Jacquart's new winemaker and streamlined range

Last thursday, against a freezing wind, I left Liverpool Street Station by the Broadgate West tunnel up into the brave new world of the EC2 restaurant scene.Quite by chance, following my nose, I fell upon Snowden Street and Chrysal, the latest Japanese alternative in the Hakhassan Oriental stable. I had come for a tasting lunch with Floriane Eznack, the new winemaker (barely 30) at Champagne Jacquart. I remember her well as the bright assistant to my friend, the great Philippe Thierry of Veuve Clicquot; together they were making red wine for the peerless Grande Dame Rose. Her new job at Jacquart is to streamline the rather confusing number of cuvees and to concentrate on what this fine former cooperative has always done best: to draw on the fine crus of its members' parcels on the Cote des Blancs to fashion a string of vintage blanc de  blancs in a generous style at once richly gourmand  yet elegantly fresh to give immediate comfort to the impatient gastronome with a busy schedule . The main target is the fine restaurant trade.

Before tasting a quartet of  chardonnay vintages 2005 back to 1999, we had a sneak preview of the new vins clairs from the 2012 harvest.At first, this looked like one of the most difficult of recent vintages, teetering on the edge of disaster -hot march, no sunlight for four months, a prolonged failure of flowering, attended by wind, fierce hail, heavy rain, disease. But then the sun came out in a hot August and a fine calm September that chased away oidium, mildew and botrytis - at least in the best kept vineyards, while others languished with rotten grapes. Selection is everything, more than ever before. Yet Jacquart have done a fine job in salvaging a reduced crop- half its normal volume - of excellent wines: Meunier Villedomange, fruit, structure ,depth and ongoing pleasure;  Pinot Noir Mailly, flavours of blackcurrants energized by acidity; and Chouilly. a lovely expansive wine with a core of cool controlled intensity of Chardonnay flavours not seen since the potentially great 2008 harvest. Judgment is reserved until we taste a broader range of the raw material in glacial January & February.

Jacquart Blanc de Blancs Vertical 6.xii.2012

2005 - ripe-looking, gold with green lights, reflecting hot, maybe too hot conditions at harvest time. Opulent to the point of unctuousness, very much a 'continental' rather than a 'maritime' vintage. its richness gives it crowd appeal and it was appreciated by the other tasters. not my cup of tea - lack athletic energy, poise and class. it doesn't refresh. * (*) 14

2004 - more subtle hue of intertwining yellows and greens. a bit reductive for the moment but this should pass to reveal a smoky, flinty character in a classic style. A good 04 *** 16

2002 - an interesting mix of Chouilly, Vertus and Sezanne. gives immense pleasure now with scented
 flavours of warm brioche and honey - gorgeous mouthfeel, creamy, subtly mineral. perfectly balanced, complex, more to give to 2015. Grand Vin ***** 18.5

1999 - much better than average for this low-acid year. Golden fruits, fresh and dried, spicy .perfect mature aperitif for watching the cricket. **** 17

                                             

                                               

                                                 

Terra Viva - SoaveCru, the new face of Soave

Soave is one of the best known white wines of Italy, the staple of trattorias from Catford to Cricklewood. There's no point though in denying that the great quantities of wine produced on the flatlands of the denomination 30 kilometres east of Verona have done little for its reputation. In truth,  bog-standard Soave has been the  'Grocer's Muscadet' of Italy - often thin, metallic and characterless - and like its French counterpart only capable of interest and real distinction  when it is hand-made in the artisanal way from superior sights that allows the fine lees to shape its mineral, savoury flavours. The good news this June  was the launch of SoaveCru, an association of 16 small producers who believe implictly in the historic inheritance of their volcanic soils in the hillier slopes of the Soave Classico and Colli Scaligeri subzones - their aim the crafting of a new image for the disciplinare. The area is lucky to have the elegant, small-scale town of Soave at its heart nestling beneath the Classico hills.

Renaissance street of Soave near the Castello

SoaveCru's  supreme aim is to interpret the great wine that these classic hillsides can nurture - an area recognized 70 years as one of Italy's first fine wine zones, a little later confirmed by Royal Decree. Yet as Sandro Gini, the President of the Association stresses, " it's not intended to be a elitist group, but rather a way of operating that is open to all who are happy to devote themselves to it." A strong synergy is being forged  by these vignerons, united in a love for their area. " we wish to communicate the passion we put into our work," says Sandro, " so giving added value and significance to the denomination, passing onto our childen vineyards that are  environmentally-friendly." The key interpreter of this special wineland is the Garganega grape, which has the chance to realize its full potential nowhere better than in this volcanic heartland of white wine in the Veronese. Particular focus is aimed onto individual vineyards in the best sub-zones, where respect for the land is rigorous.

