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Stars of the Layon at RSJ: Part 2

After the walk-round tasting I made my way upstairs, a glass of Vincent Ogereau's 2009 Rosé de Loire in hand, in time for lunch courtesy of Nigel Wilkinson and RSJ. In a round-table affair, in the company Jim Budd, Sarah Ahmed, Natasha Hughes, Margaret Rand and a few others - and the winemakers of course - we all learnt a little more about their domaines, recent vintages, the Loire....and of course more of the ever-thoughtful Claude Papin's philosophies.

Claude Papin needs no introduction of course, he has long been profiled on this site and his was one of the first domaines that I revisited during my 'return to the Loire'  in 2003, travel to the region having been stymied by the birth of my children, among other things. Sitting next to Claude's wife Joëlle I had the opportunity to explore what was new at Pierre-Bise. In particular I was reminded of their children, René and Christophe; although I have known of their existence for many years I have never met either of them, always having been greeted at the domaine by either Joëlle or Claude. And so perhaps I could be excused for thinking they were younger than they actually are, but they are today fully involved in the running of Pierre-Bise, René in the cellar and Christophe in the vineyard. And it turns out to my surprise they are not so young, but are in fact of a very similar age to me. The ever-youthful Joëlle and the occasionally mischievous Claude simply don't look old enough to have offspring of such maturity.

Claude made some very interesting points about the Loire Valley, and the role that Anjou and Touraine play contrasted against those of Muscadet and Sancerre. For Claude, the vineyards of Anjou and Touraine are the real Loire, the heart of the region, whereas those appellations to the extreme west and east are - to some extent at least - of lesser concern. I can see his point; Muscadet and Sancerre are without doubt two of the best known names, but they do not represent - in Claude's opinion, and I do not disagree with him - the apogee of what the Loire can achieve, either in terms of uniqueness, in ability of the varieties planted there to express terroir or in the absolute quality achieved. And yet, to my mind, it seems that many wine drinkers never push their exploration of the Loire beyond these peripheral regions to uncover the treasures, translated by Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc (and occasionally a handful of other varieties too) that lie at its core. I wonder if this is because Muscadet and Sancerre are easy appellations to understand, superficially at least (as in truth there is complexity to be found here, just as there is throughout the Loire), whereas Touraine and then especially Anjou are increasingly multi-faceted (as illustrated by the ever-expanding list of appellations), and might just be enough to put some off exploring further?

Vincent Ogereau (pictured above, left; on the right is Jim Budd in a contemplative moment) spoke on the matter of recent vintages including 2010, although as is always the case any opinions on the current vintage must always be kept in check; more than in any other region the harvest weather can make or break a vintage in the Loire, and at the time of his discourse the picking had not yet begun in earnest. Nevertheless there has been plenty of good weather during the 2010 growing season (having spent several glorious weeks near Faye d'Anjou only a month or two ago I would have to agree) and if this continues we will, it seems, be looking at the second very successful vintage in a row for the region.

It was Yves Guégniard who spoke last, and I listened carefully; this was a first taste of this domaine for me, and the wines are clearly very impressive, particularly the two Savennières cuvées and the Anjou-Villages Evanescence, and these wines demand that I explore further here. His is a family domaine, passed down through seven generations, most recently from his grandmother to his mother and then to Yves. He has augmented that which he inherited, bringing the estate up to its current 36 hectares. From these vines he fashions a huge range of wines, dry white and red, sparkling and sweet, including of course the aforementioned Savennières Clos Le Grand Beaupréau; he also has vines in Le Croix Picot, a site which many will associate with the defunct domaine of Jo Pithon more than any other estate I think. It is also notable that his domaine now incorporates La Table de Bergerie, a vineyard-restaurant which, while a common phenomenon for Australia and other New World wine-nations, is I think unique in the Loire. The chef is a local, David Guitton, who has returned to his homeland, a decision perhaps influenced by his marriage to Yves' daughter Anne. Having trained under Alain Ducasse and Joël Robuchon, the fare here must surely be worth investigating. If only I had known of this new dining venue during my recent stay in Faye d'Anjou!

Finally, a note not on a single domaine but on a vineyard. What ties these three vignerons together, other than the absolute quality of the wines they produce, or the close friendship that they clearly enjoy, is shared exploitation of the Clos le Grand Beaupréau in the Savennières appellation. This vineyard is part of the larger Moulin de Beaupréau vineyard (where Eric Morgat and Domaine Mosse own vines) which altogether covers just short of 16 hectares, 6.1 hectares being the Clos le Grand Beaupréau. Claude Papin takes the largest chunk, 2.5 hectares, with Vincent Ogereau looking after 2 hectares and Yves Guégniard bringing up the rear with 1.6 hectares. The entire vineyard was previously exploited by Pierre Soulez, as recently as 2004; both Claude and Vincent took over sections he rented, beginning with the 2005 vintage, whereas Yves purchased his vines from Soulez. With each member of the trio taking responsibility for a distinct section of the site it is only natural that each should make his own wine, but this arrangement does make for fascinating comparative tastings.

But that moment had passed, the three wines in question having already been shown during the morning tasting; now it was time to make an even more important assessment, to see how the wines work not in isolation (as they are far too often assessed) but with food. Suffice to say I was not to be disappointed. (13/10/10)

Stars of the Layon at RSJ - Tasting Notes

These wines were tasted at the RSJ restaurant in September 2010. Notes on relevant wines can also be found in my Château Pierre-Bise, Domaine Ogereau and Domaine de la Bergerie profiles. Click to locate stockists.

• See part one for my notes from the initial walk-round tasting.