Karine Lauverjat 2016 Sancerre AOC

Salmon pink. rocky edges, bitter grapefruit pith, saline brine, hard small cherries, tri-star strawberries, iron filings. lips like a day on a boat. Found this a day opened in the fridge, a glass gone, left by the house sitter. Bone cold and delicious after a good sweat.

100% Pinot Noir left to bleed to in tank for 12 to 14 hours, then vinified white in temperature controlled stainless steel for two to three weeks, with some circulation of the lees after. Left in the tank over the winter and bottled fresh in the spring.

The Lauverjat family have 12 acres of limestone and clay soil in the Loire valley where they grow Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir for a handful of estate cuvees. They practice reasonable intervention, using seaweed to combat disease if possible, and letting grasses grow to prevent erosion.

Cave Anne de Joyeuse - Camas Pinot Noir Rosé 2016 IGP

Pale powder pink. Rose gold much? Nose of vanilla and pretty strawberries. Nifty sour balance from silky ribbons and fresh / double fresh acids. Ascorbic. Tree pollen. Full Malo maybe?

100% Pinot Noir from Pays d'Oc in the Languedoc. Grown on limestone and gravel vineyards in the upper Aude valley, with a cooler climate influenced by the Pyrenees. Good temperature variation keep this wine ripe but maintain the steely edge and soft color. Says direct pressed, brief, temperature controlled maceration.

The producer has been making wine in Limoux, pre AOC certification, and seemingly has a chunk of land. They produce almost two dozen cuvees, including 11 wines in the Camas range, of which there are also Syrah and Cinsault rosés.

They have taken an interesting middle road on vineyard practices, and practice some biodynamic fundamentals, such as harvesting to the plants schedule, promoting terroir and managing rain water, but truthfully they also subscribe to rational fertilization, and computer analysis to plot disease and minimize treatments. They are aware of the impacts however, and take pains to react accordingly to necessary invasive interventions.

They are certified Environmentally Friendly by the BVQI (Bureau Veritas Qualité International), who act as an ISO-9001 Quality Management System for the growing and winemaking process.

Famille Laurent 2016 Saint-Pourcain AOC

Cherries. Vanilla ice cream, light baking spices, nutmeg. Full and furious, ripe saignee. Greasy sour fruit.

The AOC allows Gamay and Pinot Noir for the reds and rose. Producer grows both, and the wine is often listed as a blend. Maybe neither. Or everything. Extremely short maceration, two hours, thirty minutes and seemingly while in the press, keeps this light bright.

The family has about 30 hectares, broken into eight plots across different municipalities. Some with limestone, others crushed granite soils. Both provide excellent drainage, and a challenge for struggling roots. Each parcel is harvested and vinified separately to isolate their characteristics.

The winemakers do everything by hand, natural yeasts, no Malolactic.

“A qualitative rather than a quantitative production so as not to piss the vine”

— Google Translate

Technically in the Loire valley, but sitting at the mouth of the river, nearer to Burgundy and Beaujolais, across climates.

Le Petit Chambord 2014 Cheverny AOC

Tinted red. Bright sour rocks. Fresh must. Lean juice. Ripe. Understated fruit. More Loire. Pronounce those last two words like they rhyme.

Pinot Noir, and Gamay from limestone soils. Vendages manuelles, is a fancy way of saying hand made. No robot assembly line. Sustainable. Indigenous yeasts. No filtration. Gravity does the heavy lifting.

Pinot Noir is destemmed, and fermented 10 days at 25c. The Gamay is whole cluster, 12 days at 20c. Love these details. Vinified separately, matured in tanks.
The estate website says there is "10% Côt, which completes the dominant Pinot Noir and Gamay" 
Assembled wine was elevated for six months to get everything singing. Bottled in January 2016. Fresh.

Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny are dominated by white wines, Sauvignon and Romorantin respectively, known for their fresh acidity, and shocking minerality. This rocky soiled red holds its own.

Pinot de Soif 2016 - VdF

Ripe red. Blackberry funk. Lots of valley vitamins. Bright body. Tightening sourness. Dripping black cherry pie ash cans. Burnt newspapers. Chicory, roasted radicchio salad. Drink with bikes. 

100% Pinot Noir, grown in flint and clay soils; 30-year-old vines. Winemaker Olivier Lemasson has been running a small négoce since 2002 named Les Vins Contés, sourcing from organically farmed vineyards around the Loire Valley.  

“Lemasson gave up fighting the AOC boards over “typicity” and has intentionally declassified all his wines. ”

Like most of his wines, this is unfiltered, and without added sulphur, made in the caviste style. Small cellar, used wooden fermentation tanks.

This wine tastes of carbonic maceration which fits with the rest of his reds varietals, Gamay, Cot, Grolleau, Pineau D'Aunis. But beyond that, I found very little detail on this cuvee. I'll probably never see you again. (at least until the next time) Thanks Moz.