Masterclass on wines from the Loire valley

Annual ritual with wines from the Loire in London, organized by Charles Sydney Wines. This time we were led through a masterclass by Jo Locke MW, and the producers of the wines below. 

Here are my tasting notes.

1. Ackerman Royal 2022

Crémant de Loire, Saumur

In 1831 Mr Ackerman came from Belgium and wanted to copy Champagne, first to do in Loire.

60 Chard 30 cab franc 10 pinot noir check, 36 months on Lees 

Fresh, mod complex, 

Score 87

2. La Minée, cru château Thebaud 2022, first release

Muscadet cru communal 

Organic

 balance, complex 

Score 91

3.Les hauts de Husseau 2019,domain de la Taille aux Loups 

Montlouis sec AOP

Grapes? 

Dry vintage but very old vines (80 to 150 years old!) with deep roots got humidity from ground 

Spontaneous fermentation in deep caves, can take up to a year! No sulphites needed because little oxygen in caves. 

Smooth and balanced, mod long 

Score 90

4.Edmond 2022 Domaine Alphonse Mellot 

Sancerre blanc sauvignon 

Vines from 1904. Current Alphonse is 19th but he only has 4 daughters, first called Alphonsine! #biodynamic 

Balanced complex and long 

Score 94

5. Buisson Renard 2022,Domaine Didier Dagueneau

Balance complex and long, 

Vin de France and not Pouilly Fumé got fed up with regulations of appellation. 

Score 94

Reds

6. La Chapelle 2023,domaine des Pothiers Roman Paire) 

Côte Roannaise 

Gamay 

Spicy, smooth, long. 

Score 92

7. Génération XIX 2019, domaine Alphonse Mellot 

Sancerre Rouge Pinot noir 

Very smooth, perfect balance, long 

Score 95

8. Les Chiens Chiens 2018, Domaine de la Noblaie

Cabernet Franc 

Chinon rouge aop, organic 

Rough, sharp edges, needs time in the bottle to get a bit rounder. 

Score 90

Wines of the Loire Valley

Another informative trade tasting on the Loire valley organized in London by Charles Sydney Wines, a specialist on this region who is based in London.

Here are my notes from my favorite wines of the day. 

Alphonse Mellot

Generation XIX, Sancerre blanc 2020
The name indicates that this is a product of the 19th generation of wine producers in the Mellot family. Perfectly balanced oak-fermented sauvignon, mod long and complex. RRP £40. Score 93.

Edmond, Sancerre Blanc, 2020

A full bodied oak-fermented sauvignon,  very complex and long. A harmonious wine. RRP £45. Score 95.

Jean Philippe Blot, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups

Triple Zero (no sugar, no bottle fermentation, no dosage) pétillant naturel

Smooth and mod long, good value. RRP £13, Score 89

Remus Montlouis 2022

Blend of different plots, very smooth and long chenin blanc. RRP £15. Score 90

Clos Michel Montlouis 2022

Better balance than predecessor. RRP 16, Score 92

Clos de Husseau, 2022

Minerality emerges from this single plot wine. RRP 17, score 92

I also tasted several sweet wines, but to be honest I was not overly impressed, a bit too sweet and sticky. Here they are.

Château Pierre Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort 2022, RRP £11, Score 86

Château Pierre Bise Quarts des Chaue Grand Cru 2022, RRP £ 22.40, Score 85.

Domaine des Forges, Quart de Chaume Grand Cru 2021, RRP £19.70, Score 84

Walkaround and masterclasses of Vouray, Loire Valley, France

Most interesting tasting today in London, focussed on wines from Vouvray and their iconic chenin blanc variety. Well organized by Vouvray producers and Sopexa.

Master class n. 1: Vouvray Sparkling wines

1. Couvée Privilège, Domaine du Margallau 2014

Mineral, fresh, dry, 2g dosage. Steel only, 48 months on lees, aging potential. I see this as an aperitif, it is too dry for anything else. Score 85

2. Feuilles d'Or, Domaine Herivault, biodynamic, 2012

Also mineral but rounder finish, better balance. Score 86

3. les temps d'Aimé, Dom Aubert NV

Intense nose, mod balance. Score 82

4.Chateau Gaudrelle extra brut 2014

Balances wine, mod complex, very dry, NO residual sugar. Score 86

Overall an interesting discovery of relatively lesser known sparkling wines from the Loire.

Master class n. 2: Vouvray and cheese

It was a lot of fun to try and pair the cheeses you can see in the picture, which ranged from blue to mid-aged one and were all from France except Gorgonzola. There are countless possible combinations, and in the end it is a matter of taste to pair by contrast (e.g. acidity of the wines and fat of the cheese) or concordance (e.g. sweetness of both wine and cheese).

My favorite of the above lineup was n.5, Champalou les Fondreaux 2018, a sweet wine that maintained adequate acidity, made with only natural yeasts, picked late with no added sugar, which paired with most of the cheeses on my plate! Score 86

I was personally surprised at how well the sparkling wine, contrast-paired with Gorgonzola.

