Pierre Martin, 2014 Update
It is only a year or so since I first tasted the wines of Pierre Martin, who began to work alongside his father Yves, tending the family vines, in 2004. Now that Yves Martin has retired the domaine is entirely under the control of Pierre, and the wines are now all marketed under Pierre’s name. I was won over by the wines on my first taste, and have enjoyed a couple of bottles since then at restaurants in Chavignol and elsewhere. This, I suppose, is the litmus test when it comes to any one domaine. I taste a lot of wines in order to make my Loire and Bordeaux reports and updates for Winedoctor; but when I move to add the wines to my cellar, or start buying them from restaurant lists to enjoy with dinner, then it’s as good a guarantee as I can give of my interest in the domaine and my enjoyment of the wines.
This tasting report concerns wines not tasted in Chavignol, where Pierre is based, but at the 2014 Salon des Vins de Loire. I was rushing past when I saw Pierre had no-one tasting at his stand at that moment. A travesty! And an opportunity not to be missed of course. I immediately wheeled left, and started tucking into Pierre’s portfolio, with a range of finished wines and barrel samples mostly from the 2013 and 2012 vintages.
The 2013 Vintage
Pierre first gave a succinct account of the 2013 vintage, recalling a humid spring, then very dry weather during the height of summer. He described a later flowering, in keeping with many other reports from along the length and breadth of the Loire, this being a consequence of the rather cool and damp spring weather which was, in the words of many vignerons, “tardive”. At least there was no coulure, this being perhaps the only advantage of a late flowering.
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