Domaine Ogereau: Wines
As indicated on the previous page, the harvesting is manual and carried out in successive tries, even for the dry wines, before a rigorous sorting prior to fermentation. The yield across the entire domaine is in the order of 25 hl/ha, the reason for this seemingly low figure being he large area of vineyard – I once wrote that this perhaps half the domaine, although I suspect this is not the case today – that is committed to the production of sweet wines. On these vineyards the yield might only be 5 hl/ha.
During Vincent’s time here there was just one Anjou Blanc christened En Chenin, and that was a relatively new development as he originally produced two white wines under the Anjou appellation, a straight Anjou Blanc which was mostly Chenin Blanc with a percentage of Chardonnay (typically the maximum 20%) blended in, as well as an Anjou Blanc Cuvée Prestige which was 100% Chenin Blanc. The former was fermented and aged in temperature-controlled steel until bottling, whereas the latter, introduced in 1995, was handled very differently, with fermentation and élevage in 500-litre casks.
That’s all changed now. First, because Ogereau decided to focus on Chenin Blanc alone, and to simplify into one cuvée, hence the birth of En Chenin. And second, because Emmanuel has moved the domaine towards producing a range of site-specific cuvées.
First, En Chenin. As the name suggests there is no longer any Chardonnay in the blend, the fermentation remains in wood, either old barrel or cuve, although neither really make any significant mark upon the wine, which rests on its lees for up to 15 months prior to bottling. The quality is very high, the palate pure and unsullied, the overall style elegant and worthy of high praise. This was a good move for Vincent, I think, and the cuvée remains a linchpin of the portfolio under Emmanuel.
