Club Little House - July

Clisson – Domaine des Cognettes (2010)

Grape Variety(s): Melon de Bourgogne
Style: Dry White, Sur Lie
Region: Clisson, Musadet, Loire Valley, France
Winemaker: Stéphane and Vincnet Perraud Soil: Weathered Granite
Age of Vines: 60-80 yrs

   It was pretty cool how it happened, we had visited other wineries earlier that day and had an Airbnb in the town of Clisson. We arrived at dusk...greeted by our host and when we told her we were going around visiting vineyards, especially those working naturally, she stopped and said we MUST walk over (literally next door) to her neighbor who had a winery and talk with him. It was during harvest so we really felt like we wanted to set up appointments since everyone was so busy but she insisted and went inside his tank room and he out and greeted
us. We talked a bit and then offered to come in and taste through some of the
wines. Before we tasted, I was positive I'd bring start to import the othes we had tasting that day..as I enjoyed the wines for sure, but it was undeniable that these “surprise wines” in my hand were superior and on par with some of the best Muscadet wines I had tasted.
3rd generation Muscadet winemakers, brothers Stephane and Vincent Perraud work together just outside of the historic, medieval town of Clisson on 28 hectares. As of 2010, they work all of their vineyard in organic agriculture, harvesting by hand and vinifying their wines naturally, with only native yeasts and minimal sulfur usage. The soils are mainly composed of weathered granite, gabbro (extremely dense and heavy volcanic rock), along with sand, clay, and quartz pepples.
Taken from select parcels on weathered granite from the older vines, with extended lees aging for an impressive 51 MONTHS in underground glass-lined tanks, the Clisson is the Estate’s top cuvee. This wine is only made in ideal vintages. A dream with fish or almost any seafood. I just had it with a whole Rockfish this weekend!

Gamay – Domaine Lattard (2014)

Grape Variety(s): Gamay Style: Dry Red
Region: Rhone, France
Winemaker: Denis Lattard Soil: Clay and Limestone Age of Vines: 15-20 yrs

 After finishing his degree in oenology in 1995, Denis Lattard took over his family’s chicken and vegetable farm located in the heart of Ardèche or the Drôme, in Southern France. The farm had been previously covered in vines and this signified to Denis a different potential of this special terroir. He began to plant Gamay, Syrah, Roussanne, and Viognier vines on the 15 acre estate.
Today, the certified organic vines live in a dramatic environment of limestone and clay soils at 350m elevation on chiseled cliffs. Since 2007, he has adds zero sulfites to his wines. The style of the wines tend to be light and fresh, allowing his terroir and the grapes’ true characteristics to shine through. Denis doesn’t want to produce pretentious or serious wines, just tasty wine to be enjoyed everyday. Certified organic the estate now produces 15000 bottles a year.
The Gamay is a light and refereshing red, enjoyed chilled and consumed fairly soon after opening. Wonderful with pork or a steak tartare.