For the
yearly trip of Piet's renowned wine society 'Het Derde Glas' the choice fell on
the Loire, a region they hadn't visited before. People think this is mainly a
white wine area, but a lot of red is actually produced. And this had to be
tasted.
On
Wednesday morning the fellowship of the wines left Utrecht for a long drive
south, past the Paris Periferique for an initial stop at Belliviere, in the
small Jasnieres and Cote du Loir (not Loire) wine region. It was quite cold and grey,
which resulted in an efficient tasting in a chilly barn. This was followed by a drive through
the countryside to the city of Chinon, on the Vienne river. In the evening, at dinner, the unexpected outcome of the referendum back home was discussed with the head waitress, who was Ukrainian and strongly
opposed the treaty. The evening was completed with Champions League football in the local hangout. The next morning Piet had a nice sunrise walk; Chinon is a
beautiful little town with a large castle overlooking the river.
But no time
to waste, after breakfast it was straight to Bernard Baudry, who was
enthusiastically telling about his terroir, and explaining why it didn't matter
that part of the vines were planted in the Vienne floodplain, with regular
floods in the winter. After showing his cellar cave we purchased mainly
Cabernet Franc red wines. The following stop was on the other side of Chinon at
Mabilau, in the village of St. Nicolas de Bourgueil, where an efficient
businesswoman shipped us off with more red wine. We drove east, for lunch in
Azay and a punctual appointment with Xavier Weisskopf, which he reconfirmed several
times beforehand. In true French tradition we stood for a closed door, and
Xavier didn't bother to answer his phone. The schedule was quickly rearranged and
a visit to nearby Chenonceau, one of the most famous Loire castles (actually on
the river Cher), was slotted in. The next stop was at Jacky Preys, a short
drive further east. His son, who obviously liked to taste his own wine, hosted us. They
are making a large variety of white and red wines and we were presented with
all of them. The biggest surprise was the price, with bottles ranging from 4 to
7 EUR only. Obviously a large purchase was made, with significant uncertainty
about the taste back home. The trip continued to the hilltop wine village of
Sancerre, were we ended up in a run-down and smelly hotel, but the highlight of
the day was the excellent dinner in restaurant La Tour.
The next
day started with another sunrise walk, with stunning views over the Sancerre
vineyards and the Loire valley, filled with low hanging clouds. We stocked up
on Sancerre white and red wines and continued to Briare for another touristic stop: a famous
canal-aquaduct across the Loire, build by Eifel. After a pleasant
walk the trip continued further east to Chablis, were we stopped for lunch.
Only Piet couldn't resist buying a few bottles of white (for Mary). The rest of
the afternoon was spent in the Champagne with two old favourites: Pascal
Leblond-Lenoir in Buxeuil and Didier Doue in Montgeux. The first sip of
Champagne felt like some sort of homecoming! The day was completed with an appropriate
dinner in a wine shop in Troyes.
On Saturday
morning the last visit was at Dehours where owner Jerome passionately told us
about his estate, the terroir, the many pieces of land and their orientation,
the traditional pressing and many other aspects of the Champagne business. The
Lotus car in his tasting area showed that he was doing quite well. The
highlight was the Trio S Extra Brut, a mix of vintages starting in 1998, of
which 1/3 is replaced every year with the new vintage, creating a special
'cuvee', now ranging 15 years. This clearly showed in the price per bottle!
After lunch
in Laon Piet was dropped off at his sister in Belgium, where the bottles were
sorted. He then joined the 18th birthday celebration of his godson, and started
his detox program.
Sunrise in Chinon, on the Vienne river
Tasting Champagne at Dehours
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