, with some minerality. Off-dry, rich and powerful, a bit more sweet than acid. Fine and pure, though perhaps a little lacking in soul. Marcia sneezed a few times afterwards, usually a sign of higher than usual SO2.
2003 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses 13.0%
From half bottle. Closed, with some cherry aroma. Attractive mouth feel, with grilled meat, smoke and forest floor notes. Definitely not too ripe, with good acidity and appealing tannins. Nice.
Tuesday, October 19
So Long Sologne
With some difficulty and luck - the property has no formal address and the man has little interest in being found - we managed to locate Claude Courtoiss Les Cailloux du Paradis. We came recommended by a good Brazilian winemaker who is a mutual friend, and Claude immediately said we had to stay for lunch. A bear of a man, with a short, bushy beard, short graying hair and fists the size of bricks, he looked more like a lumberjack than the hippie I had envisioned. First, he asked us to accompany him to the edge of the vineyard, where his shy but winsome younger son tienne was waiting. There, he gave instructions to a man who had entered the property driving an excavator a few seconds before us. Apologizing for the distraction, Claude explained that he was building a separate winery for tienne because the government wouldnt recognize tiennes domaine unless the physical facilities were distinct. When the excavator began to gash the earth, Claude picked up a chunk of the yellow limestone soil to show us.
It was pretty cold, but of course we said yes, we want to see the vines. Off we went, row upon row, Claude naming several of the more than 40 varieties he plants. Among them, less common names like Gascon and Csar (brought to France by Roman legionnaires, hence the name) and others I had never heard of (of these, I only remember Savonnires, or something like that). Most shocking, get ready for this, were vines of Nebbiolo and Barbera. Remember, you read it here first. And, shhh, please dont tell the AOC. Plus four different kinds of Gamay. Wonders never ceased.
The harvest was done, yet the vines still had the occasional bunch of grapes looking forgotten. These were secondary flowerings, said Claude, and are not used to make wine. He gave us some to try. Delicious. As Claude and I walked ahead, Marcia followed a few steps behind, contentedly munching on bunch after bunch of secondaries.
Most of the vines were massale, but when Claude showed us his very first plantings, he said these are clonale because at the time I didnt know any better. When he plants new vines, he says he feeds them once; after that, they are on their own. Much of the property is not cultivated, and Claude says that its important to leave parts of it fallow for future rotation because it takes 25 years for vine land to fully recover.
During the walk, Claude said that he is giving tienne and Julien a helping hand in the cellar, but they are already making very good wine on their own. He is beginning to grow tired, having worked since the age of 13, without ever taking a vacation. He travels poorly, speaks no other language, and is totally at a loss at an airport. So a chaperone is always required, making the proposition more expensive. He says he is totally incapable of handling a computer or accessing the internet. When I mentioned that at least he has a website, he said that it wasnt his. It was put up by fans, and the family had nothing to do with it.
When criticizing anyone, from Sarkozy to mediatique winemakers who never get their hands dirty, Claude would always stress their fake diplomas or lack of schooling, something he seemed particularly sensitive to. He believes it impossible for a winemaker to handle more than 4 hectares by himself, so anybody who works more than that cannot truly say that he works the land, being closer to a wine entrepreneur.
As we walked, Claudes deep connection with the surrounding land was everywhere evident. He was proud of the wild flowers that chose to grow at a certain spot, as if recognizing how special it was, and attracting swarms of bees. He showed us hare and rabbit droppings, saying they were signs of a vibrant ecosystem. He seemed impatient with the word biodynamics, calling it the magic marketing word in Paris wine bars. Everything seemed to be about achieving a personally unique intimacy with the land, impossible if you have too much of it or follow a system. He seemed proud of his non-conformist status, though one could sense the hurt behind the shield. If he feels rejected by many of his countrymen, there is some consolation to be found in overseas acclaim. His Japanese importer comes twice a year and, if he would only let her, would absorb 100% of his production.
When we returned from the walk it was time to step into one of the cellars and taste from Claudes barrels.
2009 Quartz barrel sample
95% sauvignon blanc, 5% menu pineau. White flower nose. Great acidity and balance, good weight, lovely promise. When I say how much I appreciate the high acidity, Courtois corrects me, saying that the acidity is actually low, its the minerality that gives a similar impression.
2009 Racines (blanc) barrel sample
Blend of 10 varieties, crushed together. Closed. Tastes curiously tropical, with a strong banana flavor. Odd.
2009 Chardonnay barrel sample
From vines planted in 2006. Fifth use barrels. Butter and wool. Excellent balance, fresh and substantial, excellent raw material.
2009 Pinot Noir barrel sample
Only 60 cases will be made. Rich raspberry, suave & sauvage. Lovely, juicy, balanced.
2009 Racines (rouge) barrel sample
Complex nose, animal, bramble, forest floor, fruity berry. Great vintage for this, says Courtois, should keep well for 20/30 years.
2010 Pinot Noir barrel tank sample
Put in barrels yesterday. Belle matire. Very promising.
2010 Quartz fermentation tank sample
Super rich, fruity nose. Good density.
2008 Magical Mystery barrel
We didnt taste this, but I found the purpose/concept fascinating, so call it a conceptual note. It contains an unspecified mix of very ripe grapes that are kept in 10Y wood and partially blended into the final Racines in order for it to become impossible to copy (inimitable). Oh, the joys of being a Vin de France.
We then moved to a different building, where we tasted from tiennes barrels, with Claude, tienne, and a winemaker friend of tiennes called Reynald Haul, who Claude described as one of his protgs.
2010 tienne Courtois Gascon barrel sample
Very rich. Spicy cherry. Acidic. Delicious. Will stay in barrel for 18 months.
2009 tienne Courtois Gascon barrel sample
Thick, delicious, round, very acidic, no tannins. Reminiscent of Barbera.
