An evening of Sensational Sancerre by Tim Wildman MW - A report by Tim on our recent Corks Crew tasting held on 13th July 2010

Tim Wildman MW

This tasting was originally planned for April, but was scuppered by the Icelandic dust cloud. Undeterred, and back for a second attempt, I flew from Gatwick to Jersey on July 13th to meet up with Frederic Sureau from Domaine Henri Bourgeois, with whom I was going to host this tasting for Dunells’ Corks Crew.

I always enjoy coming to Jersey for business, the climate is distinctly milder than the UK, the atmosphere relaxed, and the seafood - particularly Neil’s home cooked lobster- always excellent! I’ve known Neil and Jane Pinel at Dunell's for getting on ten years now, and seen their business grow from strength to strength. They’ve always had a formidable range of wines and spirits, but their enthusiastic adoption in recent years of social media and the development of their website makes them one of the most impressive and progressive wine merchants I know of anywhere in the UK. Residents of Jersey, you are lucky to have them!

I work for a wine importer called Les Caves de Pyrene, we specialize in high quality, family owned growers from France, Italy and around the world, and the wines of Domaine Henri Bourgeois are one of the jewels in our crown. This tasting at Dunells was to mark the launch of the wines of Domaine Henri Bourgeois in Jersey for the first time. Bourgeois are one of the most famous producers of Sancerre, and the sister wine Pouilly Fume. They have been wine growers in the village of Chavignol for ten generations, and their winery and cellars dominate the picturesque hill top town. Chavignol is most famous for the Crottin de Chavignol goats cheese,which goes well with the local Sancerre, either with bread after a meal, or served warm as part of a salad to start. Crottin has a somewhat unsavory meaning in French. It basically means “road apple”, or a bit of animal doo-doo found on the ground, and is thought to refer to both the size and shape of the cheese, as well as the appearance as it ages. The wines of Domaine Henri Bourgeois are equally world famous and are regarded as a benchmark of both quality and consistency in their appellation. In London their Sancerre “Vigne Blanche” has been the “house” Sancerre at Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants for a number of years, and their top cuvee “Jadis” was the best selling Sancerre in Harrods last year. So it was with great expectation that we looked forward to presenting these wines to the guests at Dunells’ Corks Crew Tasting.

The event was fully booked, so much so that we had trouble squeezing in all the staff members from Dunells who wanted to join in. We kicked off the tasting with an aperitif of Sancerre Rose Les Baronnes 2008. Made from 100% Pinot Noir, it takes its delicate coral pink colour, and soft strawberry flavours from being left on the skins of the red grapes for a few short hours, to macerate, then the skins are taken off and it is cool fermented in stainless steel like a young white wine. It was the perfect start to the evening, when coming after a long day at work, people are often glad of a refreshing “drink” before the serious business of tasting began.

The first three wines were served as a blind “flight”, to see if we could tell the difference between a Sancerre, a Pouilly Fume and a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (Bourgeois own the Marlborough winery Clos Henri). The Sancerre Vigne Blanche 2008, which comes from a chalk soil, seemed light, perfumed, floral and mineral. The Pouilly Fume 2008, from heavier clay soils, was greener, richer, smoother, smokier and slightly weightier in the mouth. The New Zealand Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc 2008 had greater fruit ripeness, but being made in the Bourgeois philosophy, still had elegance, minerality and a sense of place.

Next we approached a flight of five wines, which formed the heart of the tasting. These were the premium cuvees from Bourgeois, four Sancerres and a Pouilly Fume. Each wine is made to represent a unique soil and location (terroir) and many are from old vines, and made using traditional, but slightly varying, methods. First up was the Sancerre Jadis 2007. This is made from a selection of the old vines on the famous hill that lies facing the village of Chavignol, called ‘La Cote des Monts Damnes” (The Damned Hill). So called because of its extreme exposition, it is perhaps the most famous hill in Sancerre, and Bourgeois are lucky to be the majority owners on it. The wine is made using traditional methods, neutral old wood, wild yeasts and minimal filtration or fining. The wine is powerful, broad, mineral, full of herbal and green fruit complexity, yet with a smooth, creamy finish. Next was Sancerre Cuvee d’Antan 2007. Again, from old vines, over 75 years old, grown on two small parcels of silex (flint) soil that are farmed biodynamically (without chemicals and with reference to the phases of the moon). The name d’Antan translates as “the old way” and this wine is made in the way the Bourgeois family belive their great grandfathers would have made wine. No chemicals or artificial additives are used, no pumps either, the juice is moved by gravity. In fact the wine is not allowed to touch metal at any point. It is fermented using wild yeasts and aged in large oak foudres. This is always one of my favourite wines from Bourgeois, and it didn’t disappoint. The nose is very focused, flinty (from the silex soil) and with a haunting aroma of asian spice, green herbs and cardamon. The palate of firm, taught, alive with energy (perhaps thanks to the biodynamics?) and has the balance of acid, fruit and minerality to age and improve over the next twenty years. Impressive.

