Wine Club - August 2017
Les Deux Terres – Domaine des Cognettes (2014)
)) Winemaker: Stéphane and Vincnet Perraud
Soil: Weathered Granite and Sandy Pebbles
Age of Vines: 30 yrs
Grape Variety(s): Melon de Bourgogne
Style: Dry White, Sur Lie
Region: Clisson, Musadet, Loire Valley, France
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 came 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 others we had tasted 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 vineyards 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 pebbles. Some say Muscadet is a poor man’s white burgundy. You can definitely grasp that with this wine. Lovely texture and good acidity with a creamy factor and stony minerality. I love this Les Deux Terres with roast chicken or any fish. Drink now or hold another few years!
Hanami – Domaine Bobinet (2016)
Winemaker: Sebastien Bobinet
Soil: Clay and Limestone
Age of Vines: 15-20 yrs
Grape Variety(s): Cabernet Franc
Style: Dry Red
Region: Saumur Champigny, France
Sebastien Bobinet and partner Emeline Calvez are making some of the most exciting wines in the region of Saumur Champigny, renowned for growing Cabernet Franc on the hillside of the Loire River within the Loire Valley of France. In addition to being organic in the vineyard and abstaining from all additives in the cellar, this couple brings a different approach to Cabernet Franc. Their passion for the light and juicy reds of the Beaujolais deeply influences their artistry in the cellar. Don’t get me wrong, they are making serious wines, as you’ll see with the Hanami, but these wines definitely have a bit more of a “juicy” factor not typically present in wines of the region.
2016 Hanami, a fantastic growing vintage, is 100% Cabernet Franc that goes through whole cluster maceration. Instead of the grapes being destemmed and crushed, the clusters are kept whole during fermentation to produce a lighter wine with more of a fruity/juicy flavor. The fermented juice was then barrel aged for about 6 months. We just got this in and are excited to share with you- just 16 cases were allocated for all of Virginia!