TOP

Domaine Saint Just L’Ardoisier Méthode Traditionnelle Rouge NV

“And now for something completely different.”

– John Cleese, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, c.1969

It probably goes without saying, but the Loire Valley is an extraordinarily diverse wine region, not really that surprising when there are 500 kilometres of river (from Sancerre down to the Atlantic) along which vines can be planted. Even more if we also include the vineyards upstream around Roanne, Montbrison and Clermont-Ferrand, as well as those planted along the river’s many tributaries, including the Vienne, the Cher and the Indre. And let’s not forget the Sèvre and the Maine, in Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, of course.

The sheer breadth of this region gives Ligérian vignerons a near-endless assortment of soils and varieties to choose from, and gives us lucky wine drinkers a similarly diverse selection of wine styles to savour. Hidden within this multifarious matrix, alongside the classic styles and appellations familiar to us all – Muscadet, Pouilly-Fumé, Chinon and the like – there are also the inevitable curiosities; wines made using unfamiliar grapes, for example, sometimes in microscopic and rarely seen appellations, or wines made in an entirely unexpected style.

Over the years, discovering these curiosities has made my ongoing deep dive into the wines of the Loire Valley intensely rewarding, but I wonder if other regions with which I am less familiar also have their own curiosities? Is there more to Burgundy than meets the eye, or is Aligoté and Passe-Tout-Grains as weird as it gets? And what of Champagne? Once you have discovered Petit Meslier and Arbane (and Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris), are there any other bubbly bibelots that await you?

Do any of them offer you the opportunity to drink something which is, as John Cleese would put it, completely different? Like sparkling Cabernet Franc, for example?

Yes, really.

Domaine Saint Just L'Ardoisier Méthode Traditionnelle Rouge NV

Over the years I have encountered a handful of sparkling reds in the Loire Valley. Most hail from the Saumur region, which of course reflects the longstanding association between this corner of the Loire Valley and sparkling wine, and if memory serves me correctly they have all been based on Cabernet Franc (although sometimes blended with Gamay and/or Grolleau), and they are often in a demi-sec style, with a fairly generous dosage adding texture and breadth to the palate (while, to my palate at least, not adding obvious or incongruous sweetness).

One of the more successful cuvées I encountered was the Rubis Rouge Excellence from Bouvet Ladubay (although I see, looking back at my notes, more than a decade has passed since I last tasted it). Another successful example is the Bulles de Minière Rouge from Kathleen Mareels-Van den Berghe at Château de Minière, although this one is drier than most, a reflection of Kathleen’s palate which does (to me) seem to prefer the stricter style (in white and red).

This week’s Weekend Wine comes from Domaine Saint-Just, which is home to Arnaud Lambert; he has been making his sparkling red L’Ardoisier for many years, although this is the first time I have been able to welcome a bottle into my own cellar. It is 100% Cabernet Franc from fruit grown on clay-limestone soils, and it has been made using the méthode traditionnelle, with a second fermentation in bottle. It then spends twelve months sur lattes before it is disgorged. As is commonplace the dosage brings it up to a demi-sec level.

In the glass the non-vintage L’Ardoisier displays a simply fabulous colour, a deep black tulip hue, the foam coloured a vibrant royal purple. And the nose is just a delight, drawing me in with delicious dark fruit aromas reminiscent of ripe blackberries, blackcurrant coulis and black cherry, with while there are little threads of roasted coffee bean and tar it is the gloriously expressive fruit which dominates. The palate is very precisely composed, with sweet fruit to match the character on the nose, with great texture and a rather svelte body no doubt built up somewhat by the dosage, although it is far from sweet, despite the demi-sec declaration on the label. There is no real tannin of note to interfere with the nicely balanced acidity and prickling mousse here, and it finishes with a clean and crisp definition. This is a great example of this style from the Loire Valley, and one I will certainly be seeking out again. The alcohol on the label is 12.5%. 92/100 (25/3/24)

Read more in:

Find Domaine Saint Just L’Ardoisier Méthode Traditionnelle Rouge NV on Wine Searcher:

Find all Domaine Saint Just wines on Wine Searcher: