2-week wine promotion of Touraine wines

Following our promotion of Spanish wines for three weeks in June, we will now be showcasing wines from Touraine from tomorrow, Thursday 8th July to Thursday 22nd July

Our wines are different

I always feel privileged being in a position to stock the wines we do. You often hear reference to 'the finish of a wine' and these wines have the ultimate finish - it does not last for a couple of minutes but long after you have enjoyed a bottle. For these are wines you remember who you were with when you had them or what your ate at the time; wines that very often spark the conversation; wines that are the occasion; wines made in minute quantities from vineyards that are meticulously managed to organic principles and handled with care in the winery.

These are not supermarket wines or wines you will find in the large wine chains; they are boutique in every sense of the word and taste all the better for it.

And the line-up we have in store for you from Touraine (see details of all the wines below) over the coming two weeks is no exception with all having the following in common: A true espression of their terroir, made by quality conscious growers/producers and from fruit of astonishing quality and purity.

Touraine - a background

Touraine is the largest and most imporatnt wine region of the Loire Valley and centred around the town of Tours. Its also one of the most underrated wine regions in the world and often overlooked - a perfect candidate for discovery, the essence of wine enjoyment in my book.

Its boundaries stretch from Anjou in the west to the town of Blois in the east from where the region of The Central Vineyards (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, etc) takes over to complete the Loire Vallay region. While most of its wines come under the catch-all appellation of Touraine, some of its more characterful wines come from the sub-appellations of Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil and Chinon for the reds; Vouvray and Montlouis for the whites (dry, sparkling and sweet); Vendomois, Jasnieres and Cheverny for both reds and whites.

The area is also blessed with a wide range of soil types including clay, limestone, sand and the famous local Tuffeau, a calcareous rock but with better drainage than other limestones - just as well, given the northerly position of this region and subsequent rainfall. Climates also vary considerably across the region with the Atlantic moderating the climate in the west while a continental climate prevails in the eastern part of the region. With this comes a wide variety of grapes including Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Arbois and Chardonnay for the whites and Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Pineau d'Aunis, Cot (the local name for Malbec), Pinot Noir and Grolleau for the reds and some roses. All of these variables combine to produce a wide range of wine styles - each displaying their own personality, expressing their terroir to the full and respecting the vintage from which they were produced (assuming the vigneron and winemakers allow this to happen) - real wine, in other words.

The deals

• Three bottle deal: Purchase any three bottles of Touraine wines and receive a 10% discount
• Free Sauvignon Blanc: Spend £60 or more on Touraine wines and receive a bottle of organic Sauvignon Blanc FREE
• In the cafe: Buy two glasses of Touraine wine from our wine list and receive the rest of the bottle FREE
  
• Cheese & wine: Buy any bottle of Touraine wine and get up to 200g of a cheese of your choice for HALF PRICE
  

NB FREE tastings every day to help you decide

NB these offers are not interchangeable

The wines

FIZZ

This style of wine - petillant naturel - is produced by dropping the temperature of the wine in order to stop the fermentation prematurely, before all the sugar has been converted to alcohol by the yeast. This is then put into bottle where the fermentation restarts and creates the sparkle. Wonderfully fresh and produced in all three colours - pink, white and red.

First up of this style is:

2009 Petillant Naturel, Thierry Puzelat - £17.95
Thierry  Puzelat studied vineyard management and winemaking,  and  worked  after  that  for  one  year in vineyards in  St. Emilion, followed by 4 years in vineyards in Bandol. This was followed by 1½  years marketing and sales  experience in Montreal with the company Sopexa that specialises in the  promotion of French wines abroad.  In 1994 he joined his brother Jean-Marie at the family domaine  ‘Clos du  Tue-Boeuf’
The grapes used to make this wine are Chenin Blanc and Menu Pineau (also known as Arbois).  The origins of Menu Pineau, however, are not in the region of Arbois where  it  is  not  planted  at  all.  Its ancient  name  is  arboé  or  arbois. It is permitted in Vouvray, Cheverny and Cremant de la Loire appellations. Production of the grapes for this wine follows organic principles and the wine itself is made according to the ancestral method: the wine finishes its fermentation in the bottle, without adding sugar or yeast. After this fermentation, it is kept on its lees for 12-18 months before being disgorged without dosing.