2009 tienne Courtois Romorantin barrel sample
Floral. Tremendous minerality, bright acidity.
2009 tienne Courtois Sauvignon Blanc barrel sample
Herbal. Great mouth weight, zippy acids, lovely. Will stay in barrel for 30 months.
2008 tienne Courtois Evidence (Menu Pineau) barrel sample
Tropical fruit. Very acid grape, must be picked late, otherwise too acidic.
2009 tienne Courtois Evidence (Menu Pineau) barrel sample
Reduced, but some white flowers and paraffin. Lovely minerality.
2009 tienne Courtois Cuve des Etourneaux barrel sample
100% Gamay. Reduced, with strawberry. Great acidity and minerality, lovely fruit.
2008 Racines barrel sample (not sure why this was in tiennes cellar)
Dense cherry and spice. Balanced, rich, complex. Lovely.
2007 Evidence (Menu Pineau) barrel sample
Last vintage made by Claude, after which it became Etiennes baby. Smells unpleasantly oxidative, but nobody says anything. As a way to delicately broach the subject, I asked him about oxidative v. oxidized and he pooh-poohed the difference, saying that he either likes or doesnt like. Then, suddenly, he realized that he had left the bung hole open the last time he had sampled it, so the contents had completely oxidized. Somewhat contrite, he pulled a sample from the adjoining barrel.
2007 Evidence (Menu Pineau) barrel sample
Closed, but completely different. Lovely, rich, complex, showing only a hint of oxidation. Clearly, the previous barrel had been ruined.
Sincerity sidebar: a lesson repeatedly learned at these visits is that its worth speaking your mind and venturing a sensory criticism if you can find a diplomatic way of doing so. If youre feeling something, theres a good chance others are feeling it too. At worst, youre seldom defenestrated, and more barrels and bottles are tasted as they try to show you counter examples. The visit becomes more interesting for them and, last and hardly least, the way youre treated gets a noticeable upgrade.
It was time for lunch. Claude showed Marcia the way to the bathroom and, turning to me, made an expansive gesture towards the outdoors and said, we, on the other hand, have all of nature to use. I followed him to an adjoining sauvignon blanc vineyard where Claude positioned himself between two rows of vines and unzipped. Unable to resist the call of mimesis, your friendly narrator did likewise, prudishly and prudently opting for the neighboring lane. Yessir, peeing in tandem with the master himself. So, next time you detect cat pee in your sauvignon, question the species.
Claudes oldest son Julien and his New Zealander wife Heidi joined us for lunch, where flavorful home cooking mingled with an assortment of delicious breads and cheeses.
2008 Chardonnay
Very floral and mineral aromas. Chewy, more sweet than acid.
2007 Romorantin
Aged 30 months. Closed. Very acidic, good weight, slightly oxidative. Needs decanting.
2008 Julien Courtois Originel (Menu Pineau)
Oxidative, mineral, white flowers. Dense, structured, fruity, rich, complex.
2007 Racines
Bottled in May. Closed, but round, smooth, balanced. Delicious.
2007 Clos Belle Croix Rive Droite (Reynald Haul)
100% Pinot Meunier. Mature berry aromas. Good balance, round, fine.
2008 Julien Courtois Cuve Ancestrale
Ct & Gamay. Nice berry aromas. Very nice texture and good balance. Very good.
2008 Julien Courtois Gamay
Sour berry aromas, not very reminiscent of Gamay. CO2 spritz, good body and balance.
2005 Petit Coin du Paradis (Licquoreux) 14.45%
100% Menu Pineau. Oxidative nose, with almonds and honey. Exquisite balance. Claude says, beaming this one I keep for my friends; I protect my friends.
N.V. Vin de Mistelle 17.0%
Claudes version of Port. Lively, ripe cherry and herbs. Good balance and body, a very fine (and inexpensive) Port body double, except refreshingly lighter.
Lunch was an animated affair, with Claude presiding at the head of the table like a benevolent but assertive papa bear, to whom all present owed fealty, be they humans, cats, or dogs. An alpha, dominant and domineering, presiding over his eminent domaine. After coffee I noticed, with a start, that six hours had vanished into the ether. We exchanged warm farewells, and were commanded to come for dinner next time. Certainly one of our most memorable winery visits, ever, immensely instructive and filled with human connection, warmth and generosity. Luckily I had not scheduled anything for that afternoon, so we staggered back to the hotel, where we later, unable to face a restaurant, limited ourselves to a light snack and an early night.
Oxidativeness sidebar: a significant proportion of the white wines we tasted were oxidative, particularly those made by the more radical experimenters and sans soufre practitioners. I usually have some trouble enjoying oxidative wines, and its sometimes hard to distinguish oxidativeness from low level oxidation. But I know lots of people like the taste, and have noticed that both Marcia and I are becoming increasingly tolerant. If its an acquired taste, I wonder if daily contact with oxidativeness has conditioned the palate of some natural winemakers, making them part company with even the average geek, not to mention the average drinker.
Wednesday, October 20
In contrast to the previous days visit, Christine Nicolas seemed the epitome of good-natured normalcy. Without preliminaries, we went straight into the tasting room. Christine said that 2009 had been rich, but with very attractive acidity. 2010 was also looking very good, after a good summer. As evidence, 2/3 of the vines did not have to be treated, and the remainder just once. 2010 was an early harvest for them, and they had already picked everything by the time the rains came on September 24.
2009 Premices Jasnires 12.5%
Second vintage. From young vines converted to organic planted on clay-limestone. Closed. Lovely fruit, a bit sweet (meant to be sec tendre), decent acidity.
