Been thinking lately about Clos Rougeard and the "arrière-grand-père" who features so prominently in Foucault lore. The one who, after phylloxera devastated his vineyard in the 1880s, went to Bordeaux to see how they were doing things and returned greatly influenced by what he had learned.
What was his name?
Maisonneuve's 1925 Chacé winemaker directory lists no Foucaults:
Nope. Nobody rings a bell. Yet the family connection goes this far back and well beyond. It's likely that our guy is on this list. But who is it?
Let's trace the family name backward in time, try to connect the dots, and see where we end up. Can we quickly determine, using published texts, the person who may have initially brought the Clos Rougeard style to Clos Rougeard?
But first, an amuse-bouche. Two interesting CR labels as published in "Vignerons rebelles" (2004), one from a Chacé dry white and the other from a declassified 1999 rosé:
According to the text, the rosé, having lost its AOC in 99 was jokingly renamed l'Orphelin for that year and sold as VdT.
Let's move on. Blanchet (1982) introduces us to pere Raymond Foucault, the arrière-GP story and a "Foucault & fils" label.
A few years earlier, Brejoux (1974) mentions the estate and confirms to us that family names other than Foucault will enter the picture. We can welcome M. Milon-Foucault to the domaine's family tree.
Not every useful source is in print. A tasting of the 1959 Le Bourg reported online
confirms another name change, to Milon-Moreau.
Going back a little further, the 1942 Annuaire des Marques shows us the CR label.
Hallelujah!
Stepping back another ten years we find M. Milon or perhaps his father (or another Milon) as shown in the September 1932 issue of Grands crus et vins de France. Astonishingly the text is published in three languages. Here we also see two vineyard associations, Poyeux and "clos Harpin."
And so, coming 'round again, we can take another look at the Maisonneuve directory, which lacked a Foucault. And whaddaya know. There are two Milons, Benjamin with two hectares and Adrian (not shown) with four, the only Milons in town. Could it be?
Bonjour, arrière-grand-père candidates. Oh, the stories we wish you could tell.
Well, I hope that was fun for somebody. One irony, though. Upon completion of this enjoyable sleuthing I pulled my collection of "Le Rouge et le Blanc" off the shelf and right there in the March 1994 issue are the family names we've been looking for all along - Milon, yes we knew that, and earlier names too: Dubois, Esnault, Venon. It's a continuum.
What was his name?
Maisonneuve's 1925 Chacé winemaker directory lists no Foucaults:
Nope. Nobody rings a bell. Yet the family connection goes this far back and well beyond. It's likely that our guy is on this list. But who is it?
Let's trace the family name backward in time, try to connect the dots, and see where we end up. Can we quickly determine, using published texts, the person who may have initially brought the Clos Rougeard style to Clos Rougeard?
But first, an amuse-bouche. Two interesting CR labels as published in "Vignerons rebelles" (2004), one from a Chacé dry white and the other from a declassified 1999 rosé:
According to the text, the rosé, having lost its AOC in 99 was jokingly renamed l'Orphelin for that year and sold as VdT.
Let's move on. Blanchet (1982) introduces us to pere Raymond Foucault, the arrière-GP story and a "Foucault & fils" label.
A few years earlier, Brejoux (1974) mentions the estate and confirms to us that family names other than Foucault will enter the picture. We can welcome M. Milon-Foucault to the domaine's family tree.
Not every useful source is in print. A tasting of the 1959 Le Bourg reported online
confirms another name change, to Milon-Moreau.
Going back a little further, the 1942 Annuaire des Marques shows us the CR label.
Hallelujah!
Stepping back another ten years we find M. Milon or perhaps his father (or another Milon) as shown in the September 1932 issue of Grands crus et vins de France. Astonishingly the text is published in three languages. Here we also see two vineyard associations, Poyeux and "clos Harpin."
And so, coming 'round again, we can take another look at the Maisonneuve directory, which lacked a Foucault. And whaddaya know. There are two Milons, Benjamin with two hectares and Adrian (not shown) with four, the only Milons in town. Could it be?
Bonjour, arrière-grand-père candidates. Oh, the stories we wish you could tell.
Well, I hope that was fun for somebody. One irony, though. Upon completion of this enjoyable sleuthing I pulled my collection of "Le Rouge et le Blanc" off the shelf and right there in the March 1994 issue are the family names we've been looking for all along - Milon, yes we knew that, and earlier names too: Dubois, Esnault, Venon. It's a continuum.