2011 Loire vintage: news from our producers: les Champaults (Sancerre)

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Claude and Laurent Champault with their 2011 Sancerre

Roger Champault et fils: Claude and Laurent Champault

Claude: "We were surprised by how well the vintage turned out because before the start we were worried by rot. We picked the reds first – those of the hillsides (clay and limestone) were healthy, while on the caillottes (pure limestone) there was more rot. The Pinot is around 11.5% potential alcohol with just under 5 acidity, while the Sauvignon is between 12.5-13.5%. Yields – 50 hl/ha for the Pinot and 65 hl/ha for the Sauvignon."

Autumn tasting and dinner dates

 Autumn colours in the Layon Valley

Wine tasting with three course dinner  

Both events start at 7.15pm

 

Part of the cellar...

Monday 10th October ‘Cellar Raid’ £48.65

We will be looking at both red and white wines from our archives from the past two decades including:

1997 Vouvray Sec, Catherine and Didier Champalou

1995 Cuvée Moelleuse, Catherine and Didier Champalou

2000 Saumur Champigny, ‘Terres Chaudes', Thierry Germain

1989 Chinon, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de la Perrière, Jean & Christophe Baudry

Jean-Paul Mabileau picking Chenin Blanc for Frédérick Mabileau's Saumur Blanc

Monday 21st November  ‘ Touraine East to West’  £48.65

An opportunity to taste some really interesting wines from this attractive region of the Loire including wines from Bourgueil and St Nicolas de Bourgueil as well as exciting growers such as Vincent Roussely and Thierry Puzelat who are lifting the wine making in the region to new heights. Amongst the wines to be tasted are Puzelat’s ‘In Cot We Trust’ and Jean-Paul Mabileau’s 1997 St Nicolas Cuvée Prestige.

For reservations, please contact:

Tom King

RSJ Restaurant

33 Coin Street

London SE1 9NR                   
Tel: 020-7928 4554  e-mail: tom.king@rsj.uk.com

Italian Sunday Lunch with Ursula Ferrigno: Sunday 2nd October

Ursula with a tray of tomatoes

Autumn around Italy    £30.00:

Sweet & sour little onions with sweet black grapes served with Tuscan casa lingala bread

Light & luscious ravioli with herbs and pecorino from Sardinia

Swordfish cigars with caper and olive pine nuts in a light tomato sauce from Sicily

Roasted vegetable salad with artichokes from Campania

A  selection of cheese

Fig and lemon tart

If anyone would like to assist and learn from Ursula in the kitchen, there will be a limited number of spaces available – £30.00

For reservations, please contact:

Tom King

RSJ Restaurant

33 Coin Street

London SE1 9NR                   
Tel: 020-7928 4554  e-mail: tom.king@rsj.uk.com

Central Vineyards tasting and dinner: Monday 12th September

Some of the vineyards of Sancerre viewed from the town looking towards Chavignol

We will be tasting the following wines. Menu to follow soon.

Aperitif:

2009 Esprit du Clos, Touraine Sauvignon, Vincent Roussely

Whites:

2010 Menetou-Salon, Champault

2010 Reuilly Les Lignis, Les Desmoiselles Tatin

2010 Quincy Ballandors,  Jean Tatin

2010 Pouilly-Fumé,  Sebastien Treuillet

1999 Château de Tracy, Pouilly-Fumé

Reds:

2009 Reuilly 'La Commanderie', Les Desmoiselles Tatin

2010 Sancerre Rouge, Les Pierris, Champault

Perpetuelle  Champault

2011 Loire harvest now underway

Picking 2011 Sauvignon Blanc in the Cher Valley (30th August)

The 2011 harvest is now well underway for the early grape varieties: mainly Sauvignon Blanc plus Chardonnay for sparkling wines. Our friends at the Clos Roche Blanche started on Friday 26th August. This is well in advance of normal – probably around two weeks even three weeks on late starting vintages. The start is not quite as early as was anticipated in early June as July was cold and wet, so slowed everything down. 

The fruit in the Cher Valley is looking good at the moment, although the forecast for today is storms and rain is predicted for the early part of next week.

2011 Sauvignon Blanc – Cher Valley

Picking machine in action

Sauvignon Blanc@Noëlla Morantin

Sancerre and Pouilly

Things look a little more complicated in Sancerre and Pouilly with more signs of rot than I saw in the Cher Valley. However, I only had time to have a quick look at the vines in Sancerre and Pouilly nor did I get to parts of the Cher Valley that had very heavy rain in late August.