Domaine de Juchepie, 2012 Update
When trying to cover a region such as the Loire in its entirety (and I deliberately inserted trying there – I am certainly a long way from succeeding when it comes to providing comprehensive coverage of the Loire) it is inevitable that the process will reveal personal preferences to one extent or another. In a region with such grand diversity, rich as it is in different terroirs, grape varieties, wine styles and winemaking philosophies, it is hardly surprising that some wines will appeal to my palate – or anyone else’s palate – more than others. In fact it would be more unusual if I didn’t have any preferences.
Despite this I do make an effort to taste wines from domaines that appeal less to my preferences, and over the next six months I have planned out a sequence of Loire updates that will look at the bad and the ugly, as well as the good. For the moment though I’m sticking with the good (as well as trying to clear my now ever-present and lengthening backlog of notes), estates that turn out wines that are not only fun to taste but also to buy, cellar and drink. Domaine de Juchepie, located just outside Faye d’Anjou, is one such address. Here Eddy Oosterlinck (pictured above) and his wife Mileine run a 7-hectare domaine which is entirely biodynamic and planted mostly with Chenin Blanc, along with a tiny area of Cabernet Franc. The former variety is the main attraction, both in terms of the dry Anjou Blancs that are born here, but also the sweet wines, all Coteaux du Layon Faye.
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