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Langlois-Chateau
The origins of Langlois-Chateau lie in the union of the 23 year-old Edouard Langlois with a young 19 year-old woman from the Vendée named Jeanne Chateau. Although he had been born to a rural family in 1873, Edouard worked as a vigneron and cellarman in St-Hilaire-St-Florent, just downstream of Saumur and today practicably a suburb of that town. It was here that the newlyweds founded their new winemaking business in 1912, aided by Baron de Bodman who owned Chateau de St-Florent and a number of local vineyards and cellars, the latter being essential as Langlois-Chateau was to focus on the production of sparkling wine above all other styles. Tragically, as Europe was torn apart by the Great War which erupted in 1914, so too was the union of Langlois and Chateau. At just 42 years of age Edouard Langlois was killed, just three years after starting up his new venture. In a story that somewhat mirrors that of Nicole-Barbe Clicquot, it was down to the young widow to take on the running of the estate, here assisted by her son Alexis and son-in-law Maurice Leroux.
The family built up a successful business during their tenure, but in 1973
valuable aid came in the shape of Bollinger who acquired a controlling
stake in the business, thus bringing expertise, distribution services, contacts
and of course the potential for investment. Aided by Maurice's son Jean Leroux,
the business was run by Michel Villedey of the Bollinger family. Unsurprisingly
it was rapidly developed, and the portfolio expanded to take in many
of the appellations of the Loire, although it is fair to say that the house is
still most readily associated with the sparkling wines of the region. Today
Villedey remains in control, assisted by production manager François-Régis de
Fougeroux in the cellars, and he has at his disposal an impressive facility at
St-Hilaire-St-Florent, which in recent years has seen a considerable expansion
and is now a bustling winery with extensive cellars and an attractive tasting
room.
As is perhaps the norm Langlois-Chateau does not cultivate massive swathes of vines; there are vineyards in their ownership, but there are also long-standing contracts with dozens of local growers to provide fruit which is vinified in the production of the sparkling wines, mostly bottled as Crémant de Loire. As mentioned above there are bottlings from across the myriad of appellations of the Loire, a diverse range encompassing Muscadet from the Domaine du Grand Maison and Sancerre from the Chateau de Fontaine-Audon, as well as appellations a little closer to home such as Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur. But a visit to Langlois-Chateau in sleepy St-Hilaire-St-Florent, home to all the leading sparkling wine producers including Gratien & Meyer and Bouvet-Ladubay, is a visit to taste their sparkling wines and perhaps to tour their cellars. The fruit is sourced from across six regions, the Côtes de Saumur, Coteaux de St-Léger, Puy Notre Dame, Bas Layon, Haut Layon and Montreuil-Bellay, providing a varied mix of terroirs, predominantly the clay and the typical limestone tuffeau of the region but also a little sand and even some schist close to the Layon. Purchased fruit is brought in as grapes rather than must or wine, giving a greater degree of control than might otherwise be the case, and quality is further ensured by demanding hand harvesting into small 25 kg crates. The pressing is pneumatic and light and the primary fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled 100 hectolitre steel vats, with each terroir fermented separately. As these are all Crémant de Loire the process is méthode traditionelle, which dictates that the secondary fermentation is in bottle.
The range opens with a non-vintage Crémant de Loire which is based on Chenin, with 20% Chardonnay and 20% Cabernet Franc in the blend. Of the Chenin, 10% is reserve wine, and the wine will spend at least two years on its lees before disgorgement, but it remains a very fresh and vibrant style. This is also true of the Rosé, which is purely Cabernet Franc, the colour derived from a twelve hour maceration before the must is taken off the skins. This wine will then spend eighteen months on its lees before disgorgement. A step up is the Réserve, a single vintage wine with the same varietal composition as for the non-vintage cuvée, comprised from selected wines from across all six terroirs which are then refermented before three years on the lees. Finally as far as Crémant de Loire is concerned there is Quadrille, a special selection from four distinct terroirs of clay and limestone at Montreuil Bellay which provides red varieties for the blend, with white varieties grown on more sandy limestone soils at St-Hilaire-St-Florent, St-Léger-de-Montbrillais and Dampierre-sur-Loire. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are 15% and 5% of the blend respectively, the balance being 30% Chardonnay and 50% Chenin Blanc. Once the secondary fermentation is completed the wine spends four years on the lees before disgorgement. The richness engendered by this process clearly shines through on tasting. Finally there is a red cuvée Carmin Dry, a Vin Mousseaux de Qualité, made purely from Cabernet Franc, again sourced from a vineyard of clay and limestone. The wine has a short maceration to give colour and a little structure, and then eighteen months on its lees before disgorgement. The result is enticing and makes a delightful antidote to those bored with New World versions of this wine which often have rather noticeable residual sugar. These are, in fact, all wines worth seeking out, especially when one considers the prices. (16/8/07)
Contact details:
Address: 3 rue Léopold Palustre, St-Hilaire-St-Florent, 49400 Saumur
Telephone: +33 (0) 2 41 40 21 40
Fax: +33 (0) 2 41 40 21 49
Internet:
www.langlois-chateau.fr
Langlois-Chateau - Tasting Notes
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Langlois-Chateau Crémant de Loire Brut Réserve 2001: The same
composition as the non-vintage, but longer on the lees and obviously a single vintage. There is
more complexity on the nose as a result, and a more appealing depth on the
palate. There is a slightly organic twist too it, with a little more creaminess,
but it is still fresh and appealing. 16-16.5/20 (July 2007)
Langlois-Chateau Crémant de Loire Quadrille 2000: A real step up here,
this cuvée is positively exotic compared to the straight vintage and non-vintage that went before. There are
nuances of butter and cinder toffee which carry through onto the palate,
although it still has that incisive acidity and remains very fresh as a result.
I like the little bitter edge to its grip. Another good wine. 16.5-17/20 (July
2007)
Tasting notes are ordered by date of tasting, most recent first. I have tried to indicate whether it is a tasting of a new release, or of a wine I have cellared.
Langlois-Chateau Crémant de Loire Brut NV: Current release, tasted at
the domaine. Quite a pale hue. The nose
has plenty of very clean fruit, with a somewhat steely edge. It is floral, fresh
and delightfully acidic. It is uncomplicated but nevertheless very honest,
nicely composed and refreshing. Overall, a good and well defined character that
is very true to its origins. 16/20 (July 2007)
Langlois-Chateau Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé NV: Current release,
tasted at the domaine. An attractive, very
pale pink hue. There is admittedly not much to be found on the nose here save
for some redcurrant leaf, but
the fruit seems a little more obvious on the palate where it has a nice
vanilla-tinged strawberry, raspberry and redcurrant character with a nettly
prickle. The mousse is rather gentle but creamy, perhaps more pétillant
than mousseaux. Clean and attractive, with a hard, perhaps slightly metallic
core, but I like this wine. A second bottle within a week or two was the same.
16/20 (July 2007)
Langlois-Chateau Carmin Dry Vin Mousseaux de Qualité NV: Current
release, tasted at the domaine. This is
visually very appealing as you might imagine, and on the nose there are lots of
dark red, smoky, intense fruits, together with some liquorice, which all comes
through nicely on the palate. There is a rounded character, and appropriate but
not sweet dosage which gives a soft, ripe creamy feel, although there is an
attractively bitter grip and a dry finish. Nicely defined acidity helps to keep
it fresh. Again, a second bottle within a week or two was the same. Lots to
admire here, very good indeed. 16.5-17+/20 (July 2007)
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