Domaine Cady: Tasting & Drinking
If I think back to formative bottles that helped me to understand the wines of the Loire Valley, in particular the wines of the Coteaux du Layon, it is perhaps only natural to expect that I would reel off a list of the most renowned vignerons, Claude Papin for example, or those with the most significant vineyard holdings and the widest distribution, such as Florent Baumard. And, indeed, these very significant figures do have their parts to play. So do, however, several less frequently discussed vignerons and domaines, and Domaine Cady is certainly one of this number.
Indeed, not quite twenty years ago I filled my cellar with the 1997 Coteaux du Layon Harmonie, a special bottling which seemed, momentarily, to flood the UK market at a very attractive price. Two decades on I can still taste the crystalline purity of the botrytised fruit within this wine, even though the corks were all pulled a long time ago. From the same vintage, and also a bargain, a sad reflection of the poor regard with which sweet wines are held in these times, the 1997 Saint-Aubin Grains Nobles Les Bruandières was just as handsome, although looking back I see I preferred the more delicate balance of the Harmonie. It is often the case that a little less botrytis can allow the schistose typicité of the Layon to shine through, and I think that was the case with these wines.
These were wines from Philippe Cady’s era of course, and in more recent times it is his son Alexandre Cady who has taken the helm. I am happy to see that he is no slave to fashion, and he continues on with the full range of sweet wines, including in suitable vintages the Cuvée Volupté, the crème de la crème of the Coteaux du Layon portfolio here. He is also working hard with the dry white wines though, and certainly in recent years there have been tangible improvements with the Anjou Blanc and particularly with Cheninsolite, a barrel-fermented and barrel-aged wine which displays all the smoky character of the vineyard alongside the oak. I suspect it will age very well.
