Château de Villeveuve (Saumur) – magnificent new cellars

 Front of the new Château de Villeneuve winery 

Recently we dropped in on Florence and Jean-Pierre Chevallier at Château de Villeneuve in Souzay-Champigny. Jean-Pierre had time to show us quickly round their new winery, which uses the amazing cellars/caves that run under the château. The caves are extensive and remarkably dry. 

In 1969 they were sold to the Pays Nantais négociant Santejeau, which is now part of Castel Frères. Later they were used by the Saumur sparkling wine house, Veuve Amiot. Then 15 years ago Jean-Pierre bought them back and has now renovated them. Previously his wine-making facilities were above Château de Hureau a little under two kilometres further west towards Saumur. 

Jean-Pierre is currently renting his old winemaking facility at Hureau to Patrice Rétif, who used to be one of the partners in Domaine des Champs Fleuris in Turquant. Patrice with his wife Catherine now has his own domaine – Domaine des Damoiselles.

The entrance to the winery is on the 

main road from Chinon to Saumur.  

Looking down on the winery 

with the caves under the château

Fermentation tanks

(above and below)

 CRM and Jean-Pierre inspect some foudres

 New barrels 

 A couple of eggs

 

The extensive cellars

(above and below)

Root growing down through fissures in the rock

Me and my shadow

Cave privée

Sorting the just picked 2017 Cabernet Franc 

for Saumur-Champigny 

(above and below)

2017 Loire in Anjou – Anne, Marie & Yves Guegniard, Emmanuel, Catherine and Vincent Ogereau

In Tuesday we headed across westwards to Anjou to check on progress with the 2017 harvest there. We were well aware that the 2017 harvest is virtually over. 

Domaine de la Bergerie (Champ-sur-Layon)
Firstly we dropped in the see the Guegniard family – Anne, Marie, Marie-Annick and Yves (Domaine de la Bergerie) – and also caught up with Jean-Michel Monnier, their wine consultant who happened to be visiting at the same time.

They have virtually finished the harvest – there just remain a couple of tries in Chaume and Quarts de Chaume. Picking started pretty early on 4th September. Fortunately they have been less hit by frost in 2017 than they were last year. However, in the Moulin de Beaupreau (Savennières), which they share with the Ogereaus and Papins, was badly hit by frost where they lost two thirds. The Ogereaus lost even more – virtually 100%. Luckily the Guiegniard family's La Croix Pichot, a parcel further east in the Savennières appellation, was not hit by the frost. The Guegniards' La Croix Pichot is excellent and offers very good value at just under 14 euros from the estate. 

Unusually in 2017 the Cabernet here on schist was picked earlier than the Cabernet on limestone in Saumur – normally it is the other way round. 

On 4th October they did their first tri in the Quarts de Chaume, which came in at 21˚ potential, while Chaume was at 20˚. This year for the first time they have made an Anjou Sec from golden grapes in Chaume. The aim is to eventually create a Anjou Villages 1er Cru from a range of recognised sectors each with their own name. The intention is to give the top dry whites from the Anjou Blanc appellation great cachet than they currently have. Producers in Chaume and Quarts de Chaume are apparently the furthest advanced. However, I suspect that it will be some considerable time before this new designation will be accepted by the INAO and come to fruition.  

       Anne, Jean-Michel, Marie, Yves and CRM 

 Jean-Michel Monnier takes a sample from their 'egg', 

which is made from sandstone 

 Marie Guegniard

Domaine Ogereau, Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay:

Emmanuel Ogereau with their Vent de Spilite, 

which they hope will be an eventual Anjou Blanc Cru 

The Ogereaus have also nearly finished picking – just a last tri in the Quarts de Chaume – Les Martinières – and a parcel of Layon to finish. 

They started early – 1st September. By 30th September they had harvested their Cabernet Sauvignon parcel on the Côte de la Houssaye, which is remarkably early. Because of severe frost damage there will sadly be no Savennières this year. What few grapes they did pick have been combined with a small amount of dry wine harvested in their Quarts de Chaume parcel making just a barrel.

