News
Artisan Wine Fair - Scottish winemaker to showcase his Swiss wines
Focus on Touraine - Domaine de la Rochette
2016 has started with a bang here at l’Art du Vin.
We use the first few months of the year to compile our portfolio for the year ahead. In recent weeks we have been visiting our key producers all over Europe, all the while keeping an eye out for any hidden gems that we think you may all enjoy.
Last week, Richard attended Les Salons des Vins de Loire, tasting over 400 wines from his local region. Les Salons de Vins de Loire is the only trade fair in Europe that focuses on one particular region – perfect for us as we like focus on each area of our portfolio in as much depth as possible.
As well as hoping to find new wines to share with you all, these events are a chance for us to catch up with our existing producers. In the Loire, Richard spent some time with Vincent Leclair, our key producer in the Touraine appellation.
Vincent is a winemaker who we simply love working with. As well as producing amazing wines at his own estate which he recently purchased from his father, he devotes his time as a member of a group of local winemakers intent on driving up the levels of quality in the Touraine appellation.
To reach this objective, he has taken it upon himself, along with those who share his vision, to create a new appellation – AOC Chenonceaux, which was legally instated in 2011.
Vincent’s Sauvignon de Touraine has been among our best-selling wines since we opened l’Art du Vin, a fact that has come as little surprise to us as we believe it offers exceptional value for money.
And the quality of his wine was evident at the Les Salons event, where we are delighted to report that Vincent was awarded the award for best Sauvignon Blanc from the Touraine appellation.
We hope that over the next few months we are able to source wines made with passion and integrity like those of Vincent for all of you to enjoy!
Click on the links below to learn more about Vincent's wines
Sauvignon Touraine 'Fleur de Printemps' Domaine de la Rochette - £10.05
Gamay/Pinot Noir de Touraine, Domaine de la Rochette - £10.05
Sauvignon Blanc 'Touraine Chenonceaux', Domaine de la Rochette - £14
Beaujolais: Old & New
Yesterday saw the launch of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau, an important date for many in the wine calendar. Produced from Gamay grapes, the wine is fermented for only a matter of weeks before it is released for sale on the third Thursday of November each year.
Originally, Beaujolais Nouveau was made to be enjoyed as a celebratory drink for workers at the end of the annual harvest. However, in the 1950s, a group of local producers spotted the potential for this young, drinkable wine to be marketed properly. This sparked the concept of a race to Paris with the new vintage, as restaurants and bars clamoured to be the first to list the wines each year. By the 1970s, this race had become international, with restaurants all over the world attempting to secure the wines as early as possible. Nowadays, it is shipped all over the world ahead of the release date, then displayed in local markets from the third Thursday in November.
Beaujolais Nouveau is light and youthful, bottled only 6-8 weeks following the harvest. Traditionally served slightly chilled, it displays very little tannins and is dominated by fruity flavours such as banana, grape, strawberry and fig. Due to the winemaking processes involved in the production of these wines, they show clearly defined variations between vintages. Therefore, the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau is considered to be an early indicator of the quality of the harvest.
However, not all Beaujolais has to be enjoyed within months of bottling. Appellations such as Fleurie produce wines of great quality that can be aged for a couple of years before drinking. Likewise, the area of Moulin-à-Vent, a small 2-mile-square area of land on granite soils, has the potential to produce wines that, when fully mature, resemble more a fine Burgundy or even a Rhône, than Beaujolais.
We at l’Art du Vin think that Moulin-à-Vent is one of the regions worldwide which best vindicates the principle of ‘terroir’. Fleurie, which is the neighbouring appellation, produces velvety, perfumed wines which are extremely approachable. On the other hand, wines which are meatier, more intense and possessing heavier tannins are produced just a couple of miles along the road in Moulin-à-Vent, despite the fact that both styles are made using the same grape - 100% Gamay.
We are fortunate at l’Art du Vin to work with Yohan Lardy, an undoubted rising star of the French wine world. Having worked with his father, Lucien Lardy, for a number of years, we were aware of Yohan’s potential from a young age. He studied at viticultural college then travelled the world in order to gain as much winemaking experience as possible, most notably in the production of Pinot Noir in Oregon.
He then returned to work at his father’s estate in Beaujolais, before acquiring his own small plot of land, comprising only 2 hectares, in Moulin-à-Vent. He ferments his grapes using wild yeasts, then ages the wine for 8 months in 2-3 year old barriques. The result is stunning; a wine that we believe would not be out of place in a Côte de Beaune tasting.
Moulin-à-Vent ‘Les Michelons’, Domaine Lardy, Beaujolais 2013 - £17.65