2008 LEffraie Sec Coteaux-du-Loir 13.5%
From 25Y vines. Under 2g rs. Lovely, rich fruit aroma, with white flower and petrol. Decadent. Lovely, vibrant fruitiness, perfect balance, complete. Christine says 08 was a jolie millsime for secs (no jokes, please).
2008 Les Rosiers Sec Jasnires 13.5%
Similar nose, to preceding, even richer and more decadent. Slightly sweeter, rich, delicious. Some botrytis, hence 4g rs.
2007 Les Rosiers Sec Jasnires 13.5%
Spent 12 months in used barriques. 07 summer saw rain, but September was good. Muted nose, with some white flowers and apple. Drier, appealing, but very light. Some botrytis. Christine explains that, the forest next to their Jasnires vineyards generates fog that encourages botrytis, so it shows up in Jasnires more than in Coteaux-du-Loir.
2008 Vieilles Vignes parses Coteaux-du-Loir
From 70-80Y vines. Spent 18 months in barriques, a little bit of them new. Fruity, mineral, white flower and botrytis aromas. Lovely texture, light to medium weight. Quite ripe, but nice.
2007 LEffraie Tendre Coteaux-du-Loir
LEffraie bottlings can be confusing because it can be Sec or Tendre. 15g rs. Botrytis aroma. Lovely texture, good acidity, but slightly too sweet to call balanced.
2005 Les Rosiers Jasnires 13.5%
From young vines. 15g rs. Their driest wine in 2005. Nose is decadent botrytis, very attractive. Body lighter than expected, again slightly too sweet to call balanced. Christine says this vineyard is normally among their last to be harvested, but in 05 they had to be harvest it in the middle. Interesting how, for some vineyards, riper years can be a mixed blessing if earlier harvests that dont allow as much complexity to develop.
2005 Vieilles Vignes parses Coteaux-du-Loir
20g rs. Rich white flower, honey, mineral, vegetable aromas. Superb fruit, close to balanced, but needs more acidity.
2009 Haut-Rasn Coteaux-du-Loir
Mix of young and old vines. 65g rs. Rich white flowers and mineral aroma. Lovely mouth feel, with awesome minerality.
At this point, after tasting only whites, Christines body language suggested that the tasting part was over. As a way of inquiring about the reds, I asked if we could purchase a bottle of their top cuve, the lHommage Louis Derr. She replied, with a modicum of dismay, that they didnt have ANY reds left. Until a few years ago, she said, they had a hard time selling reds, but then America discovered them, and now they simply have nothing left. After rummaging a bit, she found a bottle of Rouge-Gorge, and graciously offered to open it or give it to us.
2006 Le Rouge-Gorge 13.5%
Pineau dAunis. Lovely raspberry and forest floor. Perfect acid/sweet balance, pleasant tannins, lovely fruit, spicy, dark, exotic. Christine says it wasnt the best vintage, but very fruity.
After we finished tasting, Christine showed us the cellar.
Pronunciation break: as pronounced locally, both ss in Jasnires are mute. Also mute is the t in Ct.
After Bellivire, we had an adequate lunch at Chez Miton in Chahaignes (try pronouncing that with poise), where the waiter brought us unexceptional glasses of Pineau dAunis. With a busy afternoon ahead, Marcia took the opportunity to smell the roses.
It wasn't easy to find our way to Nathalie and Christian Chaussards cleanly designed new winery, adjacent to their cleanly designed new home. Some of the Loire winery addresses are just the names of the buildings, known only to postmen and locals, and Amlia was unfamiliar with most of them.
Nathalie, who trained as a comedienne, poured us our first three wines, filling in for Christian, busy with a group of Japanese visitors.
2009 You Are So Fine Vouvray (not barrique version)
Heady mineral aromas. Chewy, good body and balanced, though quite ripe; attractive minerality.
2009 You Are So Fine Vouvray (barrique version)
Same aromas, but richer, more generous, with same acidity.
2009 Kharakter Jasnires
Ripe botrytis and oxidative nose; less oxidative when retasted 20 minutes later. Good acidity and structure; very fine, though less acid than the Vouvrays.
After Christian arrived and showered us with Patapon buttons, we began to hear about the domaine, and tasted four more bottles.
2009 You Are So Beautiful
Made from purchased Pinot Noir. Earthy, leathery, bretty, phaps a bit unclean. Fruity, but very dry, with bitter finish. Balanced acidity, but tough to like. Christian says this was created to meet Japanese demand for a PN that doesnt taste Burgundian. Mission accomplished.
2009 Patapon
Pineau dAunis with about 20% Gamay. Meaty cherry aromas. Good weight/body, leafy, but tarry and bitter. Another tough one. Improves with air. Perhaps sullen from having been bottled only two weeks prior.
2009 Cote dAlerte
100% Ct. Also bottled two weeks ago. Herbal and leafy aroma, suggesting bitterness. Good structure and grainy tannins, balanced, less angry than others, but still tough.
2009 Les Mortiers (tank sample)
Pineau dAunis, Gamay, Ct. Harsh, cherry, leafy, herbal aromas. Very acidic, very tannic, bitter. Desperately seeking food.
In addition to Domaine Le Briseau, Christian and Nathalie have a ngociant sideline, called Nana Vins et Cie. Purchased grapes are organic, if possible, otherwiselutte raisone. Nana wines are made in their new facility next to the home, whereas Le Briseau wines are made in their old winery in the town of Maron. Christian said that being a ngociant allows him to make wines that he couldnt otherwise make, but requires a special talent for evaluating what is the optimal destination for a parcel of grapes. He feels he has a special talent for this, and cited Thierry Puzelat as the only person he has ever met that is even more gifted.
