29 January, 2022

We taste the barrels in Thomas’s cellar, his 2020 vintage. ›My‹ wine, which I harvested and pressed with some dear friends (i.e. Feli, Julie, Roland and Sylvain) in September of last year, tastes great! Great tension (i.e. acidity), good balance. The other wines from 2021 are not ready yet. Some time later we taste the 2020 vintage again with a young, robotic sommelier (and his father) who works in a two-star restaurant. The oxidative wine we’re about to hand-bottle is great, way better than the other oxidatives I’ve tried so far – finer, more subtle. The sweet wine that will stay in the barrel for »a few more years« is incredible if you ask me. Then off we go to a small wine fair in Monthou sur Cher. It takes place in Corinne and Paul Gillet’s cellar. Unfortunately, Paul forgot to mention on Facebook that the fair also takes place on Saturday (i.e. today), so there are hardly any visitors. Thomas’s friend Julien Pineau is there. His wines are all superb: »Roche Blanche« and »Substance« (see blog entry »How I became…«), Sauvignon Blancs from his own vineyard, then »Sucettes à l’Aunis«, an ingenious Pineau d’Aunis, and »Coup d’Jus«, a Côt (these two red grapes he purchased from other growers). Julien recommends checking out Cédric Fleury and his domaine »Les Gauchers«: We try a fantastic pet nat from Pineau d’Aunis grapes, a fantastic Chenin and two reds – Gamay and Côt or a blend of both if I remember correctly. We have a long chat with Cédric, he went to the same wine school as Thomas! Again and again a young winegrower from Saxony turns up who is pretty drunk but very nice. After the fair we drive to Julien Pineau’s and have pizza.

The entrance to Corinne and Paul Gillet’s cellar

The entrance to Corinne and Paul Gillet’s cellar

The sign for Corinne and Paul Gillet’s stand

The sign for Corinne and Paul Gillet’s stand

Thomas Puéchavy (l) and Julien Pineau (r)

Thomas Puéchavy (l) and Julien Pineau (r)

Cédric Fleury (»Les Gauchers«) at his stand

Cédric Fleury (»Les Gauchers«) at his stand