7 minute read
LOIRE
The Loire
The Loire is a region that stretches from the Atlantic coast and the wines of Muscadet in the west to Sancerre and the city of Orleans, a medieval stonghold and family seat of the last King of France - Louis Philippe I. The region that has an aristocratic feel. The Loire river, sweeping, calm and majestic, is dotted with Châteaux that were home to France’s great families, before 1789, of course! The Loire river connects the three regions of the Loire Valley, each quite different from the next.
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The Nantes region starts in the east, almost in view of the port town – St. Nazaire. Melon de Bourgogne is the main grape variety and the crisp, mineral-driven wines of Muscadet make for perfect aperitifs and accompaniments to seafood. For those looking for a touch more weight, the wines labelled ‘Sur lie’ are a perfect alternative, the extended ageing on the lees gives weight and body.
The Central Region, the heart, or more fittingly Coeur, is home to the valley’s great reds. Cabernet Franc thrives in Saumur, Chinon & Bourgueil, with all three villages making very different wines. Borgueil has smoky minerality and floral fragrance, while Chinon is fuller, with deeper, richer fruit. Chenin Blanc is king in and around Breze; it thrives on the softer, more chalk driven soil. The upper Loire is the region’s most famous area, hosting Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, & the lesser-known Menetou-Salon. Here the chalk makes way for Kimmeridgian soil, so often associated with Chablis. Sauvignon Blanc thrives and gives the wines a steely edge.
The Loire, with its proximity to Paris, has always produced reds & whites popular with Parisian bistro patrons. On the surface, the story of the Loire stops there. However, scrape through the more commercially driven wines, and there is a band of small family Domaines who have made brilliantly individual fine wines for generations. Fantastic for cellaring; many a bottle of Chinon & Saumur has been forgotten in my own cellar only to be unearthed at over a decade old and produced a sensational bottle – what a wonderful surprise! Many growers in the Loire were early adopters of bio-dynamic winemaking, and much is, by default, organic. Indeed, the likes of Dominique Lafon & Olivier Zind-Humbrecht MW travelled to the Loire to better understand bio-dynamics from growers in the region. Another charming aspect of the region is the friendliness, a welcome change to Bordeaux’s closed gates. Driving around the region knocking on doors, I am always amazed at what one can unearth.
We are delighted for the first time to be listing the wines of Domaine Filliatreau, a family Domaine in Saumur making terroir-driven Loire wines since 1976. They are devilishly hard to find, and we are so pleased to be working with Frédrik & family for the first time. Elsewhere on the list is a beautiful Muscadet estate of Domaine Bouchaud, run by Pierre-Luc Bouchaud; his family has been making wine since 1850. They produce alongside their simple Muscadet a single vineyard wine called Le Perd Son Pain. It has
Muscadet Saumur
Chinon
seven months on the lees and ages wonderfully in the bottle. 2018 is flourishing and almost showing a kerosene style seen in aged Riesling. A beautiful wine.
Over in the upper Loire, we have long worked with André Dezat, one of the region’s most respected Domaines. Simon and Louis Dezat represent the fourth generation making wine at the Domaine, and the quality has never been better.
I feel I must finish this ode to the Loire valley with a note on pricing. Right across the region, there is value to be found for what I firmly believe are very serious fine wines. I urge Farthinghoe customers to dip their toe into the wonders of the region!
Sante!
Charles Newman
FAVOURITE PRODUCERS
Clos Rougard, Couly Dutheil, Andre Dezat, Domaine Filliatreau
SOIL TYPE
Limestone “tuffeau” with clay, sand, and gravel
CLASSIC GRAPE VARIETALS
Melon de Bourgogne, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc AREA UNDER VINE 75,000ha
MEET THE GROWER
Domaine PierreLuc Bouchaud
Pierre-Luc Bouchaud comes from a long ancestral line of growers. He joined his father following university in 1987 and quickly took over the family’s vineyards and wineries, expanding their holdings to 19 hectares. In 2006, Bouchaud was the rare recipient of the Prix d’Excellence from the Concours General Agricole in Paris.
The winery is adjacent to his home in St. Fiacre-sur-Maine. Muscadet is a huge AOC, stretching more than 55 miles, producing more white wine than any French region.