Like others we met on this trip, Chaussard prefers to handle residual sugar by filtering instead of jacking up the SO2. He said, a few times, that he only uses 1 or 2 g of sulfur, but perhaps he was not talking mg/l (unless he is into homeopathy). Because the wines are fragile, he suspends winery sales to private visitors between June and September. Before doing so, hed sell wines to people who would leave them in hot cars for hours while they visited other wineries or chateaux, and would later complain that they were spoiled. 70% of his production is for export, and Chaussard insists that all of that be shipped in refrigerated containers. Laughing, he said that the Japanese are so meticulous that a recent shipment had temperature gauges attached to the bottles, and those showed only a 2 degree variation during the journey.
No carbonic maceration is used. Wines are subjected to daily pigeage for 10 days to 4 weeks and, he stressed several times, there is never any remontage (pumping over). I was getting confused with the terminology so we took time out for a dictionary break: Foulage (initial foot stomping), Pigeage (subsequent foot stomping), and Remontage (pumping over).
On the subject of oxidativeness, Christian said that he exposes the pressed juice to oxygen before alcoholic fermentation. This makes certain oxidative elements disappear, making the liquid more resistant to oxygen after fermentation. I didnt quite understand how this works, but Im sure theres a fascinating sidebar there somewhere. Preemptive oxidation, hmm, why not use it to vaccinate against premox?
Christian is currently president of the Association des Vins Naturels (AVN), and hopes to lobby for a measure that would require wine labels to contain the same table that one sees on food packaging that lists the nutritional values, the composition, the ingredients, etc. At a minimum, he wants to replace contains sulphites with the actual dosage. He thinks consumers have a right to know how much SO2 there is in a bottle, especially the allergic ones, and its ridiculous that producers who use bucketfuls can hide behind the vagueness of those two words while AVN members are running considerable commercial risk by using minimal amounts.
After the fourth red in a row (the 09 Les Mortiers) tasted harsh, I asked Chaussard if he vinified them so dry in order to minimize SO2, venturing that such extreme dryness makes them a bit hard to approach at this point. He replied that his objective is to make wines with character, austere wines, wines that may be reserved initially, but become expressive later. Like women, he asks me, or men, he adds to Marcia, would you want to be with someone who reveals everything initially and holds no surprises for later? If a wine flatters me, I become suspicious; a wine that flatters me at the beginning will have a hard time being a vin de garde. At this point I began to hold back on the compliments. Christian continued: his 2002 Les Mortiers, for example, was beautiful that morning with the Japanese visitors.
We accompanied Christian to the Le Briseau winery, where we tasted from a few barrels.
2009 Chenin (Kharakter) Jasnires barrel sample
Very rich aromas. Tastes demi-sec, more sweet than acid.
2009 Chenin (Patapon blanc?) barrel sample
From a different parcel, fermenting for over a year. Richly aromatic, with minerals, smoke and nuts. Lovely, dense, chewy, great stuff.
2002 Chenin Coteaux-du-Loir (in incredibly moldy barrique)
Incredibly, 8 years in this barrique (so covered with champignons that it looks like a hairy ape), without sulfur, to be bottled at year-end. Nuts, almonds, pine resin, and epoxy glue aromas. Light, round, with volatile acidity, light bitterness. Fascinating.
Alas, we had no opportunity to check out the 2002 Les Mortiers, possibly due to the matinal overconsumption of others. Christian continued to regale us with tidbits that I labored to absorb: very long levages are good for whites because they accumulate esthers and glycerol; they give impression of sweetness even when you vinify as dry as possible (which he always tries to do). For reds, on the other hand, very long levages can be bad because the tannins dry the wine (or the tannins become dry). Troglodytic caves are important allies; they make everything possible without temperature control.
Though most of the Chaussard reds were tough to love, this was a fascinating visit, among the most instructional.
Champignon sidebar: throughout our trip, winemakers kept referring to the fungi playing everywhere as champignons. Frankly, I take exception to this. I refuse to, say, attribute athletes foot to champignons. Marcia assures me that, under a microscope, the little buggers are, indeed, mushrooms, but I refuse to budge from my impressionistic mycological hierarchy. Fungus is one thing, the low rung on the totem pole, the yucky stuff you cant individuate. Mushrooms, on the other hand, are gummy umbreloids that you can see, but some of them can kill you, so they dont deserve a cutesy French word. The word champignon should be reserved for the highest expression of the species, the delicate edible ones that, blanched or not, enthrall and delight the buds.
Robinots Hood
Beginning to show signs of cerebral fatigue, we stumbled into the lair of Jean-Pierre Robinot, wacky wine scientist and zero sulfur paladin non pareil. We were met by the amiable Mme Robinot, who took us to the entrance to a series of mountain-side cellars, in one of which Jean-Pierre was hard at work.
Tank samples:
2009 Bistrologie
Jasnires. Rich oxidative aromas of white flowers and nuts. CO2 spritz, fat and thick. Very nice.
2008 LIris du Loir Jasnires. 24 months in tank. From 40Y vines. Similar oxidative aromas. Citric, chewy, more stately and elegant. Lovely.
2007 Charme du Loir
Coteaux-du-Loir. 36 months in tank. Light oxidation, floral. CO2, attractive texture, acidity and minerality.
2008 Charme du Loir
Coteaux-du-Loir. 24 months in tank. Elegantly oxidative, mineral, floral. CO2, excellent acid/fruit balance; incredibly vibrant.
Barrel samples:
2008 Cuve Juliette Robinot
24 months in barrel. From 50/80Y Jasnires vines and 100Y old Coteaux-du-Loir vines. Closed. Mouth shows great density and structure; top notch. Only 2/3 barriques per vintage.
2005 Cuve Juliette Robinot
60 months in barrel. Very fine oxidative honey aromas. Light botrytis, balanced, perfect texture. Very fine. Robinot showed us the voile with a flashlight.