The first Quart de Chaume tri was on 25th September with grapes reaching a potential of 19.5%. For the second tri the potential was 22%.    

As at the Domaine de la Bergerie we tasted some nascent 2017 Chenin Blanc and again the juice was very clean with good length.  

 

Harvest virtually over the Ogereaus can relax:

Vincent, Emmanuel and Catherine 

News of one of our favourite producers – Vincent Roussely

 Vincent Roussely with two handfuls of 

Pineau d'Aunis picked on Saturday

News of one of our favourite producers – Vincent Roussely:

'Last Monday (18th September) on our way to the Central Vineyards we dropped in to see Vincent Roussely at his winery in Angé. Vincent was well into his 2017 harvest, having started on 4th September, with all his Sauvignon Blanc now picked. 

"The Sauvignon Blanc has great potential," enthused Vincent. "The potential alcohol is between 13.5% and 13.7% with 5.0 acidity. In terms of volume 2017 is much better than last year when we were badly frosted – making only 9 hl/ha. This year we are at 35 hl/ha I am happy with that." 

Vincent is organic, so accepts that his yields are likely to be well below the level that producers who use a range of chemicals on their vines can expect to achieve. 

He is waiting for his Cabernet to ripen properly.'    

 Vincent in his cellar at Angé with his amphore

 Sauvignon Blanc in the amphore 

 Vincent with his series of small vats that allows 

him to vinify small parcels of his vines separately

 Vincent has been very go-ahead with wine tourism 

– this is part of his shop

A selection of local goats' cheese (chèvre)
Sauvignon Blanc is a great match

 More shelves and a pink couch for the boss's siesta

Taste of Singapore – Thursday 7th to Saturday 30th September

Sticky Mango's globe trotting chef Peter Lloyd, brings a progressive Taste of Singapore street food culture to London's Southbank. 

Enjoy his 10 favourite Singaporean dishes spread over 3 courses sharing style. Price £39.95

From Singapore Chilli Crab, Sambal Skate to Hainanese Chicken and Char Kuey Teow finishing with the local favourite Durian Ice Cream "certainly an ingredient for your bucket list"  

Available from Thursday 7th of September until Saturday 30th of September 

Book here

RSJ Wine Offer August/ September 2017

RSJ Wine Offer August/September 2017
A selection of wines ideal for drinking this year

Please feel free to make your own selection in a mixed case 

Jérôme Billard, Domaine de la Noblaie

White wines

2016 Touraine Sauvignon L'Enclos Domaine Roussely  £9.35
Vincent Roussely 

Attractive Sauvignon with good length and lovely pure fruit

2015 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie Clos du Verger  £9.50

Pierre Luneau Papin 

Fresh zingy Muscadet with good weight from much vaunted producer

2016 Vouvray Sec Domaine Champalou    £12.50

Didier, Catherine and Céline Champalou

Wonderful Chenin Blanc – lovely fruit and balance 

2016 Sancerre Les Pierris   £13.50

Roger Champault et fils
Classic Sancerre with lovely concentration and balance

2016 Pouilly-Fumé Domaine Treuillet   £13.75

Sébastien Treuillet

Superb ripe Pouilly with lovely minerality

2014 Savennières Le Grand Beaupréau   £18.50
Vincent, Catherine and Emmanuel Ogereau

Evocative of fresh quince with lovely minerality 

from this tiny exclusive vineyard site 

Sparkling wines
We have been listing the Neau family's wonderful Crémants 

for over 20 years and they continue to have a huge following.

Crémant de Loire, Domaine de Nerleux        £11.75
70% Chenin Blanc and 30% Chardonnay

Crémant Rosé, Domaine de Nerleux             £11.75

85% Cabernet Franc and 15% Chenin Blanc

Red wines 

2015 Saumur Rouge, Domaine Haut de Sanziers   £8.95

Dominique Tessier
Lovely ripe fruit with good structure and length

2016 Saumur Champigny, Domaine de Nerleux  £9.95

Amélie and Régis Neau

Wonderful quaffing Champigny – delicious when lightly 

chilled and great with barbecues

2015 Le Temps des Cérises, Domaine de la Noblaie   £10.50

Jérôme Billard

Delicious ripe rounded fruit with good length. Organic estate.