Melon de Bourgogne, the grape variety in Muscadet, can produce neutral and acidic wines, if made poorly. Soil types in Muscadet are important, providing key variation on which PierreLuc capitalises. The two wines we import are from fantastic vineyard sites.
Le Perd Son Pain – literally to ‘lose one’s bread’ – is so-called because of the inability of wheat to grow on the schist bed rock with the thin sandy topsoil. But happily, it is perfect for these grapevines which display the crisp acidity and delicate fruit of this terroir.
The Château Thebaud cru is situated on granite bedrock. Château Thebaud is only made in exceptional years. Battonage occurs a few times following the winemaking and then undergoes a two-year sur lie ageing process in Bouchaud’s underground winery at cool temperatures. This is where the wine picks up its fantastic depth and rounded flavour. Yet the granite provides an austerity and balance to this delightful wine.
MUSCADET DE SÈVRE ET MAINE SUR LIE, PERD SON PAIN
DOMAINE BOUCHAUD 2018
DRINK 2020+
12x75 £67.22
So fresh, electrifyingly pure, lovely salinity. Green apple and white peach. On the palate – light, bright and refreshing galia melon.
DOMAINE BOUCHAUD 2014
DRINK 2020+
6x75 £62.61
Their top cuvée spends extended time on the lees, giving a marked roundness to the effortlessly pure and refreshing palate. Honey, lime, and white flower on the nose, a lightness of touch on the palate with a notable honeydew melon note, and a clean persistent finish. Seriously impressive!
Plenty of concentration and length, a wine of serious intent with more to come from further ageing.
—JIM BUDD
River of difference. Few regions match the Loire for singularity.
—ANDREW JEFFORD DECANTER 96
POINTS
MEET THE GROWER Domaine Filliatreau
Domaine Filliatreau sits above the city of Saumur in the village of Chaintre. A pioneering Loire domaine, Frédrik Filliatreau is the fourth generation to run the estate. Frederik’s father Paul was revolutionary in that the Domaine started bottling their own wines in the late 1960s, as opposed to 99% of Loire growers who sold their fruit off, either in bulk or to co-operatives.
With this new approach, his wines were an instant hit in smart Parisien bistros. Paul took much inspiration from celebrated Chinon vigneron Charles Joguet in cellar and vineyard, including beginning massale selection for all vines’ replanting. Together, Paul and Frédrik tilted farming gradually in a more natural direction; today, Filliatreau is fully organic & biodynamic.
The Domaine consists of 43 hectares, mainly Cabernet Franc, with a smattering of Chenin Blanc (all centred around Breze). The vines range in age from 25 to 110 years old and are planted on sandy clay soils rich in the soft local limestone tuffeau. The fruit is handharvested and fermented with wholly natural yeasts. Almost all the wines are bottled with the minimum of filtering. Despite the wondrous bright fruit & crunchy acidity that make these just so drinkable in youth, they also age brilliantly at a decade old. The Le Clos from Domaine Fouquet is reminiscent of a mature Cabernet Franc driven claret. Despite the quality & history of the Domaine, prices remain modest and embody the evolution of winegrowing, which this family estate truly helped shape in the Saumur region.
SAUMUR ROUGE, CHÂTEAU FOUQUET
DOMAINE FILLIATREAU 2014
DRINK 2020 - 2025
6x75 £60
Beautifully, bright crunchy red fruit on the nose, spices & violet. Very cabernet Franc. The palate shows pure red fruit, a hint of spice too. It is a pure energetic red. Brilliant luncheon drinking when chilled slightly and served with saucisson!
SAUMUR ROUGE, LE CLOS, CHÂTEAU FOUQUET
DOMAINE FILLIATREAU 2017
DRINK 2020 - 2035
6x75 £115
The Le Clos is a single vineyard of vine, the nose is richer with deep red fruit violet and lightly scented menthol too. The palate is ripe and almost Claret like, akin to the Cab Franc driven wines of the right bank. It again has brilliantly purity, zippy acidity keeps the palate fresh and the length is excellent. This is a very serious step up and any claret lover would enjoy a drop of this!
The 2018 Domaine Filliatreau Ch. Fouquet, a 100 per cent Cabernet Franc from Saumur, is similarly beguiling. It’s more a lunchtime than a dinnertime wine and none the worse for that. Indeed, I knocked back a bottle during lunch only last Sunday.
—JONATHAN RAY, THE SPECTATOR
