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FRANCE'S LOIRE VALLEY
You'll find an interesting range of wines here in the
Loire Valley and you'll need to know what grapes grows in which appellation. The
wines, like those of Alsace in France, tend to be varietal wines. Unlike Alsace,
however, Loire Valley wines take their geographical names or appellations. So, while
in Alsace a wine is labeled Riesling, for example, here the wines made of Sauvignon Blanc,
with only a rare exception or two, rarely are noted on the label as being made of
Sauvignon Blanc.
In an effort to clarify the issue for you, here's a "cheat sheet":
| SAUVIGNON BLANC |
Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Quincy, Menetou-Salon, Reuilly, Coteaux du
Giennois, Touraine (usually these have the name "Sauvignon" on the label) |
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| CHENIN BLANC (also known as Pineau de la Loire) |
Vouvray, Jasnières, Montlouis, Quarts de Chaume, Bonnezeaux, Coteaux du
Layon, Savennières. Anjou, Coteaux de Saumur |
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| PINOT NOIR |
Sancerre, Menetou-Salon Rouge |
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| CABERNET FRANC (also known locally as "Breton") |
Bourgueil, Chinon, Champigny, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Anjou |
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| MUSCADET (not Muscat!) (Also known as "Melon de
Bourgogne") |
Muscadet, Muscadet des Coteaux de la Loire, Muscadet-Sèvre
et Maine Muscadet Cotes de Grand Lieu |
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| OTHER MINOR VARIETIES |
Reds: Grolleau (often used for rose wines), Gamay Noir, Pinot
Meunier, Cot (same as Malbec), Pineau d'Aunis (also known as Chenin Noir) Whites:
Gros Plant, Folle Blanche, Tressallier, Chardonnay (vintners seem to have increasing interest with
this), Pinot Gris (called Malvoisie), Fie (said to be a Sauvignon mutation),
Romorantin. |
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Some of our Loire Valley Selections:
- DIDIER
DAGUENAU ("Mister Pouilly-Fumé)
I've
seen articles written about Monsieur Daguenau, calling him the
"bad boy" of the Loire. The "Enfant
Terrible." I'm not sure he warrants that designation, but he is
an outspoken fellow and one who says what he thinks rather than what some
people want to hear.
Located off the main drag in Saint-Andelain, Daguenau maintains a low
profile on one hand and a high profile on the other. No signs are
posted to give visitors a clue as to the location of this domaine, for
example. On the other hand, this fellow is a vociferous critic of
lackluster viticulture and winemaking. And he's driven to make
outstanding wines and do so according to bio-dynamic farming
methods.
He started
winemaking in the early 1980s. His father had (and still has) a
winery. Daguenau's uncle also makes wine. But Didier's
"training" had been as a competitive motocross rider. Today
he's famous in dog sledding circles. Apparently he didn't learn much
winemaking from the family. He didn't want to learn that type of
winemaking! Daguenau, ever competitive, wanted to make THE BEST and
dad and Uncle Serge just don't cut it.
He farms about eleven hectares, or so. Organic farming
practices. Low yields. Daguenau is deeply involved in all phases
of the process. He doesn't harvest the fruit when sugar levels reach a
certain point, for example. He'll taste the grapes and decide when to
pick as he tastes "ripe" flavors. Try an average bottle of
Pouilly-Fumé and you'll often encounter vegetal, unripe flavors and thin,
meager wines. That's not what Daguenau is about.