2009 Petillant Naturel, Boisson Rouge - £17.75
I love encountering styles of wines for the first time and this is one of them. This too, from the Gamay grape, is made in the purest tradition of natural wines without sulphur, the secret consists of harvesting the grapes ripe and in perfect health. The must begins its fermentation in vat and finishes in bottle. The richness of the sugars, the CO2 and the pressure created by the fermentation in bottle undermines the work of the yeasts. The fermentation then proceeds in a very slow manner until it finishes leaving the wine demi-sec. This fizz is intended for the dizzy days of summer with its attractive purple foam and oodles of strawbs and rasps - and then there’s a smoky flavour and a neat whack of green pepper – drink it chilled.

2009 Petillant Naturel, Rose, Ritournelle, Breton - £17.50
This is so new that I have not tasted it yet and have no information on it. However, I wanted to show the trio of colours in this petillant style. However, I can say that it is made by Catherine and Pierre Breton who are based in Bourgueil and operate their vineyards biodynamically with low yields and avoiding any chemical fertilisers and weedkillers. I'm told it is frighteningly drinkable - can't wait to get scared then!

WHITE

2009 SAUVIGNON DE TOURAINE, DOMAINE GUY ALLION Organic - £9.50
The 23 hectare vineyards extend on south/south-easting slopes along the banks of the Cher river. The vines grow on perruche (sandy-clay) soil as well as limestone-clay. The estate is managed according to the Terra Vitis programme, a codified system which posits not only respect for the environment but knowledge of the land, parcel by parcel. This sensitivity to the environment means that natural rather than chemical solutions can be pursued in the vineyard. The grapes are picked at maximum ripeness and immediately transported to the winery to prevent oxidation. The grapes are lightly pressed. The wine is fermented in stainless steel at controlled temperature and is left on the lees for several months to gather more complex aromas. Expect lifted aromas of elderflower cordial, Victoria plums and hints of grass. The palate is filled with gooseberry fool infused with elderflower and hints of summer fruit. A lovely SB and nothing like the tart, acid-bombs produced in a hurry in order to get them to market.

2009 Cheverny Blanc, Domaine Du Salvard, Loire - £11.50 
Classified as a VDQS in 1973, Cheverny moved to full AOC in 1993. The appellation extends along the left bank of the Loire from Sologne to the outskirts of Orleans. Its symbol is the castle of Cheverny, built in the style of Louis XIII. The current owner’s grandfather bought this estate in 1920. Today there are 33 hectares dedicated to white and red. This wine is made from 85% Sauvignon with  the remaining 15% being Chardonnay. After maceration and gentle pressing the wine is stainless steel fermented at cool temperatures to preserve and accentuate the quality of the fruit. Light yellow colour with greenish tints. The nose is full and fruity with elderflower and ripe gooseberry notes and the creaminess of the Chardonnay fills out the palate providing weight and structure
Great match for goat’s cheese but would also go well with smoked fish, snails a la bourguignonne, meaty crustacea such as crayfish and prawns and iron-rich green vegetables like asparagus and broccoli.

2009 Montlouis Minerale +, Domaine Frantz Saumon, Ac Montlouis Organic - £16.95
Frantz Saumon used to be a forester in both Canada and France for several years. In 2001 he decided to take over a small three hectare property in Montlouis near Tours. Frantz is another non-interventionist and works without chemicals in the vineyards. The winery is an underground cellar carved into the tuffeau, the ubiquitous fossil-rich clay of the region, and all the wines are vinified in barrels (some 228l, some 400l) only with the indigenous yeasts. This wine is off-dry made from Chenin grapes from old vineyards on silex and clay. The wine is unfiltered and no sulphur is added. Sometimes, I feel chenin blanc is too often vinified too dry to the point there is no flavour, just a refreshing flint of acid. But being made from fruit, it follows that it is nice to taste the fruit - try this slightly off-dry style and discover how much more food friendly Chenin Blanc can be as a variety.

2009 Vouvray Sec, Domaine Champalou - £13.75
Didier and Catherine Champalou have been established in the heart of the appellation for over fifteen year and have acquired 20 hectares of Chenin. Their philosophy is simple: to create wines that respect the grape variety, the terroir (the combination of soil and microclimate) and the nature of the vintage. The grapes for the sec are cultivated on the argilo-calcaire soils and are the earliest harvested to preserve the liveliness of the acidity. The wine is fermented at an even cool temperature and ages in the troglodyte “cellar caves” gouged out of the limestone.
The balance that the Champalous seek to achieve in this wine is dry but soft and supple in the mouth as they believe that this is the best expression of the grape and the terroir. Many Vouvrays are “sweet-sour”; this is smooth and honeyed, with notes of quince, pear and marzipan. Rounded, almost buttery texture with suggestions of apples and ripe quinces sheathed in delicate threads of honey. 

