Domaine Fouet PMG NV
Sit down class. It is time for our French lesson.
Not the sort of French I did at school, I should point out, when an exasperated Miss Cotton tried her best to enlighten me as to the value of being able to ask the time, or find my way to the gare, in what seemed to my small-town mind to be a far-flung foreign land somewhere between Venus and Mars. No, this is proper French.
The subject of today’s lesson is gueule, a word which describes a mouth, specifically an animal’s mouth. Used to describe a human mouth, however, the word takes on a more colloquial air, something along the lines of ‘cakehole’. Or perhaps something coarser. I quite like ‘cakehole’ though, but perhaps that is because I also quite like cake.
Thus the phrase pour ma gueule is anything you feel inclined to put in your cakehole, which usually means you think it tastes good. Often abbreviated to PMG, you very occasionally hear it used in reference to wine, presumably rather desirable wine which cries out to be drunk immediately, without restraint. Using my teacherly powers of deduction I believe it is just possible that Julien Fouet, the current doyen of Domaine Fouet in the Saumur region, is subliminally suggesting his sparkling pétillant naturel cuvée sits in this category.
Domaine Fouet is a long-established estate located in Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg, which places it within the boundaries of the Saumur-Champigny appellation. Six generations of the Fouet clan have guided the domaine through the years, Julien being the most recent to take hold of the reins. He has responsibility for 23 hectares of vineyards, planted to Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, used to produce a range of wines in the Saumur and Saumur-Champigny appellations, as well as a singular sparkling wine.
The domaine has recently been certified organic, by Ecocert, in the 2020 vintage, but Julien goes further than this, his work touching on the increasingly popular regenerative theme, which I discussed in my recent report on a visit to Château Haut-Bages-Libéral earlier this year. He is engaged in agroforestry, having planted trees among the vines, with a focus on apple trees (with the intention of producing some cider). He also welcomes sheep into the vineyards from time to time, thereby increasing biodiversity, reducing the need for weeding and adding natural fertiliser to the soil. Sheep in the vines, and sheep on the labels – now it all makes sense.
The sole sparkling wine from Domaine Fouet is the non-vintage PMG Pét Nat which, for the appellation geeks (and I am one of your number), is produced using the Vin Mousseux de Qualité designation. It is 100% Chenin Blanc, from limestone-rich soils, the fruit picked by hand and brought to the cellars in crates. After pressing the juice begins the fermentation process during which it is bottled, according to the méthode ancestrale. After disgorgement it is topped up without dosage, so the balance within the finished wine depends solely on the natural grape sugars.
Released within a year of the harvest, it comes closed with a crown cap. It displays a rich straw-coloured hue in the glass, and a plentiful, youthful bead. This is followed by a very accessible nose, all plump citrus and orchard fruits, swirled with notes of crushed chalk and white flowers, expressive and forward. The palate follows suit, with a lemon-cream texture, powdery minerals and a vivacious mousse cut with crisp acidity. It then finishes with a flourish of pithy and bitter energy, before fading rapidly in a short finish. While far from profound, this is an attractive pétillant natural cuvée for joyful current drinking. The alcohol declared on the label is 12%. 90/100
Now, back to our French lesson. In truth gueule can be translated in a variety of more inventive ways than that I have described above, in doing so creating a myriad of slang, rude and downright insulting phrases. I do not think I should publish them here though, so consider researching these other meanings your homework.
Class dismissed. (21/10/24)
Read more in:
- My guide to Chenin Blanc
- A guide to Loire Valley sparkling wine
- My guide to Loire Valley vintages at a glance
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