RSJ's Great Summer Wine Offer: Stunning Sauvignon + Chinon

Vincent Roussely

Stunning Sauvignon – £126 a case

We have put together a mixed case featuring three different styles of Loire Sauvignon from some of our favourite growers – all ideal for drinking this Summer and beyond.  

4 bottles 2015 Touraine ‘Le Clos’ Vincent Roussely 

Vincent is a dynamic young vigneron based at Angé in Touraine's Cher Valley.

He did part of his training in the New World and came back to take over family vineyards where he works organically. This wine has a lovely freshness and ripe rounded fruit.

Vincent's wines have been hugely popular since we started importing from him four years ago.

4 bottles 2015 Sauvignon Domaine de Bablut, Christophe Daviau 

Christophe has been working organically for many years at the beautiful family property in Anjou  His delicious Sauvignon has a real elegance and quality and for many years it has been a wine in great demand with RSJ customers.

4 bottles 2015 Quincy Domaine des Ballandors, Jean Tatin & Chantal Wilk

Jean & Chantal’s ever-popular Quincy has a lovely clear cut minerality and is beautifully balanced. This appellation [the 2nd oldest after Châteuneuf du Pape] has become increasingly fashionable in recent years and Jean & Chantal’s wines are right at the top of the tree.

 Christophe Daviau

Jean Tatin testing the grapes 

•••

‘Chinon Selection’  £ 126.00 per case – Domaine de la Noblaie

We have also put together a mixed case case of Red White and Rosé from outstanding young vigneron, Jérôme Billard of Domaine de la Noblaie.

Jérôme worked at Chateau Pétrus and also Dominus in California, two of the world’s great domaines before returning home to Chinon where he has transformed the family vineyards. He is working organically and has received great plaudits for the outstanding quality of his wines.

6 bottles 2014 Chinon Rouge, Le Temps des Cerises
4 bottles 2015 Chinon Blanc, La Noblaie
2 bottles 2015 Chinon Rosé, Goutte de Rosé 

Jérôme Billard, Domaine de la Noblaie 

To order please contact:

Tom King:

tom.king@rsj.uk.com

RSJ Restaurant, 33 Coin Street, London, SE1 9NR
Tel: 020-7928 4554 

 

  

Events at RSJ Restaurant Summer 2013: 24th June – The Eastern Loire

 

Wine Tastings with Dinner  Start 7.15pm

Monday 24th June   ‘The Eastern Loire ’  £49.50

We will be looking at appellations in this region including Sancerre, Pouilly,

Menetou Salon, Quincy and Reuilly and tasting the delicious and elegant Pinot Noirs

as well as a number of wonderful Sauvignons from top growers including

the Champault brothers, Sebastien Treuillet, Henri Bourgeois, Domaine Pelle

and 2013 Decanter World Wine Award Trophy Winner, Jean Tatin.

We also intend to taste a 1988 Sancerre from Cotat in magnum.

For event reservations please contact:
tom.king@rsj.uk.com      Tel: 020 7928 4554
RSJ Restaurant   33 Coin Street     London     SE1 9NR          www.rsj.uk.com

2011 Loire vintage: Chantal Wilk and Jean Tatin (Reuilly and Quincy)

Chantal Wilk with the 2011 Reuilly Pinot Gris and Jean Tatin with the 2011 Reuilly Blanc

In early October we dropped in to see Chantal Wilk and Jean Tatin at Domaine du Tremblay. Chantal and Jean have vines in both Reuilly and Quincy. Their 2011 vintage had been more complicated than for Denis, especially in Quincy where they had been hit by hail on 2nd May. Quincy appears to be decidedly susceptible to hail as it often seems to be hit. Perhaps it is a question of storms travelling up and down the Cher Valley. 

Jean: "Between 12th July and the end of August we had 200mm of rain, so there was a real threat of rot. Yields for the Reuilly Rouge (Pinot Noir) is 50 hl/ha, while the Sauvignon Blanc for our Reuilly is between 50-55hl/ha. We picked the white twice – by hand when it was just getting ripe and getting rid of rotten grapes. Then later we went back to pick the ripe and healthy grapes later by machine. we picked between the 10th and 15th September."

'Our Pinot Noir in Reuilly come from a parcel in Preuilly, which the grandfather of my grandmother acquired in 1873. It is planted on gravel, so it produces a light red." In 2010 they planted some Pinot Noir on clay and limestone in the commune of Reuilly itself."   

"In Quincy only have 50% of a normal crop. One third of our vines were untouched, while in the remaining two thirds damage ranged from 30%-100%. The storm that hit us on 2nd May travelled across from the south west to the north west. We have only made 10-15 hl/ha in the affected parcels and didn't pick until later – at the beginning of October. The Sauvignon is around 12.7% alcohol with 5.5 acidity. Fortunately we had a good quantity of stock from the 2010 vintage which will make it easier to manage the shortfall in 2011."          

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

Autumn at RSJ Restaurant: Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé etc. 12th September

Wine Tasting with Dinner [3 courses]

Starts 7.15pm

 

Monday 12^th September    ‘Eastern Delights’                                   £48.65

 

 

 

We will be looking at both red and white wines from the eastern end of the Loire  and tasting wines from Reuilly, Quincy, Pouilly, Menetou Salon and Sancerre where Sauvignon and Pinot Noir can be found at their most enticing.

We will feature wines from the Tatin family, the Champault brothers and a new discovery, Domaine Treuillet in Pouilly as well as other distinguished names,

including Chateau de Tracy 1999.

