Twenty-Second (22nd) Wine Club
This month we are exploring wines from the Loire Valley. The Loire is a French appellation that runs from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to central France on the east following the 634 mile Loire River. Famous appellations within the Loire include Sancerre -- famous for white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, Chinon -- spicy Cabernet Franc, Muscadet -- a salty and floral white wine known for pairing well with oysters and sea food, and many more! The grapes best known in the Loire are Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Melon de Bourgnone. However, there are numerous indigenous lesser-known grapes including Pineau d'Aunis (red), Grolleau (red), Gamay (red), Romarantin (white), and more. The wines we'll be drinking this month are, of course, mostly atypical expressions of these grapes.
TWO
Deboubertin
'L'Aunis Etoile' 2019
Pineau d'Aunis
Mote, Loire Valley, France
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'After tossing in their thriving careers and leaving Paris for a less affluent but more meaningful life in the beautiful town of Mote near Faye d'Anjou, the two Dedoutbertins spent years in internships at other local wineries, honing their craft as farmers and winemakers. The wine they would make had to be natural wine, this much was clear, but soon a picture emerged of a winery that wasn't just going to talk the talk: organic, no sulfur, minimalist equipment and no burning of fossil fuels in the process. This means caring for horses instead of machines, bicycling to and from the vineyard, minimalist equipment, no chemicals, not even sulfur.' - Wine Monger (the importer)
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100% Pineau d'Aunis. Harvest is by hand, grapes are foot pressed with maceration in open vats for 8 and 15 days. Indigenous yeast for fermentation and the juices are moved by gravity. The wines spend 12 months on their lees before bottling, without filtration. Stephanie and Vincent's vineyards are certified organic, plowed by horse, there is no machinery at all in the winery. This is an elegant wine that you're going to want to sip at home with a loved one, not plop down at a party to be drank by the masses. You'll thank me later.
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Domaine Bobinet
Le Ciel Est Bleu 2022
Gamay/Grolleau/Grolleau Gris
Saumur, Loire Valley, France
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Words from the importer: "Sébastien Bobinet came of age under the great pioneers of the Loire Valley natural wine movement, working alongside Olivier Cousin and counting the late Charly Foucault of Clos Rougeard as a close friend and mentor. In 2010, Sébastien encounted his partner, Eméline Calvez, a professional dancer-turned-caviste, and Domaine Bobinet was born. The following year, the couple produced their first wines together, a handful of “traditional” Cabernet Francs from a small 2-hecatre parcel of vines outside of Saumur, inherited from Sébastien’s grandfather.
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Over the years, the Domaine’s holdings have grown to around 4 hectares, planted entirely to Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc. In general, Sebastien is more often in the vines and Emeline in the cave. Sebastien farms organically with the help of a horse-drawn plow, a skill he picked up with Olivier Cousin. Emeline’s cellar consists of an undulating tuffeau cave deep benath the towering limestone banks of the Loire – among the most beautiful we have seen in France! In a given year, the Domaine produces about ten cuvees: [from the] the populist Piak!, [to] Les Gruches, a profound and elegant chenin laid down to long élevage in barrel; and finally, the domaine’s most historic wines, Amateus Bobi, Echalier, and Greta Carbo, three Cabernet Francs of assorted vinification and aging. In virtually all cases, the wines are produced entirely without filtration or sulfites."
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Sebastien Bobinet and Emeline Calvez have teamed up with longtime friend and grower Bruno Richard to produce some quaffable and well-made pet-nats meant to harken back to summers of yore. This wine is particularly fun because it's a more or less a blanc de noir (meaning a white, made from red). The red grapes are ones not typically used for sparkling wines, and especially not for blanc de noir wines -- Gamay, Grolleau, and most excitingly Grolleau Gris, a grape not frequently seen even in the Loire.
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FOUR
Closerie de Belle Poule
Les Eaux Bonnes 2018
Chenin Blanc
Anjou, Loire Valley, France
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Having trained under Romain Verger from Le Thio Noots (excellent young producer. We currently have one of his wines in the shop from a very small release. An energetic Cab Franc), Sébastien Gandubert is lowkey and humble. His sense of humor and eccentricity comes across on the internet, but I've yet to meet him in person. Sebastien's labels often feature a simple, cartoon drawing of a chicken. Each chicken represents a memeber of his family -- from his three children, to his wife and finally himself, "Le Coq".
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100% Chenin Blanc from 70-80 year-old vines in Anjou in the Loire, farmed organically and biodynamically. Spends 2 months on the skins, making this an orange wine. Supple, easy drinking, maybe if you know someone unfamilar with orange wines, this would be a good introduction!
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Les Caves de L'Arche Mace
Sauvignon 2015
Sauvignon Blanc
Monthou-sur-Cher, Touraine, Loire Valley
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Words from Wine Terroirs: "This corner of Touraine is one of these very favorable places for young demanding vignerons wanting to start their domaine : pretty nice terroirs on an area that isn't rated high on the AOC charts (Touraine) which means that when available you can get vineyards without breaking the bank. François & Estelle whom I met in their chai/cellar under the hill (pic on right) have been starting their own winery here since January 2014 after they found a retiring grower putting his vineyard for sale. They didn't hesitate much, they were from the region and knew by experience that these slopes along the Cher river have many interesting terroirs that yield beautiful wines when worked properly (which isn't alas the option followed by most commercial wineries).
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To start from the beginning, François and Estelle had already a few years of experience in the trade, they both met at the wine school of Amboise but before that each of them had gone through several years of work and training in different domaines : Estelle had worked 4 or 5 years in the Montlouis region, for growers/winemakers like François Chidaine, Bertrand Jousset and also Vincent Careme while François worked in Cheverny for Philippe Tessier, yet another artisan winemaker known for his serious work in the vineyard. Over there they were both doing all the usual work in the vineyard and the chai as well, being thus trained in organic farming and natural winemaking. They met during the training at the wine school and set up their domaine 6 months later, that's a beautiful story..."
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I have to admit, I'm really excited to include this in Wine Club because I love this wine. It's an excellent example of what time can do to a wine. This wine was RADICAL to begin with. It needed these nearly 10! years. And it's still radical. You will get some residual sugar, but it's beautifully balanced by the rip-roaring acid. And let's not forget the fruit. It's a conversation starter, for sure.