Château Pierre-Bise: Tasting & Drinking
The proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating, and after my sojourn in the vineyards during my first visit to Château Pierre-Bise I returned with Claude Papin to his house in order to taste his wines, just as I have done with him many times since, and in more recent years I have continued this ‘tradition’ with his son René, Claude having retired to a little house in the hamlet of Chaume.
I have therefore come to know the portfolio of wines fairly well, working across a broad array of vintages. I have to confess I also buy, cellar and drink the wines at home; this, alongside the occasional tasting of a mature vintage with Claude, has also given me insight into how the wines age.
Anjou & Savennières
Looking first to Anjou Blanc, it seems fair to say that the Haut de la Garde cuvée has enjoyed semi-cult status in some circles. As with many of his white wines it has in its extreme youth – bear in mind that I sometimes taste these wines soon after the harvest, and before the élevage has completed – a very mineral and pointed precision. It is one of a number of cuvées produced by some leading vignerons of the region that illustrate the value of the Anjou appellation, which clearly has some noteworthy terroirs, some of which yield wines no less exciting than the best wines from Savennières.
