Day 4, after all the tasting so far, today would at prove the end turn out to be the most weird.
Our first stop was in Vouvray at Bernard Fouquet. They only do Chenin Blanc wines but have various styles. The first wine was the Cuvee Silex, a dry but tasting off dry, rounded, soft feeling wine with aromas of stone fruit, melon with cane through on the taste. Beautifully east to drink.
Bernard Fouquet caves
The second wine was the the Le Petit Clos 2017, dryer and with green notes of grass and apple but with subtle aromas of lemon, peach and melon. We tried the 2016 version which has an oakey note on the nose and the same green flavours.
Le Marigny (dry) was next. Dryer still and Oak aromas and flavours of lemon and green apple.
Le Marigny (sweet) has 30g of residual sugar. Honey, citrus aromas and flavours.
Le Plan De Jean 2018 is a late harvest wine and has 70g of residual sugar. Able to be stored for 20 years or more. Soft, smooth with honey and peach aromas and flavours and slight citrus notes in the background. The 2015 version was aged in barrels and has aromas of oak and a faint hint of kerosene but not in the taste.
Cuvee Alexandre is a desert wine with aging ability of 50 year’s, why? Amazing aromas of honey, dried apricots. Very sweet with honey, orange marmalade and raisin flavours, wonderful, superb it makes life worth living.
The last tasting was the sparkling wine Brut, to help clean the palette. Not sure if it would be better to start with this but there are aromas and flavours of citrus, clean but possibly influencer by the sweet wine still.
The last sparkling was the Cuvee Zero. Aromas of warm bread and citrus flavours, very nice, I liked the clearness on the palette.
Bernard Fouquet, Vouvray, Loire Valley
Francois et Julien Pinon in Vouvray was the next stop. We tasted in a troglodyte cave house, cool and inviting.
Francois Pinons storage
Francois Pinons tasting room
The Brut had aromas of lemon with fresh mineral notes. The flavours were subtle, more citrus and green, very dry with high acidity.
The Zero Brut had more yeasty notes with a little hint of petroleum. There are flavours of citrus and green apple.
The Sec 2018 still white is made of Chenin Blanc. It has aromas of lemon and hints of grapefruit. There are flavours of citrus but also a creamy texture.
The next white was from grapes grown on limestone rather than clay. This has more floral notes and a slightly rounded although with good acidity. Both are drink all day wines and good value at under Eur14 a bottle.
The next stop was the weirdest, strangest and some would say the most bonkers.
Making wine in clay and concrete pots 800m inside a cave.
David Sebastien, Loire Valley wine making in a cave
All the wines that he made were competent, the reds had an earthy smell but were full-bodied Cab Franc and had very subtle differences but with good red fruit and black fruit flavours coming through.
The idea is that the wine will take on the flavours of the pot and the pot will breakdown the tanning and structures of wine to give it a finer flavour. He toasts the inside of the pots to give different flavours just as you would a barrel. He even hangs some from the caves ceiling.
The hanging wine vat
Humidity is at 85% and the temperature is approximately 12 degrees in the caves, theres masses of mould growing on the walls on tanks barrels, spooky place.
Mould growing on the barrels
The guy can make wine but I’m not entirely convinced that this is the way forward.
Langlois Chateau, owned by Bollinger since1973 and it makes 1.2 to 1.5 million bottles a year. We did the tour of the caves and winery and then tasted some of the wines.
24 pallet gyro pallet for riddling the sparkling wine
Wine having a little rest
L’Extra par Langlois, blanc de blanc. Fresh with fruit drive flavours and aroma’s. The Langlois Brut. 60% Chardonnay, 20% Chenin and 20% Cab Franc is drier, less fruit driven but has higher acidity coming through on the tasting. The Brut is a more traditional sparkling wine.
The 2013 reserve millesime Brut is drier with greener notes and is aged another year (3 years), There is more going on but not sure it’s worth the extra Eur5 a bottle.
The quadrille Extra Brut is yeasty, very dry and more champagne and at Eur20 a bottle reasonable if you like champagne.
The Langlois Brut Rose is light, with subtle flavours of red fruit and good acidity, not to high. At Eur11 a bottle it’s good value.
The Saumur blanc is 100% Chenin and is light, clean, fresh flavours. It’s a soft wine perfect for summer, sitting in the garden and at Eur11 a bottle ok value given you’ll drink a bottle at a time.
Quadrille and Saumur white
The other whites I tried crept up the flavours ranking with oakey notes but with the need of food to go with them and priced higher.
The red Saumur Champigny is Cab Franc, served slightly chilled there are lovely red fruit flavours and very smooth. At under Eur10 a bottle good value.
The mushroom museum was next.
The mushroom museum is located in caves and this is where the mushrooms are grown.
Mushrooms growing in the caves
Mushrooms growing in the caves 2
Charles Joguet, in the Chinon area was the next stop.
