Beaujolais
Laurent Gauthier – Domaine des Caves (Chenas)
When we first stumbled upon wild-eyed Laurent Gauthier, he seemed a man of few words. It could just have been that he didn’t understand our mangled French. Laurent makes an excellent Moulin-a-Vent called Cuvee Etalon, a dense and fleshy interpretation of the Gamay grape. Moulin-a-Vent is one of the ten “ Cru” villages of Beaujolais, all of which enjoy superior soil rich in granite compared to the rest of the region. Moulin-à-Vent always tends to be the fuller bodied of all the Crus, and is one of the wines of the Beaujolais that ages 30 years with ease. Conversation flows a little more readily after 6 or 7 years buying from him.
Loire
We weren’t expecting our trip to the Loire to be such a revelation. We found growers, many quite young, less shackled by tradition, more willing to experiment and, unusually for France, we found growers who had no previous background in wine. The very long valley is dripping with biodynamic influence. Biodynamism; organic viticulture taken to the extreme, ruled by the lunar calendar – man, moon and earth in perfect harmony. Those that weren’t “Bio” or “Demeter” were often “Lutte Raisonee” or “Lutte Integree”, a half-way system in which vines are only treated after “rigorous observation” and only if absolutely necessary.
Valery Renaudat (Reuilly)
Sauvignon Blanc’s spiritual home is the eastern end of Loire Valley, which one can forget is less than an hour from Chablis. It thrives on the chalky soil of Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire (home of Pouilly-Fume).
He may seem shy and retiring but 30-something Valery Renaudat has a fiery, determined side. He had a massive blow-out with his father, bought a few of his own vines and built his own cellar in Reuilly. Like the nearby village of Sancerre, Reuilly is overwhelmingly about zingy, grassy Sauvignon Blancs. We find Valery’s Sauvignon Blancs have a core of chalky minerality that keeps them fresh and lean, zizzy, zesty and evocative of running spring water, lime blossom and freshly cut grass. When we were picking up from Valery recently, we found out that he has made-up with his father and was storing his wine at his dad’s place while his cellar is being renovated.
Michel Bedouet (Le Pallet)
The draughty flat land near Nantes, close to the mouth of the Loire on France’s Atlantic coast is the home of Muscadet – possibly France’s crispest white wine. Michel Bedouet is one of a posse of small, artisanal growers rebuilding the reputation for quality in the region. We all love Michel’s ridiculously affordable “Le Convivial”, essentially a de-classified Muscadet. In some years it’s a blend of Folle Blanche and Melon de Bourgogne and, more recently, a crisp Chardonnay – either way, utterly lean, wonderfully clean and refreshing. White flowers in the nose, briney in the mouth, crisp, dry and punching way above its weight. He also makes a classic Muscadet sur Lie which we often buy with a couple of years’ bottle age. Who says Muscadet doesn’t age?
Stephane Orieux – Domaine de la Bregeonnette (Vallet) ORGANIC
Modern Muscadet has come a long way since the 1980′s, no longer mean and green but still a perfect choice for seafood and simple fish dishes. Stephane Orieux’s organic wines are ample and broad. The vines are grown on Schiste and Granite soils and the wine is aged on its lees with regular stirring, giving it a layered and broad feel in the mouth. Normal practice elsewhere, forbidden for Muscadet, it’s almost as if he has allowed some malolactic fermentation to take place. That can’t be – c’est interdit! Well, whatever he’s doing, we like it; complex, flavourful Muscadet.
Pascal and Beatrice Lambert – Domaine les Chesnaies (Cravant-les-Coteaux) BIODYNAMIC
Pascal’s father was a vigneron, but there were seven children and the family Domaine ended up in one of his brother’s hands so he started up on his own in 1987. He’s quite intense and determined – something you imagine confirmed in the eyes of his wife, Beatrice. We are big fans of their Chinons – unexpectedly lush Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley. When we visited last, we caught Pascal dynamising rainwater for one of his biodynamic preparations – a memory etched in our minds. It was a process involving stirring, one way then the other, for 45 minutes. Does it make a difference? We think so.
Jo Pithon (Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay) ORGANIC
The Layon, a tributary of the Loire, is not much more than a stream. It’s a steep, tightly-winding river and tends to attract mist and fog in autumn – perfect conditions for botrytis, the “noble rot” which creates the world’s most sought-after dessert wines. Larger than life, jovial, bear-like, bushy sideburn-ed Jo Pithon is famous for his dessert wines made from Chenin Blanc affected by the noble rot. Many believe Chenin to be France’s finest white wine grape. You can sometimes find hints of marmalade, coconuts, dried pineapple and even truffle in the nose. The highly-strung Chenin acidity stops the wine from ever being cloying, also giving it long ageing potential. The Bonnes Blanches 2004 is dizzily complex and intense.
