François Pinon, 2015 Update
Many Vouvrillons have had a hard time of it of late, with two very challenging vintages in 2012 and 2013, and 2011 wasn’t plain sailing either. There is no-one this applies to more than François Pinon.
In particular there was the viticultural wipe-out of the 2013 vintage. The hailstorm that tore through the vineyards on June 17th 2013 cut a neat swathe up the Vallée de Cousse, sparing only a few of the Pinon vineyards, those that lay just to one side or the other of the storm’s path. The entire yield for the domaine was just 6 hl/ha, the fruit combined in a single cuvée, Le 2013.
In this most recent encounter with François Pinon (pictured) I had the opportunity to revisit this lone cuvée from this vintage, as well as wines from the more successful 2014 vintage, and some older ones too. The tasting took place in February 2015, when I met up with François and his son Julien in Angers.
The Wines
François presented a mix of styles and vintages, kicking off with two sparkling wines from the 2012 and 2011 vintages, both of which were showing really well, although I preferred the cool and elegant precision of the 2012 Brut Traditionnelle over the 2011 Brut Non-Dosé, although the latter – which I last tasted at the domaine with François last year – was certainly good. Either would feed my love for sparkling Vouvray quite nicely.
After the 2012 Sec, which was decent enough, and the superior 2014 Sec, not reported on here as I already included a tasting note in my Loire 2014 report, we moved on to a string of classically-Pinon sec cuvées from the 2014 vintage. The cooler terroir of the deuxième côtes of the Vallée de Cousse, which has a higher altitude and older limestone bedrock, tends to engender higher acidities than you get from the première côte. François has long felt that the wines are best with some residual sugar for balance, and his 2014s are very typical examples of the style.
First up, two familiar names, the 2014 Silex Noir and 2014 Les Trois Argiles, both delightful, succulent, charming wines of purity and conviction. They display the cooler fruit profile and acid backbone described above, all softened by 15 g/l residual sugar. To my surprise, however, François revealed a third cuvée, new to the portfolio in this vintage. This is Les Déronnières, from a tiny parcel of vines up on the plateau just above the Pinon house. This wine has everything the first two wines possess, but with an added sorbet-like concentration. It has delicious potential.