The winery was built in 1989. It's pristinely clean. Daguenau
insisted we taste before having a look at the vineyards, since he didn't
want us tracking "terroir" into the clean cellar. Stainless
steel. Oak barrels. The usual winery equipment. Curiously
the barrels, from a variety of coopers, have the letters "DSLS"
painted on most of them. "DIEU SEUL LE SAIT." Daguenau
explains. "God only knows what the type of oak is." Daguenau
tells us. "The barrel builders sell various types of wood,
Allier, Tronais, Limousin, Nevers...but God only knows for sure what sort
of wood a particular barrel really is!"
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If you have the idea Didier is an iconoclast, I'd say you're correct.
He's recently purchased a piece of land in the Sancerre village of
Chavignol, a town famous for the little "Crottin de Chavignol"
goat cheese. However, it's been quite a while since anyone in
Chavignol has had goats, let alone made cheese there! One day there
will be Daguenau's Crottin de Chavignol and it will be from
Chavignol!
In his
vast circle of winemaker friends, Daguenau hangs out with a tough
audience. He's, apparently, been chided for "only" making
white wines. Colleagues contend that "it's easy to make white
wines." So, Daguenau planted some Pinot Noir, hardly the easiest
red wine to produce. We were offered a sample, poured
"blind." I told Daguenau it was someone's red Burgundy and a
really good one. Didier challenges everyone and so to lead me astray
he claimed it was made by a certain California vintner. "Get out
of town!" I screamed. (This certainly was a challenge to Monsieur
Daguenau's skills with the English language!)
Finally he revealed that the wine in question was his own Pinot Noir.
Now he can offer his colleagues a glass of amazingly fine
"Burgundy" that comes from well outside the appellation (of the Côte
d'Or). I can say with certainty they will not belittle the making of
white wines in the future!
The Pouilly-Fumé wines are the work of a perfectionist.
PF = Pouilly-Fumé, Perfectly Farmed and Pretty Fantastic.
"En Chailloux" is the basic bottling is the main production of
Pouilly-Fumé. Part of the final blend is fermented in oak, part in
stainless steel. Wood is not a major component of the wine, however.
"Pur Sang" is a wonderful wine which is fermented in wood.
There is a bit of toastiness to the wine, but the oak only adds
complexity; it does not dominate!
"Buisson Renard" is also fermented in barrel, but I found the oak
to be less intense than in the Pur Sang. Buisson Renard use to be
called "Buisson Menard" until a prominent French wine writer
misspelled the name in a well read publication. To nail the critic,
Daguenau changed the name of the wine to the misspelling!
"Silex" is regarded as the top bottling, coming from old vines in
various parcels.

"Asteroide" is the collector's item of the bunch, costing hundreds
of dollars for a half-liter bottle. If your lotto ticket is a winner,
treat yourself to a bottle of this. Otherwise, try the Pur Sang.
(As we drove around the vineyards, Daguenau showed us a parcel of vineyard
that he had just acquired in an exchange with another vigneron. He
said it would take a few years of organic farming to get the vineyard into
the proper condition. I told Daguenau that if he acquired a vineyard
that was nearly impossible to 'fix," a real pain in the ass, he could
offer a companion, single vineyard bottling to Asteroide: "Hemorrhoid."
Currently in stock:
2004 "Pur Sang" $69.99 (a few bottles remain)
2002 "Pur Sang" $59.99 (a few bottles remain)
2005 "Pur Sang" $69.99 (just arrived)
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- SYLVAIN BAILLY (Domaine Croix Saint Ursin)