They only grow Cab Franc but uses the different parcels of land with different sold and aspects to create wines that are simpler, red fruit driven flavour based to one’s which are more complex with black fruit and more tannins. These are not cheap wines but they are excellent. The La Cure 2015 is silky smooth, with lots of red and black fruits and a refined texture. At Eur21 a bottle its worth it.
Day 2 of the trip took us to the Loire vine research station – lycee Edgard Pisano et C.F.A.A 49.
Loire vine research station – lycee Edgard Pisano et C.F.A.A 49
The reseach station is one of many in France. Part finder by the state and part by industry, they are looking at a number of vine growing issues.
How reduce the inputs to make vine growing more efficient.
How to to control pests and disease’s
Come up with new varieties of vines.
The picture below is where the rootstock was grafted onto experimental variety that did not work, they then grafted a second varietal onto the rootstock as that was already established.
Loire root stock
When it comes to disease resistant they have found the 4 genes that relate to issues with mildrew and have bred a variety that is resistant. They are now trying to cross this with a varietal that actually has taste, as the original is very neutral. They tried GM vines but they found that these were sabotaged, people did not like them being grown and tried out.
One of the main areas they are looking at is how to reduce the inputs to make vine growing more efficient. This includes different mulching and if you should replace individual vines in rows that have died, probably not.
Loire research replacing vines
The bags are where they have hand pollinated disease resistant and taste verietals. These are white varietal ones because the red varietal are done in Bordeaux.
Loire research replacing vines
Plastic around the base of the vine is where they have grafted a new cane (branch) onto the European top to create a new cane where one has died, the plastic is there to protect the new cane.
Loire new cane replacement
The white strips on the vines are anti hale netting, they’ve not had hale yet.
Loire anti hale netting
Also looking at trying to set up eco system that will help look after the vines from powdery mildew by planting vegetation that has have the mildrew and the predators of powdery mildew they hope these established predators will help the vine.
Their sparkling wine is made from Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Cab Franc. It is made from grapes grown at the research station at a local co operative. There are aroma’s and flavours of peach, green apple, lemon and with high acidity.
Next on day 2 was tasting and lunch at
Chateau De Fesles.
Chateau De Fesles, Loire Valley
whites included – Chenin Sec 2016. Aromas of melon and lemon with freshness and mineral notes. Light creaminess to the taste with slight vanilla coming through. The fresh acidity helps mask the 13.5% alcohol. Easy drinking summer wine.
The 2012 version has honey notes and a smoky Oak undertone. The acidity is there there but it’s masked by the honey and not to my taste.
Rose Anjou 2018. Aromas of strawberry raspberry, red fruit and bubblegum. The only downside is this is a sweeter wine and that really comes through. Love the smell, just couldn’t drink lots of this.
There were several red wines, Cab Franc’s were good to excellent, usual red fruit and black cherry aromas and flavours. Well worth the visit. Wines ranged from Eur6-Eur30 a bottle. Decent value.
The next tasting was at Domaine Filliatreau. The tasting rooms are in the caves on a side of a hill.
Domaine Filliatreau, Loire Valley
The white wine was full of flavour, with richness and and urge to have food with them. The Cab Franc red wines were excellent. Lots of red fruit, black cherry and light to medium tannins. At Eur 9-Eur25 per bottle, they are not cheap but pretty good value. We got 4 bottles to have when we get home.
Not a standard grape for a supermarket but well planted in the South of France, it has lovely aromas of strawberry and red fruits and these come through in the taste.
Light and fruity this a lovely easy drinking rose that can’t be criticised, exactly what you expect from southern French rose.
As a Bordeaux rose this Cave d’Augustin Florent is made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. It’s got more flavours than a Provence rose, peach, pear and strawberry but the flavours blend into each other and it takes time to taste these. There is not much on the aroma side, some aromas but difficult to pin these down. A master of wine would have no problem but the average accidental drinker would.
As a cheap rose for the summer it’s ok, have it with a salad or fish to help take your mind off the wine personal I prefer Provence rose.
La Cave d’Augustin Florent 2018, Buzet, Bordeaux rose
As summer fast approaches the salads come out at meal times, the BBQ gets pulled out and the garden furniture gets used. It’s also the time when Rose wine gets drunk. Sure us Brits don’t get the weather that Provence in France gets but we do like their wine, drunk in the garden. This is a typical Provence Rose, light, dry, hints of strawberry, peach and easy drinking. Not a gold medal winner but does what it says on the bottle. At under £10 a bottle Majestic have got it right with this wine.
Well, rose is the in thing for wine at the moment. On the one hand I love the stuff, if its a pale, blush rose. On the other hand, a rose which is deeper in colour is a real turn off for me. This is a pale rose from the south of France and is drinkable, probably for the wrong reasons. Its a dry, high acidic wine which has subtle taste of red fruit, I mean subtle.
At about £9 a bottle its a reason purchase for summer.