The other feature which emerged this afternoon is the high degree of versatility of Vouvray chenin blanc, which allows for a wide range of possible pairings depending on vinification.

Prices for all above wines between 13 and 16 euros FOB.

Kevin sharing his wisdom

Cabernet Franc Blind Tasting, at Phil dans ta Cave

Bunch of Cab Franc, © Wikipedia

Ten members of the Club met today at Phil dans ta Cave for an exclusive blind tasting of Cabernet Franc wines. A good way to end the week on this Friday evening, 26th May.

After an aperitif of Burgundy white, while waiting for everyone to arrive, we tasted three sets of three cab francs each, for a total of nine bottles.

Each set was prepared in carafes by Jonathan Smets, who was the only one to know the content. Each set was composed of two Loire Cab francs and one each from Italy, Hungary and Argentina, but we did not know which until the end of the tasting.

All of the above was accompanied by bread and tasty snacks. Wines were scored using the A.I.S. system.

Below is a summary by Marco Carnovale of some of the comments in the room, followed by his scores and (in brackets) the average score from the group.

Thank you to Phil and Jonathan of Phil dans ta Cave for hosting us. See the page "Friendly suppliers" in this blog to contact them and benefit for special discounts and receive invitations to tastings and sales as a member of the Brussels Wine Club. Contact us to join for free.

Here is a useful template from Winefolly to introduce Cab Franc.

APERITIF TO WARM UP...

1987 Guffens Clos des Petits Croux (magnum). 100% Chardonnay from Burgundy.

An amazing wine which never ceases to surprise. Excellent consistency, but incredible freshness at 30 years-old. Complex aromas of ripe apricots, caramel, whisky. Perfectly balanced and very long. A harmonious wine, probably at its peak, but one would probably have said the same thing ten years ago. Score 95 (95). Price: 75 Eur (if you can find it).

FIRST SET

2015 Magipiro Az agricola Siciliano. Light ruby, moderate consistency, maybe a bit of nail polish. Barely balanced, some residual sugar. Score 78 (74). Ranking today: 9/9. Price: Eur 29.

2014 Y Amirault Saint Nicolas des Bourgueil Les Malgagnes. Green pepper, moderate balance, hard sensations prevail but not aggressive. Body and acidity promise a good evolution. Score 88 (85). Ranking today 2/9. Price: Eur 25.

2010 Philippe Alliet Chinon Vieilles Vignes A bit less freshness than previous wine, but otherwise similar. Typical Cab franc. Score 88 (83), Ranking today 3/9. Price: 18.

SECOND SET

2011 Philippe Alliet, Coteau de Noire Deep ruby intense and complex. Explosive raspberry and plum, perfect balance of full body and prominent freshness. Ready but will deliver for several more years. A harmonious wine. Score 94 (90). Ranking today 1/9. Price 28 Eur.

2013 Don Balthazar (Argentina),  The previous wine was a hard act to follow. This is a good cab franc with moderate potential. Good value for the money if your budget is limited. Score 86 (82). Ranking today 5/9. Price Eur 11.

2010 Baudry Chinon Les grezeaux, we step down a bit again from previous wine. Bitterish cherry. Moderate balance and length.  Score 84 (82). Ranking today 6/9. Price 18 Eur.

THIRD SET

2012 Malatinszky "Noblesse Cabernet Franc" (Hungary). Exuberant alcohol overpowers a pleasant sour cherry jam. Moderate balance, body and length. Score 78 (82). Ranking 4/9. Price: Eur 24.

2010 Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny  A relatively plump wine, but lacks acidity. Mature. The most expensive wine of the evening, it did not really perform as one would have expected. Score 84 (81). Rank today 7/9. Eur 100+.

2012 Baudry Croix Boissée. Well known to most participants the 1st wine by Baudry was a bit of a disappointment, did not shine as expected. I found it aggressive, only moderately balanced while in the past I have several times ranked it as one of the best cab franc in Loire. Maybe it just needs time. Maybe I was just tired at the end of the evening!! Score 78 (80). Ranking today 8/9. Eur 28.

BONUS WINE (Thanks Jon!) 2008 Joguet, Clos de la Dioterie. Quite distinctive cab franc, ready now with its peak probably a few years ahead of us. Score 86. About 20 Eur.

CONCLUSIONS

1. Cab franc is a difficult varietal but can give great pleasure by itself, and not necessarily in blends with its son cab sauvignon, merlot or others. Few regions of the world try to make 100% cab franc, too bad. Even Cheval Blanc blends a bit of merlot.

2. It is not necessary to spend a fortune to get a good cab franc, in the 20-30 eur range there are great products.

3. Loire is still top, but Hungary and Argentina have interesting offers. We'll try Slovenia and others soon. Italy disappointed this time.

4. This varietal needs time, no point trying to hurry up. Give it ten years, more for a 85+ wine.

You can buy all of this wines with our members' discount of 10% at Phil dan ta cave, see page on friendly wine suppliers on this blog.