Château Gaudrelle, 2023 Update
While Château Gaudrelle has not spent so long basking in the limelight as some of its more renowned peers in Vouvray, I have been following the domaine, meeting with proprietor Alexandre Monmousseau and tasting his wines, for many years now. This interest perhaps stems from the domaine’s long presence in the UK market, and the fact that a local wine merchant happened to list the wines just as I was beginning to explore wine, and the Loire Valley, for the first time.
In more recent years I have been impressed by Alexandre’s commitment to his vines and wines. Despite having been at the helm for several decades, and having to move to new cellars when other Monmousseau family members pulled the rug from beneath his feet (when they opted to sell Château Gaudrelle, where he was based), Alexandre showed no immediate signs of slowing down or selling up. He was developing his work in the vineyard, trialling more environmentally sustainable methods of working, and converting select parcels to organic viticulture. He also experimented with tressage, the practice of rolling and tying up the top-growth, rather than simply trimming it away; running trials side-by-side, it was possible to taste the dramatic effect this had on the character of the wine.
Behind the scenes, however, Alexandre was in fact thinking of retirement, something which has since come to pass. In this tasting report I check in with the new owner of Château Gaudrelle, Eric Pasquier (pictured), and taste some of his latest releases.