2005 Vignes Centenaries
Coteaux-du-Loir. One barrel only. 60 months in barrel. 100% from vines >100Y. Indescribably ethereal perfume. Soft and delicate mouth feel, delicious in an almost not there manner. Oddest sensation of putting a wraith in your mouth. A privilege to taste.
2005 Enuaj
Enuaj = voile spelt backwards. From 40Y vines. Oxidative nose. Tastes like a vin jaune.
From bottle:
2009 LAnns Folles Ptillant Naturel
Pineau dAunis. Mthode Ancestrale. Mineral, yeast and white flowers. Good balance, fine perlage.
Back to barrels, switching to reds:
2009 Regard Du Loir #2
4/5 week cuvaison. Dark for Pineau dAunis. Musk, spice, pepper. Acidic, tannic, very dry.
2009 Cuve Nocturne
Pineau dAunis. 80Y vines. 2 barriques per vintage. Dusky, spicy, smoky, woodsy. Delicate, lightweight, balanced.
2009 Cuve Camille Robinot
Pineau dAunis. 80Y vines. Similar nose as preceding, plus cherry. Tastes delicate, exotic, extraordinary.
2009 Charme du Loir (blanc)
Coteaux-du-Loir. 12 months in barrel (needs 12 more). Very floral. Lovely, tastes ready. Robinot says this is the most forward barrel, others not so ready.
2009 Iris du Loir
Jasnires. Lime, white flowers, minerals. Nice potential, needs time.
2009 Cuve Juliette Robinot
Jasnires. Mineral and white flowers. Rich, marvelous structure, needs tons of time.
2009 Iris du Loir late harvest 16.5% (two barrels)
Jasnires. From 7/8Y vines. Lovely, very rich botrytis aromas with minerals and white flowers. Perfect balance and structure; lovely weight; light yet substantial. Second barrel even richer. Awesome stuff.
Moving from the frigid cellars into the messy office, graced with tables inherited from Robinots 1990s Paris wine bar LAngevin, we sampled a handful of bottles:
2009 Opera des Vins Concerto dOniss 12.0%
Bottled in August, from purchased grapes from vineyard that became organic two years ago. Herbal and guava aromas. Austere dryness, good acidity, meaty, smoky, needs time.
2009 Le Regard du Loir #1 12.5%
From a vineyard that became organic eight years before. Stemmy cherry, exotic and spicy. Lovely minerality, excellent balance, good mouth weight. Lovely. Playing soon at a theater near you.
2006 Cuve Nocturne (Vieilles Vignes)
Smoky, dense, complex berry aromas. Good balance, tannic, quite austere. Decant.
It felt like an exquisite privilege to be able to taste such intriguing adventures in winemaking. Robinot, in turn, seemed to feed off our fascination. Robinot seems to be pushing the natural wine envelope to the edge of going postal. For the most part, money seems like a totally secondary concern to him, a necessary evil that must be attended to with sufferance.
Exhausted and shivering flesh is weak, so it was a relief to enter our car, turn on the heater, and drive back into the arms of Morpheus. But the memory of that flashlight peering into the dark bung holes will linger long after all that is liquid melts into air.
Thursday, October 21
Our morning appointment with Emile Herdia had to be cancelled, but it felt like a consolation to have the morning off. We drove to Chenonceau, the chateau we were most eager to visit. Built in the XVIth century, its most unusual characteristic is that it is also a bridge, spanning the river Cher (looks better at high tide).
Refreshed by Chenonceau, we knocked at Domaine des Maisons Brules, home of Michel and Batrice Aug. Michel greeted us in the parking lot and led us into the house to meet Batrice. He then took us to an adjoining building where he showed us a mechanical press in which some Gamay was being crushed and pumped-over (here I remembered Christian Chaussard stressing repeatedly that he never does pump-overs). Next came a walk around the vineyards. Handling clumps of earth with great affection, Michel showed us how alive the soil was with insects and weeds, and stressed the importance of keeping it from being compacted by the weight of tractors or other mechanical devices (he now uses a horse for many of the plowing activities).
From the summit of the vineyard, Michel pointed to several places in the surrounding countryside where fields appeared divided into rectangular plots. He described how, in medieval times, the land used to be owned by abbeys, who divided it into ouvreus or basselous, areas manageable by one day of work for the average family. The abbey got its share, and the families could keep the rest. Markers, like Obelixian menhirs, were placed to demarcate the limits of each family but, after the mechanization of agriculture, many of the plots were combined, and the markers that had divided them for centuries were unceremoniously demolished. Like Pierre Breton earlier in the week, Michel described how the local rivers used to overflow, pushing the edges of cities to a safe distance. After Napoleon channeled the rivers in the early XIXth century, the alluvial soil, too rich for vineyards, became agricultural land. (How Napoleon found the time to channel the rivers of France between one campaign and another, while bringing back obelisks from Egypt and bronze horses from St. Marks, beggars the imagination.)
While we were standing at the summit, Michel talked about biodynamic agriculture, and I ventured that I was all in favor, but skeptical about some of the more esoteric practices. As if feeling challenged, he took us down to a lower part of the vineyard, and asked us to describe the feeling generated by the two places. I said that, at the summit, I had felt more exposed, while here I felt more protected. He seemed politely unimpressed. Marcia said that, at the summit, all she could hear was the sound of insects; here, all she could hear was the sound of birds. That response seemed to open the floodgates of admiration. Michel kept repeating Marcias response, wanting to hear more. Apparently, in biodynamic terms, the summit corresponds to a place of deep connection to the earth, while the second place is connected to the air, so the insects and the birds would make sense.
On the property, there was once a cluster of houses that was burned down during the turmoil of the French Revolution. Michel wishes he could discover their exact location, but has so far been unable to do, even after examining whatever county records remain. Some mystical causality seemed to hover, unexplained, attached to these houses.
