Domaine de Juchepie, 2011 Update

My recent taste of the 2007 Juchepie Anjou Les Monts has spurred me on to publish my notes on a selection of cuvées tasted with Eddy Oosterlinck at the Salon des Vins de Loire earlier this year. I would normally catch Eddy at the frolicking orgy of natural-biodynamic wines that is the annual Renaissance tasting, organised by Nicolas Joly and Mark Angeli (the Morecambe and Wise of biodynamics, perhaps?) and which is always held the weekend before the Salon, but the ridiculous decision by the Salon organisers to move the start of their three-day wine fair to the Sunday scuppered this plan. Spotting Eddy and his wife Mileine at his Renaissance stand I agreed to meet up with him a day or two later at the Salon to taste his wines, while I concentrated on those domaines that wouldn’t be at the later event.

This decision to place the Salon des Vins de Loire in direct competition with the Renaissance event, rather than to work alongside it, does the Loire no favours in my opinion. It makes life difficult for the vignerons; for example, exhibitors are not permitted to leave their stands at the Salon unmanned, so simply skipping the Sunday in favour of your stand at the Renaissance is not an option. You choose one or the other, it seems, or – as Eddy and Mileine did – recruit some friends to man the Salon stand on the first day, attending on the second day when the Renaissance event is over. And it makes life difficult for the journalists, sommeliers and wine-trade types visiting the region, some having travelled thousands of miles to get to the Loire, who then must choose one event over the other. It isn’t exactly the best way to market Loire Valley wine. In fact it is idiotic.

Subscribe Here / Lost Password