2007 Jasnieres “Kharakter , Domaine Le Briseau - £26.50
It is said that, maybe 3 to 4 times a century, the appellation of Jasnieres makes the greatest Chenin on earth.

Christian Chaussard studied and then taught viticulture and oenology whilst running a small estate in Vouvray. For financial reasons he had to give the latter up, but soon decided that he wanted to practice vine-growing and winemaking.  Before accomplishing that goal, he met Nathalie Gaubicher, a Swiss actress with an oenologist and sommelier diploma, and they set out to find vines somewhere in France. In 2002, they settled in the Jasnières/Coteaux-du-Loir area in northern Touraine. The entirety of Jasnières covers eighty hectares of vines, and Coteaux-du-Loir about two hundred hectares. The soils are largely all clay and silica over a subsoil of limestone, and Domaine le Briseau was started with four hectares of vines planted mainly with Chenin Blanc and Pineau d’Aunis. In 2007, the estate had grown to eleven hectares. All vineyard work is done according to the principles of organic viticulture (with the certification of Qualité France): no pesticides, insecticides or chemical fertilizers are used; nettle and horsetail decoctions are sprayed on the foliage; copper is used in modest quantity (less than 5kg/ha); the vines are ploughed and grass allowed to grow between the rows. In 2006, the estate started its conversion to biodynamic principles.

There’s warmth, waxiness and those almond notes typical of Chenin in the Jasnières Kharakter (from 70 year old vines), some sherry aromatics and pulped-pear-mingled with-flint-fruit.

We also have 5 bottles remaining in stock of the rare 2005 Jasnieres "Clos des Longues Vignes" (£24.95) 

RED

2008 Gamay De Touraine, Domaine De La Charmoise, Henri Marionnet - £11.50 
Henry Marionnet produces this Gamay from 25 year old vines planted on clay/flint and sand over clay mixture. He is generally considered to be the best exponent of this grape variety in the Loire. By picking late and discarding green grapes he achieves maximum ripeness which translates into fruitiness of the wine. This wine does not have the confected “banana aromas” associated with many wines which undergo carbonic maceration (Beaujolais?). The perfect summer wine. Carbonic maceration (where the fermentation happens within the grapes) produces a little Co2 as a by-product of the fermentation giving the wine an exuberant freshness - one for 30 minutes chilling before drinking. Sweet, perfumed, red berry fruit on the nose. On the palate vibrant red cherry and blueberry fruit, lovely freshness, yet also good concentration for a Gamay. Light-bodied (about 11%). Lovely purity, silky smooth, concentrated but not heavy.


Cheverny Rouge, Domaine du Salvard - £11.50
A blend of Pinot Noir (55%) and Gamay (45%), the terroir is sandy with some limestone. In the winery, the grapes are macerated and fermentation with the skins lasts 8-10 days at 28C so most of the colour and aroma is drawn out. Gentle pneumatic pressing is deployed to avoid drawing out harsh tannins. After malolactic fermentation, the wine is stored in underground vats before bottling.
A mid-cherry red, nose of red cherries, cloves and earth, lively, fresh and fruity with strawberry and liquorice dominant on the palate, acidity and tannin is provided by the Pinot. (For more details, see the Cheverny Blanc above)


2006 CHINON DOMAINE ALAIN LORIEUX - £13.50
100% Cabernet Franc, the same grape as found in the red wines of Anjou, Saumur & Saumur-Champigny and Bourgueil. No artificial fertilisers or herbicides. Leaf thinning in August to effect aeration of the grapes encouraging better ripening conditions. Reduction of bunches in June to control the yields and concentrate the flavours. Aged in tank. Dry, light-medium-bodied red, aromas of capsicum, fresh cut grass and bright cherry and redcurrant fruit, silky and harmonious on the palate with smooth floral fruit and a refreshing finish.

Like many other Loire Valley reds, this is a delightful savoury wine which marries well with a wide variety of different dishes, because the tannins are gentle and the acidity of the wine cuts through fat/sauce/dairy.

2009 Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil “l'Hurluberlu”, Domaine Sebastien David - £14.50
100% Cabernet Franc, produced by Sebastien David. Sebastien was studying wine until 1992 and then went to the States for seven years to study wines and the effect of gas in the winemaking process. When he returned back home to the family estate, he realised his view on winemaking had changed and had a fight with his father over this. He took over 60 acres of vines and started working them in his own way. He was very much influenced by winemakers such as Jo Landron (Muscadet), Nicholas Joli (Coulee de Seran) and the Foucault brothers on his way down the natural path.
He now has five hectares of vines. Hurluberlu means ’oddball’ or ‘weirdo’ in French. This has always been Sebastien’s nickname in the village, he says it means ’someone always looking at  the stars’, or perhaps we would say in English ’head in the clouds’.