Born locally in 1955, Michel has been cultivating the property and making wine for the last 36 years. He seemed curious and well-read, familiar with subjects ranging from Nietzsche to Ayurveda (one of Marcias medical specialties). Most of all, he seemed to possess a tranquil center, a quiet self-assurance, the kind urban types might ascribe to daily congress with elemental truths. Leaving these places of power, we walked to a small building where there is a tasting room, and there we were joined by Batrice. Michel relayed Marcias response to her, and they both smiled knowingly, shaking their heads in wonder. We had relatively little contact with Batrice, but she left a profound impression on both of us. There is something earthy yet beatific about her, an unassuming grace, like a soul on the last rung of the reincarnation ladder.
OK, enough hippie talk, what about the wines? We tasted just a handful, but it was some handful.
2007 Suavignon VdF
These French and their love of puns. I just cant relate. This was bottled in June. Ripe grapes, with a touch of botrytis, no filtration. Lovely mineral, chalk, and white flower aromas. Good weight, texture, balance. Excellent.
2004 Voile VdF
Sauvignon Blanc. Sous voile, like vin jaune; spent 3 years in barrique. Oxidative nutty aromas. Very mild, round, and rich, made more pleasurable by a touch of sweetness. I suggest to Michel that this tastes friendlier than vin jaune because of the sweetness. He replies that its totally dry, so the impression of sweetness comes from glycerin. Superb.
2008 Herdeleau VdF
Blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir (half & half), with 10% Pineau dAunis. Dark berry, herbs and leather. Smells like 100% Pineau dAunis. I venture this and Michel rewards my audacity by saying its incredible how the Pineau dominates the others. Mouth-filling, rich, lively, with light tannins and excellent balance. Lovely wine.
2009 Alterit VdF
Ros made from cabernet sauvignon. Mthode ancestrale. Lovely salmon pink. Closed (that happens right after dgorgement). Lovely mouth feel and caressing perlage. Very balanced, with light yeastiness and gently bitter cherry finish. Delicious.
Michel uses a crown capsule lined with alimentary-grade resin (resine alimentaire) for all his wines. He experimented with screw caps, but found the results variable. Asked about the reportedly greater incidence of reduction with screw caps, Michel said that wine cannot become reduced after bottling; if a wine smells reduced, then it was already bottled reduced. I asked him if the presumably greater oxygen ingress of a cork might not be a way to slowly eliminate the smells of wines bottled in a reduced state, he came up with a startling response.
Fiat Lux (maybe) moment #3: unless there is a defect, air never enters a bottle because atmospheric pressure is always greater inside than outside; in other words, its fallacious to talk about ideal rates of oxygen ingress; there is only egress.
Well, that turns some things upside down. We had another visit to run to, but left with the sensation of having met a pair of truly special people. Henceforth, we shall endeavor to seek out these little known but precious wines, establish material possession, and imbibe with the hope of acquiring the virtues of their makers.
Screw cap joke: what do a screw cap and a walrus have in common? Answer: they both love a tight seal!
We Loved Her Like a Rock
From the Augs it is only a stones throw to Clos Roche Blanche, home of natural wine superstars Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet. We drove up a winding path and, half way up, found Catherine, Didier and a co-worker burning a huge pile of tree stumps and branches. Catherine told us to drive all the way up, where she would meet us at, you guessed it, the place of white rocks.
Catherine said that 2010 was looking like an excellent vintage. 2009 was good, but compromised by low yields. Stepping into the cellars, she kept apologizing for the bazaar, or mess.
Before tasting them, she explained the difference between their two sauvignon blancs:
#2: macerated for 12/24 hours under dry ice before pressing to develop fruitiness; aged in stainless steel to conserve freshness.
#5: pressed directly and aged in oak for micro-oxigenation to develop more richness and minerality. Riper grapes, and those from older vines, go into #5.
Catherine fetched some unmarked bottles and poured for us in the bazaar.
2009 Sauvignon Blanc #2 Touraine
Closed, but some minerals, white flowers and chalk. Good texture, but a bit sweet. Baby fat.
2009 Sauvignon Blanc #5 Touraine
Bottled at the end of August, needs another year in bottle. Unfiltered. Similar aromas. Thicker, more mineral, less sweet. Liked this better.
2008 Sauvignon Blanc #5 Touraine
Terrific aromas, rich, herbal, citrus, white flowers. Great balance, lovely texture and satisfying body. Delicious.
2009 Gamay Touraine (from half bottle)
Since we had been talking about this, Catherine scrounged a half-bottle, apologetically saying thats all they had left. Intriguing, caramelized banana aroma (confirmed by Marcia, lest you think Im hallucinating). Lovely texture, balanced, surprisingly present tannins. Catherine says the grapes didnt have much juice, so the wine turned out more tannic than usual.
2009 Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon Touraine
75% CF and 25% CS. Rich and complex nose. Good texture and weight, very tannic. I venture that I cant really taste either grape, and Catherine says they were macerated together to cancel the individual characteristics of each. Thierry Puzelat would say pretty much the same thing the following morning, so consider this Fiat Lux moment #4: if you want to retain varietal characteristics, macerate separately and then blend; if you dont, macerate together.
2009 Ct TouraineBottled end of August, beginning of September. Closed, with a hint of cherry. Lovely balance, fine tannins, delicious.
The visit was short, but we connected well, laughed a lot, and spoke highly of SFJoe. As we made our way back down, Didier was still burning wood, absorbed in the work, oblivious to the driversby.
Dinner at LHerbe Rouge, Valaire
For our last dinner in the Loire, we went to a place that Scott Reiner had assiduously recommended. We introduced ourselves to Ccile, the owner, and ended up being the only dining customers that night. Two guys were sipping and talking wine at one of the tables, but soon left. A friend was morosely chatting with Ccile at the bar. Everything was homey, just the way we like it. The wine list was terrific, the food was excellent, and the ambiance unpretentious and warm. Cciles large terrier, was sleeping on the floor.