 

 

For reservations please contact:

 

tom.king@rsj.uk.com

 

Tel: 020 7928 4554

 

RSJ Restaurant

33 Coin Street

London

SE1 9NR

 

Harvest news from the Central Vineyards (Part1)

On Monday we headed off to Sancerre and Pouilly to catch up on the harvest there. On the way we dropped in on Chantal Wilk and Jean Tatin of Domaine des Ballandors in Quincy. Jean was delighted with the harvest and certainly walking through the vineyards, watching the picking machine make its way up and down the rows, the grapes looked perfect. Chantal and Jean started picking on Friday 26th September and they expect to finish at the end of this week.

Jean Tatin tasting Sauvignon Blanc in Quincy: 6.10.2008

“It’s like 2006, which was a very good year,” enthused Jean, “The Sauvignon is coming in between 13%-14% similar to 2006, which had a level of ripeness that hadn’t been seen in Quincy since 1959! It was September, which has made the difference. Even though the temperatures have not been high during the good spell of weather it’s the wind from the north that has concentrated the sugars and acidity.”

Small bunch of Sauvignon Blanc: Quincy 6.10.2008

Next stop was Sancerre where they are getting fully into harvest mode having as usual started about a week later than Quincy, as Sancerre and Pouilly are noticeably colder in the winter. The drizzle that had been threatening form much of the morning became more persistent as we got towards Sancerre where we saw Jean-Marie Bourgeois (Henri Bourgeois).


He was as enthusiastic about 2008 as Jean Tatin. “I’m very happy with 2008,” he said. “We started picking last Thursday.” We tasted 2008 juice from several tanks, starting with the Petit Bourgeois – their vin de pays made from juice they buy in from producers in the Cher Valley, who have to operate under strict quality controls but who are paid well over the going rate. The juice is impressively good – pure and with considerable richness. It’s the same with the rest of the juice we taste. “We picked some of the Pinot on Saturday – between 12.55% and 12.8%. We are between a quarter and a third of the way through the harvest.”

Hotel and restaurant Les Côtes des Monts Damnés

That evening we had dinner with Jean-Marie in the new restaurant at La Côte des Monts Damnés, which has been enlarged to include a 12-room hotel and bistro. It is run by Jean-Marc and Karine Bourgeois, Jean-Marie’s son and daughter in law. We also stayed there overnight in a very comfortable room. The hotel and restaurant are definitely recommended.

Super Sauvignons tasting & dinner

(15 September 2008)
Our autumn season of tastings kicked off with a very successful tasting of Sauvignon Blanc. With the exception of the aperitif – a Sauvignon from Anjou – all the wines came from the Loire’s central vineyards, the home of Loire Sauvignon Blanc. This was a rare opportunity to see how well these wines age as we tasted wines back to 1989. With the notable exception of the 1997 Château de Tracy, the wines had lasted well and generally were remarkably youthful for their age. As well as the wines, the quality of the cooking, particularly the main course of a trilogy of fish, was much applauded. Chef Alex was congratulated on getting the timing absolutely right – not easy when serving some 25 people at the same time. "I've really enjoyed myself – everyone is so friendly and relaxed," said someone attending their first RSJ tasting.

Unfortunately only the first three wines are still available.

Aperitif:
1] 2006 Sauvignon de Bablut £7.85
Christophe Daviau VDP du Val de Loire

From Brissac-Quincé in Anjou, some weight, easy drinking Sauvignon softer acidity than generally found in the wines from further east.

Then:
2] 2007 Quincy, Domaine des Ballandors £9.75
Jean Tatin & Chantal Wilk

Racy, lemony typical of the clean, precise flavours of 2007. Jean and Wilk’s wines tend to take on weight after a few months in bottle.

3] 2006 Menetou Salon ‘Clos de la Cure’ £9.75
Roger Champault et Fils
Disappointing: quite fat but dumb – lacked zip.

4] 1999 Sancerre (in magnum)
André Dezat
Opened up in the glass, citric and mineral, still youthful. Well liked by many of those present.

5] 2000 Pouilly Fume ‘La Rambarde’
Domaine Landrat-Guyollot
Showing well – yellow plum on nose, some weight with racy acidity in the finish.

First course: warm goats cheese, roasted peppers & ciabatta crostini

Badly oxidised 1997 Château Tracy

6] 1997 Pouilly Fumé, Château de Tracy
Comte Henri d’Assay

Both bottles badly oxidized. Served it anyway as an example of oxidation. Not clear whether corks were to blame or whether the fault lies elsewhere. Is this a similar problem to that suffered by some top end Burgundies from the same period?

7) 1996 Sancerre Dominique Midgeon
Last minute additional to replace oxisided Tracy. Still very youthful, quite lean.

8] 1997 Sancerre ‘Les Culs de Beaujeu’ François Cotat
Powerful, rich fruit matched by balancing acidity in the finish. Very good match with the fish.

9] 2004 Quincy, Cuvée Sucellus Jean Tatin
Tasted on its own the oak was not yet fully integrated leading one to wonder whether there was enough concentration to carry the wood. However, it was much improved with the fish and a particularly good match with the salmon. Sucellus was the Gaullish god of agriculture, forests and alcoholic drinks.

Main course: scallop, monkfish & salmon
Cress, crushed new potatoes
Peas & broad beans
White wine veloute

Jean Tatin's Cuvée Sucellus

10] 1989 Cuvée Pierre ‘Vendange tardive’ N/A
Joseph Balland Chapuis

Something of a curiosity. Not especially sweet with some honeyed and barley sugar flavours. Predictably overwhelmed by the dessert. Although it comes from Sancerre it can only be called a vin de table français as the Sancerre appellation is only for dry wines.

Dessert: spiced orange cake with plums & whipped yogurt