The grapes are fermented whole using carbonic maceration of 25 days, followed by a light pressing, inorder to preserve the maximum  characteristics of the fruit and to preserve the  impression  of “biting  down  onto  the  fruit”. This is a recurrent theme with Sebastien. His logo is a picture of a wide-open mouth showing its teeth, with a bunch of grapes before it, with the words croquer le vin meaning to chew or bite into the wine.

2008 Vin de Pays du Loir et Cher “Pivoine”, Domaine du Moulin Organic - £15.50
Domaine du Moulin is an estate of 25 hectares (17 of which are planted) located in Cour-Cheverny. It has passed from father to son from the installation of Hervé’s grandfather in 1939, Hervé  took  over the estate in 1995, after  studying  viticulture  and  winemaking. In the late 90’s Hervé met Thierry Puzelat (who was then in his second year of organic viticulture) and tasted his wines as well as Marcel Lapierre's Morgons and was struck by their purity. He decided to turn a couple of hectares organic just to check: no synthetic products, but ploughing and hand harvest instead, and also no-or very-little sulphur. The results proved to him that he should travel the non-interventionist path.

Pivoine (the name means pony) is a blend of 90% Cot (Malbec) and 10% Gamay. The vineyard is farmed organically, the vines being on a mixture of sand and clay with flints. After fifteen days wild yeast fermentation, the wine is aged in 30hl oak barrels before bottling with filtration, fining and only 2mg of sulphur at bottling. Natural wine at its most ebullient, Pivoine has a blue-purple colour exhibiting aromas of....ponies (only kidding), kirsch and caraway and has a gutsy palate flaunting pepper, punchy tannin and acidity.


2005 Cotes Du Vendomois Rouge, Domaine De Montrieux, Loire Organic - £15.50
Domaine de Montrieux was created in 1999 by Emile Heredia. The parcels of vines were chosen for their quality: the old age of the vines, the quality of the soils and the expositions. Soils are flint with clay on top of limestone. The age of the vines permits a natural reduction of the yields and deep root systems assure minerality and intensity of the wines. In order to improve equilibrium and life of the soil and to allow flora and fauna to flourish no chemical products are employed. Sulphur and copper are only used in tiny doses. Manual harvest respects the quality of the grapes and yields are tiny: 35 hl/ha from densely planted vines. To further this natural approach neither artificial yeasts nor other additives are used in the winemaking process except for a smidge of sulphur at bottling.

The wine produced is an exact reflection of the vintage and the terroir. All the wines are certified organic by Ecocert. The wine of the domaine is old vines Pineau d‘Aunis. This variety, occasionally known as Chenin Noir, seems to be the original red grape of the Loire.

Remarkable aromas catch your attention as soon as you bring your nose to the glass: A whiff of white pepper is quickly followed by a lovely minerality reminiscent of rainwater washing over stone. Other aromas include red flowers and yeast. Fresh strawberries follow, ripe and sweet, leading into a tart, bone-dry red-berry flavour that‘s light-bodied but mouth-filling. Lemony acidity, subtle berries and white pepper linger in a long finish. It is be drunk fresh, its mineral, peppery side helps it to marry with grills, charcuterie, cheese and even fish.


1996 Bourgueil Les Galichets, Domaine De La Chevalerie Organic - £19.50
The Caslot family have been farming their domaine of thirty-three hectares since 1640 from their farmhouse which sits on the hill overlooking the vines in the heart of the superb terroir of Restigné.

The massive tuffeau cellars carved into the slopes provide ideal unvarying temperatures for the conservation and ennoblement of fine wines. Made from Cabernet Franc grapes, the Caslot Bourgueil is a delightful fresh, yet intense, wine with a floral bouquet and flavours of raspberry and blackberry. He makes several cuvées of varying degrees of intensity and complexity from different soils. Some wines are to be quaffed with a smile and some smoked meats, the more profound versions should be decanted to allow the fruit and mineral perfumes to mingle. Les Galichets, from average thirty-year old vines on silica-clay soils, is a firmer, more sculpted style of Cabernet Franc. The nose displays aromas of raspberry and redcurrant, with notes of freshly dyed leather and pencil shavings. The palate is full of fresh, juicy red fruit flavours with a sweet and sour black cherry quality and a chocolatey, savoury richness - pronounced, but elegant tannins are married to refreshing, mouth-watering acidity. And who said Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley couldn't age well!
 

We hope you enjoy the wines