We then moved towards the aged wines, which for many was to prove the highlight of the tasting. Most of us are familiar with Sancerre as a young wine, so what were we to make of these older versions? First up was cuvee Etienne Henri 2003. A unique wine on many levels, firstly it is fermented and aged in new oak barrels, a tough trick to pull off with Sauvignon Blanc in my mind. Secondly, it is from the infamous 2003 vintage, the heatwave year. Thirdly, the age. This is one of the most successful, and delicious oak aged sauvignon Blancs (or Sancerre’s) I have ever tasted, in great part I think thanks to the weight of the 2003 vintage, and the richer flavours from the bottle age, serving to flesh out the wine and balance the new oak character. Delicious. Next we had a wine that had been brought all the way from the Bourgeois cellars for this tasting - and brought over in the hold on my Flybe flight! Two bottles of Pouilly Fume Les Demoiselles from the 1999 vintage. I don’t think anyone in the room had tasted Pouilly over ten years old before, and it was a revelation. A pale, bright colour with flecks of green, no age showing at all. On the nose some smoky, honeyed development, but the palate was vigorous, deep and fresh. I would have put it at four to five years, no more. Amazing.

Finally to the climax of the tasting, the 2002 Sancerre “Le Chene Saint-Etienne”. They say that every great wine has a story to tell, but the story here is remarkable. The “Chene” in the name refers to an ancient oak tree that was planted in 1560 in the heart of the forest of Saint Palais. Over the centuries the tree acquired folkloric status as kings and queens of France travelled to be seek inspiration from its energy, said to derive from its positioning at the crossroads of ancient lay lines. In 1993 the tree was struck by lightening, and killed, at 433 years old. The Bourgeois family bid for the tree in an auction and were successful. The wood was spilt and air dried for four years, then made into forty 228 litre oak barrels. With these barrels they made a wine from the best grapes from ‘La Cote des Monts Damnes” in vintages 2001, 2002 and 2003.

We decided to serve the wine in carafes, firstly to allow it to breathe, and secondly to bring it closer to room temperature, the better to show its full complexity. The colour was deep golden, the texture quite thick and viscous, on the nose honeyed, rich and spicy. You could easily have been fooled into thinking you were about to drink a dessert wine. Then the palate. Powerful, richly textured, multi-layered with complex flavours of honey, roasted nuts, old apple, white truffle and then a delicious and aromatic finish hinting at softer red fruits and strawberries. A wine that demanded to be sipped, that encouraged contemplation, conversation and no small amount of wonder. Truly one of those unforgettable sensory experiences.

At the end of the tasting I asked people which their favorite wines had been. Some preferred the younger wines we began with, not surprising as these are the more familiar incarnations of Sauvignon Blanc and Sancerre. A number of people enjoyed the intensity, minerality and food friendliness of the middle flight wines. I enjoyed overhearing these people talking about what dishes they would match these wines with, as Sauvignon Blanc is not usually considered one of the great food matches, but here we were clearly operating on another level. And finally some, like myself, could not vote for anything other than the last wine. As strange and atypical as it was, this for me was an experience “beyond wine”, one of those bottles you will never forget how it tasted, where you were and who you were with. A fitting way to end a superb tasting. Now I just have to find an excuse to return to Jersey before the summer is out and try some of these fantastic and unique wines with one of Neil’s home cooked lobsters!

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Thank you so much Tim for such an depth report and we very much look forward to your next visit in September! Until then....

A couple of pictures of the wines we tasted!