On a visit to Soave in early June, I was intrigued by one estate MonteTondo, which is actually situated close to the autostrada down from the hills, some of its wines based on limestone, not the Volcanic basalt. But this is a dynamic forward-looking enterprise of 25 hectares founded in 1980 and one that also makes a Soave charmat- method sparkler.We were hosted by the daughter of the house, the diminutive ball of energy that is Marthe Magnabosca.

Her entry-level 2009 Soave Classico is 100% Garganega on calcaire, cold-soaked for 24 hours then into tanks till February.  Pale, green-straw, quite exotic fruits nose, easy and direct on the palate, a delicious straightforward wine, no pretensions.xx

 2009 single vineyard Foscarin Savinus Soave Classico Superiore DOCG  is made in a mix of tanks and barrels. The soil is volcanic and the yields reasonable (6,500/7,000 kg/ha). The tastes are the story of a very warm year, the dominant impression  ripe honeycombs and almost surmature
grapes. I don't think the wine has QUITE enough elegance and subtle complexity to satisfy a purist, like my good journalist friend Franco Ziliani, but I rate the wine and thought of all the good things I'd  want eat with it - sauced lobster, soft-shell crab and mountain gorgonzola. xxx

2006 single v'yd Foscarin Savinus Soave Classico Superiore DOCG - now we're talking, Foscarin Savinus from a much greater vintage -fascinating nose melding memories of more delicate  sauternes-like opulence, with the basalt minerals and bite of Volcania Soave. Superb balance of evolved fruit, benign oak scents and a developing vinosity, all the time fresh and vigorous with fine acidity. Vino di contemplazione. Remarkable, and all the more so for being from an up and coming estate. xxxx 

Classico vineyards high above Soave

Wrapped in a forgotten corner of France

bowl of vyds below chateau-chalon home to vin jaune

                                                           
On the last day of my fabulous holiday I drove up from the rocky outcrops of the Jura onto the bucolic plateau of the Hauts Doubs, 800 metres above sea-level. Less dramatic than the wooded craggy magnificence of Vin Jaune country, the plateau is a natural place for the Gentian bitter herb, one of the ingredients in vermouth and, notoriously, absinth: the exact length of Gentian's stem is said to foretell how harsh the next winter will be. On this glorious morning, the benign landscape was dotted with the red-spotted Montbeliard cows, whose milk makes fine Morbier and great Comte cheese. It's also a good place for horse riding and, come January, cross-country skiing. And if you like things simple, a gentle art de vivre thrives in a land of wine, aperitifs and Morteau sausage.

Pont de l'Ain en route for Pontarlier

Passing through a quiet village called (I kid you not) Pisseenvache, hunger pains made me look at my watch: 1.15pm and time for lunch! Five minutes later, I fell on my feet in a neat little resto with a board advertising menu du jour 13 euros. It turned out to be exceptional value for honest food of true flavours: a super tranche of tete de cochon made by the butcher/livestock farmer & father of the young patron; paupiette de porc with spaghetti: a great wedge of Comte, a demi-pichet of vin de pays de Vaucluse; apricot tart &coffee, all in. Vive la Vieille France ! And to add a modern twist, the pretty blonde patronne and a subtle voice for her husband looked as if she would feel as much as home in Paris's rue du Cherche Midi as in the Doubs.

Engagingly, she confessed she much preferred Burgundy to Jura wines: if one was forced to make the choice, who wouldn't! Jeune Madame also told me that the nearby town Pontarlier was a rich place, as many of the inhabitants worked across the border in Switzerland, where they could earn four times what they would in France. I drove on to Pontarlier, sizzling in 34 C degree heat, slaked my thirst with a cold beer, then more comfortably crossed the border into a heavenly green fir valley and descended to the Lake of Neufchatel & Swiss Pinot country. Another story for another day.

great local hostelry, Bevier, Lake Neufchatel

                                                            