2014 Anjou Cabernet Sauvignon   £11.30

Frédéric Mabileau

Organic. Soft ripe fruit with lovely concentration.  

2015 Touraine Chenonceaux  £11.95
Vincent Roussely
Superb handpicked Côt (Malbec) and Cabernet Franc. Organic

2015 St Nicolas de Bourgueil, Les Rouillères  £12.50
Frédéric Mabileau
Wonderful ripe rounded red fruits with good length and long finish. Organic 

2014 St Nicolas de Bourgueil Eclipse £24.95
Frédéric Mabileau
We have been fortunate to obtain a small parcel of this superb wine only made in the best vintages. Aged for 18 months in oak from over 50-year-old vines in Frédéric's best vineyard site. Wonderful concentration.

We have also put together a selection of mixed cases as follows:

The Eastern Loire case  £162.50Laurent and Claude Champault took over the family domaine from from their father, Roger, some years ago. Based in Champtin in the commune of Crézancy-en-Sancerre, they are making wonderful wine. Their good friend, Sébastien Treuillet, makes delicious minerally Pouilly-Fumé at his small property a few miles away on the other side of the Loire River.
 

4 bts 2016 Sancerre Blanc Champault 

4 bts 2015 Sancerre Rouge Champault
4 bts 2016 Pouilly-Fumé Domaine Treuillet

The Bourgueil Case £171.00
A selection of outstanding Bourgueils from three of the leading growers in the appellation:

3 bts 2014 Bourgueil Vieilles Vignes, Lamé Delisle Boucard

3 bts 2011 Bourgueil Cuvée Prestige, Lamé Delisle Boucard

3 bts 2014 Bourgueil Racines Frédéric Mabileau

3 bts 2014 Bourgueil Le Grand Clos Yannick Amirault

Chinon Pierre de Tuf, Domaine de la Noblaie £228.00
Jérôme Billard is an outstanding young vigneron, who works organically, and is based in Ligré in the Chinon appellation. We have put together a selection of the four best vintages of the past decade of his top cuvée – Pierre de Tuf. 

3 bts 2014 Pierre de Tuf

3 bts 2011 Pierre de Tuf 

3 bts 2010 Pierre de Tuf 

3 bts 2009 Pierre de Tuf

 
The Half-Bottle case    £84.00

2 halves 2015 Saumur Blanc Domaine de Nerleux

2 halves 2016 Sancerre Les Pierris, Roger Champault et fils

2 halves 2016 Pouilly-Fumé, Domaine Treuillet

2 halves 2015 Saumur-Champigny, Les Châtains, Domaine de Nerleux

2 halves 2015 St Nicolas de Bourgueil, Les Rouillères, Frédéric Mabileau

2 halves 2011 Bourgueil, Cuvée Prestige, Lamé Delisle Boucard  

To order please contact:

tom.king@rsj.uk.com

tomwbking@gmail

Tel: 020-7928 4554

33 Coin Street, London SE1 9NR

 

 

 

 

 

Matching Loire wines with Sticky Mango's Asian street food

Peter Lloyd

Last Monday (24th July) Peter Lloyd and Tom King held the first food and wine matching evening at Sticky Mango@RSJ. Winewise we held true to our long commitment to the Loire, while Peter's food was typically brilliant. (Jim reports*)

It proved to be a fascinating experiment seeing how well the food and wine would knock along together. 

 Irish Rock Oyster
Coconut & Lime Granita, Chilli Tapioca Pearls
2015 Muscadet de Sevre et Maine sur lie 

Le Verger Pierre Luneau-Papin

Although Muscadet is famous for being an ideal match with seafood this was the evening's least successful match. The oyster was fat, delicious with an attractive sweetness, while this particular Muscadet had good freshness but without the weight and concentration to stand up to the oyster. Another richer Muscadet from the Luneau-Papin stable or an older Muscadet with more evolved flavours would, I suspect, have been a more successful match. 

Moving away from the Loire and France it would be worth trying an Alvarinho, Vinho Verde from Anselmo Mendes. 