2005 Domaine des Maisons Brules Poussire de Lune 14.5%
White flowers and minerals. CO2, sweetness a bit caramelly, needs more acid. Curiously, label says no contains sulphites. Phaps the word added is missing.
2009 Noella Morantin Gamay (by the glass)
Very dark. Lovely and classic Gamay raspberry/strawberry, but more acid than the average Beaujolais. Very nice, bordering on delicious. Much more easygoing and less tannic than the CRB Gamay tasted earlier in the day, though probably far less age worthy.
N.V. Sebastian Brunet Vouvray Le Naturel Ptillant
Compliments of Ccile, we enjoyed this very much. If representative, this is a winemaker to seek out.
Towards the end, entirely happy with the experience, I said to Ccile that if this were So Paulo instead of Valaire, shed have the house full every night, all year round. She smiled and said that, just yesterday, they had had eight tables for dinner, and it was busier from May to September. Plus, she said, I am married to a local vigneron, so I have to stay in the area. I said oh really, is your husband someone I might have heard of? She replied Its Thierry Puzelat. Damn you, Scott, what happened to the art of debriefing? But then it dawned on me that my friend had acted with the discretion of a gentleman. Discretion being, of course, the better part of Valaire.
Friday, October 22
With considerable relief at the impending close of our hedonistic ordeal, we checked out of our hotel and set off for our final appointment.
Wheres the Boeuf?
When we arrived, Thierry Puzelat and an associate were behind the winery, fixing some machinery, so he asked us to wait a few minutes in a small tasting room, curiously decorated with sausages hanging from nails hammered to the columns. In a few minutes he was back, bearing bottles.
For a superstar winemaker, we found Thierry remarkably grounded, with no trace of self-importance or theatricality. As the conversation developed, so did a sense of connection. Thierry said he was pleased with the 2010 vintage because it would prove to be drinkable early. Buvabilit. He talked of his fathers time, when great vintages were few and far between, and most wines were for everyday drinking. In his time, the situation seems to have inverted, and global warming has brought about so many great vintages that require ageing that he actually yearns for older style vintages.
At some point, we started talking about a trio of separated-at-birth characteristics that are hard to identify. He mentioned how volatile acidity can be mistaken for ethyl acetate, premature oxidation with oxidativeness, and age-related characteristics like leather with brett. He told us an interesting story about a workshop that he and several other winemakers had been required to attend because most only drink their own wines and are ill-informed about wine in general. During a test, only 5 of the 25 winemakers present were able to correctly differentiate volatile acidity from ethyl acetate. As we talked, we tasted through a seemingly random series of cuvees from the (to me, at least) bewildering array of Puzelat and Clos du Tue-Boeuf bottlings that exist out there.
2009 Frileuse Cheverny 14.0%
1/3 Sauvignon Blanc, 1/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Fi Gris (huh?). From clay-silex. Rich and lovely white flower aromas. Ripe, with good balance.
2009 Le Brin de Chvre Touraine 13.0%
Mostly Menu Pineau, with 10% Meslier (huh?) from 70Y vines. Closed, some florals. Good balance and acidity.
2009 Le Buisson Pouilleux 13.8%
Old vine Sauvignon Blanc from gravel soils. Mildly oxidative, with white flowers. Good balance and structure, citrusy acidity. Thierry says that SB tends to be more oxidative because less acidic.
2009 Pinot Gris VdT 15.0%
Oxidative nose. Lovely texture, good balance. Rich, and neither hot nor cloying, given the alcohol. Thierry says that malos started while this was fermenting; after the malos ended, the yeasts restarted the fermentation. Broke every rule in the book. But no problem.
2009 Clos du Tue-Boeuf Rouillon VdT Touraine
From young ( Gamay 1987 and Pinot Noir 1991) vines planted on clay-silex. Burgundian nose, gamey and lovely. Light body, balanced, light tannins, mild astringency.
2009 Clos du Tue-Boeuf La Callire Cheverny
100% Pinot Noir. Lovely rose petals (Thierry says this is typical of PN on planted on silex; like Vosne Romane), with some volatile acidity. Lovely mouth feel, round, structured, perfect balance.
2009 La Guerrerie Touraine
2/3 Ct 1/3 Gamay, macerated together to efface varietal characteristics. Asked why he would do this, Thierry says to represent the place. Reduced leather and animal aromas. Good structure, balanced, with nice tannins and acids.
2007 Clos du Tue-Boeuf La Callire Cheverny 11.5%
2007 a lighter vintage, a millsime de soif (for thirst-quenching). Lovely color. Reduced, with rose petals. Lovely mouth feel and structure, excellent balance.
At this point, not too satisfied with how the PNs were showing, Thierry went out and came back with an older bottle.
1999 Clos du Tue-Boeuf La Callire Cheverny
Very floral, with rose petals, berries and cloves. Meaty and balanced. Light-footed, yet rich and deep. Fabulous.
Thierry said, with a chuckle, that this wine had already died twice but then came back. I said that its lovely combination of delicacy and resonance reminded me of another 1999, a bottle of Overnoy Poulsard that had been one of our epiphany moments on the last night of a visit to Paris. Thierrys eyes lit up. He said it made him very pleased to hear this, because Poulsard was one of his favorite grapes and Overnoy one of his favorite producers. He believed that Poulsard could age even longer than Pinot Noir, and told us about a recent celebration of Pierre Overnoys 80th birthday in which a group of friends had been treated to twenty vintages between 1963 and 2003. All had been sensational. With that, and after a quick hello from Ccile, our visit came to a close. We said goodbye and, as we were walking towards the car, the shy Jean-Marie Puzelat, whom we had not met, came calling after us, saying that Thierry was asking us to wait a minute. After a few seconds, Thierry came out of the storage room holding a bottle of the 1999 Pinot Noir.
