Le Clos Galerne, 2023 Update
Like Terra Vita Vinum, Le Clos Galerne was one of the first visits I made in the Loire Valley once Covid-19 travel restrictions were lifted, early in 2022. Indeed, I visited the two domaines one after the other, during the course of a day which I spent tasting at a number of properties on the banks of the Layon. I also knocked on the door of Cédric’s neighbour Vanessa Cherruau at Château de Plaisance; as it happens, I have a more recent update on her wines also waiting in the wings.
I had first met proprietor Cédric Bourez only a year or two before, in the immediate pre-pandemic era. Recently arrived from Provence, he was presenting his first vintage in the Loire, and on tasting the wines it was clear that he was going to be an interesting addition to the Layon wine scene. I felt moved to visit, and when I called in on him early in 2022 I enjoyed checking out his vines, some of which he prunes using the Cordon de Royat system (which he is trying to explain to me – without much success, if I recall correctly – in the image below).
Of course, it was not merely Cédric’s Provençal back-story that appealed, or indeed his detailed knowledge of Cordon de Royat pruning, it was more the polished quality and rich intensity of flavour that I found in his wines. So, subsequent to last year’s visit, I was delighted to meet up with him again this year, in Angers, in February 2023, to taste the latest releases from Le Clos Galerne.
The Wines
Tasting through Cédric’s portfolio, while I am taken by the ripe expression of the fruit and the intensity of aroma and flavour, there is an issue with Cédric’s wines and that is – in a handful of cuvées – high alcohol levels. This became apparent once again as I tasted through these wines, but it is an issue I also noticed during the course of my visit to the domaine in 2022.