 Soft shelled crab

with the fried steam buns

Tempura Soft Shell Crab 

Singapore Chilli Sauce, Fried Steam Buns  2016 Pouilly Fumé, Domaine Treuillet

Sébastien Treuillet

In contrast to the Muscadet, the 2016 Pouilly Fumé from Sébastien Treuillet was a brilliant match with the delicious soft shelled crab. The Pouilly Fumé had enough weight to match the tastily spicy flavours of the crab. 

 JG's Black Pepper Shrimp

Sun-dried Pineapple, Jicama & Pea Shoots

2016 Saumur Blanc, Domaine de Nerleux

Amélie Neau  

2015 Saumur-Champigny 

Domaine de Nerleux, Amélie Neau

  

It was interesting to find that the red – Saumur-Champigny – proved to be a better match with the spicy shrimp than the Saumur Blanc, which was rather overwhelmed. However, the Saumur Blanc proved to be good with the next dish – the chicken.

 Mamak BBQ Corn Fed Chicken

Charred Long Bean, Pickled Red Onion Salad

with Jasmine Rice2015 Chinon Domaine de la Noblaie

Jérôme Billard 

 
 

I thought the 2015 Chinon was too tannic to be a good match with the chicken. Perhaps another year or two in bottle would be beneficial for this match. Perhaps a 2014 or 2012 or perhaps an earlier vintage might be a better match. 

The Sticky Mango:

Sweet Sticky Rice, Coconunt & Vanilla, 

Whipped Condensed Milk, Mango

– Peter's signature dessert 

Pandan Macaron 

Kaya Jam, Caramel & Soy Sauce Ice Cream2014 Coteaux du Layon Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay
Vincent and Emmanuel Ogereau

I was surprised that the Coteaux du Layon stood up as well as it did to The Sticky Mango, which is nowhere near as sweet as the description suggests. The Layon was, however, completely overpowered by the very sweet Macaron, which perhaps needs something like a Muscat de Rivesaltes or a Muscat from Spain or Portugal. 

Sticky Mango

33 Coin Street
London SE1 9NR
Tel: 020-7803 9733
E Mail: info@stickymango.co.uk

Latest menu here.  

* I have been a consultant to the RSJ Restaurant (now Sticky Mango@RSJ) for over 30 years. However, on this occasion I paid in full (£49) to be part of this food and wine matching evening.  

 

   

 

Wine tasting & matching with South East Asian food Monday 24th July 7.15pm

Peter Lloyd – chef and co-owner of Sticky Mango

Wine Tasting & matching with South East Asian food

Monday 24^th July  7.15pm 
  
£49.00

 

In conjunction with the Waterloo Festival, Peter, Nigel, Tom 

and all the Sticky Mango@RSJ team will
be featuring the following menu and wines to enjoy 

and experience the fusion of tastes and flavours.
Along with discussion over the success or otherwise of the pairings, 

Tom will introduce the wines

Welcome Cocktail
Raspberry & Lychee Bellini

  Irish Rock Oyster
Coconut & Lime Granita, Chilli Tapioca Pearls

2015 Muscadet de Sevre et Maine ‘Sur Lie’ Domaine du Verger
Pierre Luneau-Papin

JG’S Black Pepper Shrimp
Sun dried Pineapple, Jicama & Peas shoots 

2016 Saumur Blanc, Domaine de Nerleux
Amélie Neau

Tempura Soft Shell Crab
Singapore Chilli Sauce, Fried Steam Buns

2016 Pouilly Fumé, Domaine Treuillet
Sébastien Treuillet

Mamak BBQ Corn Fed Chicken
Charred Long Bean, Pickled Red Onion Salad

2015 Chinon Domaine de la Noblaie
Jérôme Billard

The Sticky Mango
Sweet Sticky Rice.Coconut & Vanilla,
Whipped Condensed Milk, Mango

Pandan Macaron
Kaya Jam, Caramel & Soy Sauce Ice Cream

2014 Coteaux du Layon St Lambert
Vincent & Emmanuel Ogereau

To book please contact:

tom.king@rsj.uk.com
Tel: 020 7928 4554