Jo has recently branched out and has also been making some serious dry Chenin Blanc under the Anjou appellation.
Provence
Mas de Cadenet (Trets)
The artist Cezanne was so fascinated by the Mont Sainte-Victoire, east of Aix-en-Provence, that he painted it many times. It forms the stunning backdrop for Guy Negrel’s Mas de Cadenet vineyards. Guy, with help from his son Mathieu and daughter Maude, produce a brilliant range of Provencal wines in every colour. Sainte-Victoire, our runaway Rose success for several years, is a blend of 40% Grenache, 40% Cinsault and 20% Syrah, it. They also make a “junior” Rose, L’Arbaude, a blend of 70% Grenache, 15% Cinsault and 15% Carignan, an equally brilliant white made from Rolle (otherwise known as Vermentino), a delicious, rich, herbal red – 45% Grenache, 45% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and finally, top-of-the-range, the Mas Negrel, supple, deep and concentrated.
All their wines seem evocative of Mediterranean sunshine and the warm scents of the garrigue; the Provencal brushland of wild lavender, rosemary and thyme. Oh, and they also make a small amount of Vin Cuit, a sweet red wine, something of a local speciality, and some delicious, peppery Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Domaine de la Tour du Bon (Le Brulat du Castellet)
Bandol, a pretty coastal town, is the mad king of Provencal wine that can trace its roots back to Roman times. The reds are made mainly from Mourvedre, a grape that needs lots of heat and sun to fully ripen. Even when it does, it can be so tannic that it is often totally unapproachable for 10 years. Playing only a minor part in southern Rhone blends, here Mourvedre expresses all of its dark and meaty potential.
Mourvedre is king in Bandol and Agnes Henry is queen in her village high up in the hills. However, Agnes Henry’s Tour du Bon is packed so full of fruit that we can enjoy it now. Big, deep, dark and leathery, occasionally sweaty. Some writers also find aromas of cinnamon, vanilla, blackcurrant, violets and herbs.
Roussillon
Mas Cremat (Espira d’Agly)
Catherine Jeannin-Mongeard moved down from Burgundy in 1990 to make characterful wines on her farm “Mas Cremat” just outside Perpignan, in the hot windswept south of France, close to the Spanish border. Idyllic as it may sound, there is an invigorating Mistral-like wind called “Cers” that roars through the gnarly vines and drives everyone a bit mad. We have always found Tamarius enjoyable from when we first started working with Catherine back in the late 90’s. Her old vines produce some lovely, deep juice. She used to blend Grenache with Carignan and recently switched to Grenache and Syrah. Les Balmettes is an unusual blend of white Grenache and the rarely seen white Carignan. Her Muscat Sec is intensely spicy, peppery, dry Muscat, a blend of 50/50 Muscat Frontignan and Muscat Alexandrie.
Vaquer (Tressere)
In the draughty, cafe-less, bar-less village of Tressere, barely 10kms from the Spanish border, with a view of the snow-capped Pyrenees in one direction, the Mediterranean sea in another, lives the Vaquer family. Frederique took over from her father-in-law ten years ago. She makes mad, distinctive reds from Carignan, Grenache and Syrah, and, as you’d expect in this corner of France close to Banyuls and Maury, some impressive, classic, sweet fortified Vin Doux Naturel. Frederique says her Vieux Rivesaltes is between 25 and 30 years old and was made from old vine Grenache with the fermentation stopped by the introduction of spirit.
Cuvee Bernard is an oak-less blend of 45% Carignan, 45% Grenache and 10% Syrah. As usual with Frederique, it’s mad, herbal wine, with wild dark fruit, great acidity and a savoury edge. Although delicious now, there’s no hurry to drink up, it will age effortlessly – as her father-in-law’s 1986 amply demonstrates.
L’Expression is 100% Carignan from very old vines, wild fruit with great acidity and a savoury edge. The simply labelled “Vaquer Rouge 1986” is an intriguing example of fully mature Carignan. It has a brickier, more translucent colour, rather than the more youthful purple and has evolved, roasted, gamey notes, tobacco, plum and rhubarb. If you served it blind to an expert, many may mistake it for Chateauneuf-du-Pape, an old Rioja, or even as an elegant, much older Bordeaux – a Pomerol, for instance.