We were the beneficiaries of considerable generosity during our trip, but whereof we cannot speak, we must remain silent. But this gesture warrants disclosure because of what it says about Thierry. Our Loire visits could not have been brought to a more affecting close.
Loire Part 4: Paris
As Romorantin fans, on the way to Paris we had to stop in Cour-Cheverny for lunch.
2008 Domaine de Bellivire (Eric Nicolas) Jasnires
Closed, some white flowers. Lovely mouth feel, but more sweet than acid; a bit cloying.
2009 Domaine LAnglore (blanc)
Mineral and white flower. Full bodied, ripe, needs acidity, short finish. Sharon said this was balanced in 2008.
2009 Domaine LAnglore Cuve de la Pierre Chaude VdF 13.0%
85% Grenache, 15% Clairet. Color almost ros. Crushed flowers and guava aromas. Like drinking alcoholic rosewater. Lively, but thin. Yet fascinating.
2007 Foillard Morgon Cote du Py
Closed, but some elegant fruit peeking through. Dark, dry, balanced. A bit sullen right now.
Saturday, October 23
On Saturday we tried to take a nephew, currently living in Paris, to lunch at La Crmerie. Fully booked, not difficult, as it only has a dozen seats. So we stepped into the competent Le Petit Vatel, a few doors down.
2009 Yvon Mtras Beaujolais 13.0%
Closed, but good structure.
2009 Domaine du Moulin (Herv Villemade) Cheverny 13.0%
Very fruity and pleasant. Had a second glass.
That night we had dinner with Sharon to look forward to, and the place chosen to host this historic summit was Le Repaire de Cartouche, where chef Rodolphe specializes in game. I am not overly fond of exotica, like tripe and body parts that have specialized functions, but I was determined not to embarrass myself. In short, I was game for game. Availing ourselves of Sharons expertise, we kicked off with a delicious N.V. Jacques Selosse VO, served smartly in a white wine glass. The waiter brought us amuse bouches, but I had no camera, so cannot regale you with images of an amuse bouche going into our muses bouche. Rodolphe came over to advise us on the choice of red, and promptly vetoed all of the several older vintages of Dard & Ribo Hermitage that had caught our eye. He also vetoed the two vintages of Jasmin Cote Rtie. I began to despair, but then he acquiesced to a bottle of 2005 Antoine Arena Patrimonio Grotte di Sole Corsica 13.0%. I was curious about Arena due to a recent thread on Corsica. The word is redolent of gladiators, so I expected something rustic and fierce. But it was sweet. Sharon said, well, its a hot climate wine. Rendered speechless by the irrefutability of that observation, that might have made a more experienced me hold out for something closer to the Artic, I persevered, though I still prefer my coffee without sugar (whatever that means).
As an appetizer, I braced myself and ordered boudin. Found it disconcertingly delicious, and much easier to process than an andouilette that I had gingerly downed in Montlouis earlier in the week. I have to say, these things are perfectly edible if you think of anything other than what you are eating. As a main course, I gamely went for Rodolphes specialty, Livre a la Royale. I was brought a terrine-like rectangle of compacted hare meat covered by a thick sauce reminiscent of Mexican mole. I asked the waiter if it was chocolate. Not amused. It tasted good, like a fine meat loaf, but a bit sweet, like the Arena. I gave Sharon a taste, and she liked it better than I, making me feel doubly unappreciative of the hares sacrifice for the benefit of my education.
Marcia and Sharon were happy with their choices, as was I, but the true main course was getting to know Sharon better and learning a bit about her Franco-American history. We also gossiped about board members, of course, and the vagaries of combinatorial analysis: how A being friendly with B and C doesnt mean that B will be friendly with C. On a lilywhite napkin, we drew a horizontal axis labeled Like and a vertical axis labeled Respect. We proceeded to place each forumite somewhere on the field. The final result was perfectly scattered, like white noise. OK, this didnt really happen. But it could have.
Sunday, October 24
After two weeks of hard work-study, Sunday and Monday were given over to lazing around a chilly but always lovely Paris, and visiting the crowded Pompidou Center for the Gabriel Orozco exhibition. Sunday morning we shopped at the excellent organic street market on the Boulevard Raspail, and ate the proceeds that same evening at the apartment where we were staying, accompanied by the bottle given to us by Sophie and Ludo, of the Bourgueil bar--vins La Promenade.
2008 Nadine et Gerard Marula Les Gruches Touraine 12.5%
Sans soufre, blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon & Grolleau. Raspberry, crushed petals. Fruity, balanced, leafy, very nice, bordering on excellent. Importer alert!
Looking back on the trip, I am struck by how gracious all the winemakers were, despite the inconvenience of our timing. When I made the appointments, several mentioned that they were going to be busy with the harvest, but none used this as a reason to say no. I was also struck by how timidity is not rewarded. The more inquisitive you are, the happier it makes them; they must be bored out of their minds by the kinds of consumers they meet at store tastings, and seem to really appreciate the effort to meet them on their own turf, especially if you come from far away. Don Rice and David Lillie turned me on to the recently published Le Chemin des Vignes Vale de la Loire, by the editors of LeRouge & LeBlanc, and it proved invaluable. David was extremely helpful in nudging me this way and that when I showed him my list of potential victims. His innocent words "say hello to everybody" turned out rather helpful. To those I know he likes, I would start the visit by saying "David Lillie says hello," immediately raising our status. Finally, I would like to dedicate my Oscar to Google Maps, thanks to which I was able to cluster our visits and limit the consumption of gasoline, made increasingly scarce by strikes over the inept way the government handled the raising of the retirement age from 60 to 62.