Delicate Burgundies of the Maranges

Last Friday I drove over from Arbois to the little hamlet of St Gilles on Burgundy's Canal du Centre. On the other bank of the canal high above Santenay are the Maranges, the last southerly villages of the Cote de Beaune, even if the post code is Saone et Loire. I had come to stay with my friend Amanda Regan and her companion Remi, who provided the most blissfully simple & delicious food of pate en croute, jambon persille, escargots and the freshest cheeses and salads. That first afternoon we went to visit the Domaine Jean-Louis Bachelet in Dezize les Maranges. Jean-Louis and his son Bertrand's wines may not have quite the fashionable pull of their cousins' domaine of  Bachelet-Monnot just down the street, but they showed a varied range of burgundies that would give a lot of pleasure for early drinking, reflecting this pere et fils' sunny natures. I liked particularly their straight Chassagne villages and a delightful, less extracted Pommard  especially in 2010, from the Volnay side of the village.

Jean-Louis & Bertrand Bachelet

Back in St Gilles,  I was very struck by the supple flavours and delicacy of  the very different wines we drank at supper - fresh aligote in an aromatic minor key, supple Hautes Cote de Beaune of little red fruits, more mineral & elegant flavours in Maranges Ier Cru La Fussiere - all three 2010s- then genuine class in a gently maturing Santenay Clos Rousseau 2008, the sort of wine that says wait a bit and I will show you everything in my own good time. Tho' I had determined to hang up my tasting glass on holiday, curiosity got the better of me: Amanda, bless her, got me an appointment with the creators of these delicate natural beauties - none with much more than 12.5% alcohol - at the Domaine Fernand Chevron in Cheilly les Maranges. I quickly checked the Hanson bible and Anthony in  his inimitably discreet but telling way seemed pretty keen on the wines of Fernand & his sons.

I wasn't  to be disappointed. On saturday afternoon, sharp at 3 pm, under a fierce August sun (35 celsius) a fit older man,  trim with iron-grey moustache, in a crisp white shirt gently approached my car and looked in a kindly quizzical way at my Swiss number plates, until I assured him that I was the Anglais, ami  of Amanda. I instantly warmed to Fernand, for tho' I'm sure he would have rather been sitting in the cool of his stone manor house, he never showed it and gave me plenty of time at very short notice to taste in his cellar. Now officially retired, Fernand's modesty and honesty shone through. " I'm now taking a back seat, giving my boys their head; and to be frank, the wines have improved a lot since 2007 when Vincent & Pablo bought une table de trie and the grapes now drop by gravity into the fermenting cuves. The wines are more supple, the tannins plus fin." They sure are, but a little more credit should be given to Fernand for his foresight in going organic some years ago, and since 2007 in converting to biodynamie (certified in 2010). The domaine has 17 hectares, six of their own, the rest worked en fermage. Winemaking is an intelligent mix of tradition & modernity, cuves used for some whites like the lovely fragrant 2011 Aligote. The stars in the cellar are the precise and beautifully defined Maranges 1er Cru la Fussiere (rouge) 2010 and the dramatically fine Santenay Clos Rousseau 2011, quietly evolving en fut, and a step up I reckon from the already excellent 2008. A little of the domaine's wines have been imported to London by Top Selection, agent among others for Henri Giraud of Ay & of course Egon Muller.

Fernand Chevron

Domaine Chevrot et fils, 19 route de Couches, 71150 Cheilly les Maranges e contact@chevrot.fr www.chevrot.fr

English producers aping Champagne (?)....come off it!

The media -savvy Sam Lindo of Camel Valley made a big splash recently with his dig that  " English producers should stop aping Champagne". A minute's thought should convince any lover of great fizz that Sam's argument needs probing. For when top English sparkling producers (Ridgeview, Nye Timber, Coates & Seely, Herbert Hall) stick to the three classic champagne grapes, they are just acknowledging that, with 300 years experience, the Champenois still know best which sparkling grapes work best in a marginal maritime-influenced climate  - one which Southern England and the Marne share, most of the time.

enjoying great pinot at les artisans de champagne (april)

It is certainly hard to argue with Nick Hall's measured reply. " We want an 'Englishness' in our wine and I think that comes through terroir -but in our climate the building blocks have to be the three classic varieties, if we are to make really good wine. Top restaurants want to be able to distinguish English from Champagne so they have something different to offer - but they also want finesse and real quality." Could Dornfelder & Reichensteiner deliver the same sparkling dash and elegance as Chardonnay & the Pinots? I don't think so, much as I like German wine.