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- This domaine is run by Jacques Bailly and his wife Marie-Helene.
They're located in the town of Bu, though vineyard holdings are
scattered around the appellation.
Bailly has about 11 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre, some 3.5
hectares of Pinot Noir and about 5 hectares of Sauvignon in
Quincy.
The Sancerre comes from differing soils. Jacques explained that
about 70% of their vineyards are in limestone, the balance in a soil
that's a combination of clay and limestone.
Bailly's is our most popular Sancerre, his wine having a nice combination
of minerality and citrus. Oak is not part of the program here.
Various sites are picked at differing levels of sugar, so Bailly's
fermentation tanks of Sancerre vary in character until he blends
them. A "prestige" bottling is produced in riper vintages
and a part of that wine is wood aged. Even so, it's hard to beat the
"Les Terroirs" bottling.
Red Sancerre is made, of course, of Pinot Noir. A French woman
picked up a bottle of Bailly's red wine, not knowing this and commented,
"There must be something wrong with your Sancerre...it's awfully dark
in color."
"It's a red wine." we told her.
"Oh!"
- Currently available: 2006 Sancerre "Terroirs"
(list $24) SALE $19.99 (750ml)
LOUIS MÉTAIREAU (and his band of merry
vignerons)
For
many people in Europe, the name "Louis Métaireau" is synonymous
with Muscadet.
Now, Muscadet has nothing to so with "Muscat." Aside from it
coming in a green bottle with a cork stopper.
Louis Métaireau was a show man who brought the little white wine of the Pays
Nantais to a point of stature. His "campaign" kicked off
in the 1960s when not many people more than 50 miles from Nantes knew the
Muscadet wine from the western part of the Loire. Today every Parisian
bistro and oyster bar has Muscadet on the wine list. Apparently, it's
mandated by French law.
Mtaireau had but a couple of hectares of vines and he felt their was
strength in numbers, so he got some friends and neighbors together to start
a winemaking and wine marketing enterprise. The group eventually
purchased the "Domaine du Grand Mouton" estate back in 1972.
The property is called "Mouton," but this designation is not a
reference to sheep or lamb. A French word, "mothon,"
which signifies "mound" or mountain, has been corrupted to
"mouton." The vineyard is at a high elevation for the
region.
Today Mtaireau's daughter Marie-Luce and her husband Jean-Francois
Guilbaud run the domaine.
We tasted a number of their wines and all are of a high quality level.
We have their "Carte Noire" (black label) in stock. The 2005
is a lovely dry white...crisp, mildly minerally and with tangy, Granny Smith
apple-like acidity.
Of course, Muscadet not a blockbuster wine. It's a far cry from 15%
alcohol, hugely oaked, full-throttle buttery California Chardonnay, for
example. It's virtue is its simplicity and its "lightness of
being," unbearable as that is to many wine drinkers. It is never
a 90-point wine, nor does it aspire to be in a blind-tasting. It's a
"food wine," intended to be on the table with fresh seafood.
- Currently in stock: 2005 LOUIS MÉTAIREAU "Carte Noire"
MUSCADET $13.99
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- DOMAINE DES BAUMARD
A family-run producer specializing in Chenin Blanc wines from
Savennières and
Quarts-de-Chaume. They work to retain the fresh fruit aromas of Chenin Blanc,
picking the grapes into small bins and vinifying at low temps in stainless steel.
Their Quarts-de-Chaume can mature over several decades (think of what California Chenin
Blanc is still good after two or three years)! We've found their Anjou Rouge,
made of Cabernet Franc, to be a very charming and price-worthy wine.
A 1999 Coteaux du Layon "Carte d'Or" is a magnificent sweet Chenin
Blanc, while their special, single-vineyard wine of "Clos de Sainte
Catherine" is even more honeyed and rich. This is from the 1998
vintage.
- Currently available:
1990 Quarts de Chaume 74.99
1999 Coteaux du Layon "Carte d'Or" $17.99
1998 Coteaux du Layon "Clos de Sainte Catherine" $32.99
- DOMAINE PATRICK COULBOIS
Gerald
Coulbois had been a grower in the Pouilly-Fumé village of Saint Andelain
and now his son Patrick runs this small domaine. Patrick's wife also
comes from a wine growing family, so together they have about 8.7 hectares
of vines, all bit a half a hectare being Sauvignon. The other variety
Coulbois cultivates is Chasselas which "dad" used to make into
sparkling wine.
The domaine started back in 1974 and today Coulbois produces about 30,000
bottles from vines cultivated in three soil types: Silex (flint), chalk and
Clay.
The flinty soil gives a real minerally character to the wine and that's why
we like this fellow's Pouilly-Fumé. The wine is labeled "Les
Cocques" as it comes from Silex soil. It's got a wonderful
fragrance of stones and grapefruit, with a touch of a floral note.
Bone dry and crisp, this is a great match with seafood! I almost sense
a 'salty' quality to the wine, too.
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- Currently in stock: 2006 Pouilly-Fumé "Les
Cocques" $16.99
2004 Pouilly-Fumé "Les
Cocques" half bottles $9.99

Patrick Coulbois opening a bottle
of his Pouilly-Fumé.
- DOMAINE DAULNY

- Etienne Daulny owns a small domaine in a sub-region of Sancerre called
"Chaudenay." You'll be near the village of Verdigny if
you're looking for it on a map.
Daulny is an old-timer who's been growing grapes and making good Sancerre
for several decades. The estate comprises about 15 hectares and he
makes a basic Sancerre, an "old vines" bottling from his prized
"Clos de Chaudenay" vineyard and a nice little Sancerre Rouge.
Our friend who imports the Daulny wines allowed me to accompany him on an
excursion a number of years ago. We had not purchased any of the first
vintages he imported from this domaine. We tasted through the cellar one
cold winter afternoon and I found the basic Sancerre to be "correct,"
but still lacking excitement.
We'd tasted a sample of the Clos de Chaudenay and I suggested that, perhaps, a
bit of this tank blended into the basic bottling might make for a more
interesting wine. I was pleasantly surprised when Daulny put together a
few blends incorporating various percentages of the Clos de Chaudenay
wine. Voilà, as they say. We ended up choosing one of them and this
batch was then shipped to the Bay Area.

I've returned to visit on several other trips and now we routinely work to find
the blend which works best. And, I'm delighted to report, the recent
vintages we have had in the shop have been very popular with our
customers.
The 2007 has just hit the west coast. It's a deliciously dry, crisp,
lip-smacking, tart, dry Sauvignon Blanc. We like the citrusy notes and the
minerality of this wine. It's fresh and bone dry. No
oak.

Daulny also makes a bit of Rosé and Sancerre Rouge. We don't buy
either, presently, but I will say the red wine has been pretty good. On
our 2008 visit, I teased Etienne about his "Domaine de la
Romanee-Daulny." He appreciated the good natured ribbing.
- Currently in stock: DAULNY 2007 SANCERRE BLANC $18.99
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MORE LOIRE VALLEY WINES
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