Pithon-Paillé, 2017 Update
Much has changed at Pithon-Paillé since I last stopped off to taste their wines, which was two years ago now (I usually taste their wines at least once per annum, but last year so many other things just seemed to get in the way). Two years ago Jo Pithon remained nominally at the helm, although presumably looking forward to retirement, just as many of his Anjou peers including Vincent Ogereau, Yves Guégniard and Claude Papin have also done. His stepson Jo Paillé was making the wines, and when I visited in 2014 it was certainly the younger Jo and his wife Wendy that I tasted with, and who I took a tour of the vineyards with. Jo Pithon, as ever larger than life, breezed by to say hello at one moment, but no more than that.
But as I said, things have changed. Jo and Wendy Paillé left in 2015, apparently in a disagreement over the direction in which the domaine was going, although to be honest with such a difficult fracture in the family I have resisted the temptation to pry. Jo Paillé now makes wine in the south of France, as does Wendy Paillé, at the renowned La Soula winery in the case of the latter. Meanwhile, back in St-Lambert-du-Lattay, Jo Pithon installed his son Jules (pictured) as the new heir, while he continued to work towards retirement which I believe he has now fully embraced. Last I heard, Jo had taken to cycling across France, and the exercise means this larger-than-life character is now apparently half the man he used to be (I heard from Yves and Marie-Annick Guégniard recently that Jo cycled past their domaine and they didn’t even recognise him).
The Wines
I tasted through the range, and as usual quality here was mostly very good indeed. The 2013 Quarts de Chaume stole the show, providing a smorgasbord of rich botrytis-infused flavours, balanced out by the fresh acidity of the 2013 vintage. Only very small quantities of Quarts de Chaume was made in 2013 (although this could perhaps be said of this wine in any vintages) so snap this one up if you see it. The 2012 Coteau des Treilles was also impressive, slightly more so than the 2013 vintage tasted alongside.
