RSJ Wine Offer June 2017

Amélie Neau

Domaine de Nerleux, Saumur

RSJ Wine Offer June 2017

A selection of wines ideal for drinking this summer 

Please feel free to make your own selection in a mixed case
(Prices per bottle)

White wines
2015 Saumur Blanc, Domaine de Nerleux, Amélie & Régis Neau  £9.35
Attractive Chenin Blanc with good length and lovely pure fruit. 

2015 Sauvignon Touraine Chenonceaux, Vincent Roussely £11.95
Made from old parcel of vines – handpicked, organically made.

2015 Menetou-Salon 'Clos de la Cure', Roger Champault et Fils £11.95
Round, full and floral Sauvignon. 

2015 Chenin des Rouillères, Frédéric Mabileau    £12.95
Elegant, stylish Chenin Blanc with good weight and length. 

2016 Pouilly-Fumé, Domaine Treuillet, Sébastien Treuillet  £13.50
Superb ripe Pouilly with lovely minerality.

2016 Sancerre 'Les Pierris' Roger Champault et Fils £13.50
Classic Sancerre with lovely concentration & balance.2013 

Savennières 'La Croix Picot' Yves Guegniard £14.25
Evocative of fresh quince with lovely minerality.

Vincent Roussely

Rosé
2016 Sancerre 'Les Pierris', Roger Champault et Fils £12.95
Stylish & elegant dry rosé made from Pinot Noir.

Sparkling
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 white, Domaine de Nerleux    £11.95
70% Chenin Blanc, 30% Chardonnay

Crémant de Loire Rosé, Domaine de Nerleux   £11.75
85% Cabernet Franc, 15% Chenin Blanc 

Red 
2015 Saumur Rouge, Domaine Hauts de Sanziers, Dominique Tessier 
Lovely ripe fruit with good structure & length.

2015 Saumur Champigny, Domaine de Nerleux, Amélie & Régis Neau  £9.75  
Wonderfully quaffing Champigny – delicious when lightly chilled and great with barbecues. 

2015 Touraine Chenonceaux, Vincent Roussely  £11.95
Handpicked Côt (Malbec) & Cabernet Franc – organic.

2015 Chinon 'Le temps des Cerises', Domaine de la Noblaie, Jérôme Billard £10.25

Delicious ripe, rounded fruit with good length – organic. 

2014 Anjou Rouge, Cabernet Sauvignon, Frédéric Mabileau £11.30
Organically made, soft ripe fruit with lovely concentration.

2015 St Nicolas de Bourgueil, Les Rouillères, Frédéric Mabileau, £12.50
Wonderfully ripe, rounded red fruits with good length and a long finish – organic. 

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

Jérôme Billard

 

 

 

 

 

 

Events at RSJ Restaurant – Autumn 2013

Château de Saumur

Wine Tasting with Dinner (3 courses) Start at 7.15pm
Monday 16th September:     ‘Scintillating Saumur’  £49.50

We will be looking at both red and white wines from the beautiful Saumur region and tasting wines from such luminaries as Régis Neau, former French Wine maker of the year Thierry Germain and Jean-Pierre Chevallier. We will look at various different vintages including ‘Les Châtains’ (Saumur-Champigny) from the great year of 1989.
Monday 14th October:  ‘Cellar Raid’ £49.50

The archives of the RSJ Cellars are always of great interest and we shall be tasting some fascinating older bottles from our celebrated Loire vignerons including  Claude Papin’s 1997 Savennières Clos de Coulaine, Cotat’s

1988 Sancerre in magnum and Victor Lebreton’s 1990 Coteaux de L’Aubance.

Jérôme Billard

Monday 11th November: Jérôme Billard – Chinon’ £49.50

We are delighted that one of the top young wine makers in the Loire, Jérôme Billard is coming to present his wines at RSJ. Jérôme trained at Château Pétrus and Dominus in California before returning home to the family vineyards in Chinon where he is making outstanding wine. He works organically and his wines have been very well received by our clientele since we started importing from him.
Jérôme speaks excellent English and this is sure to be a fascinating evening.
For reservations please contact:

tom.king@rsj.uk.com

Tel: 020 7928 4554

RSJ Restaurant

33 Coin Street

London   SE1 9NR

RSJ Cellar Raid – tasting and dinner: 29th January 2013

The first tasting and dinner at the RSJ will be a cellar raid featuring some vintages from the 1980s and 1990s.

The wines will be:   

Aperitif:

2011 Touraine Sauvignon, Clos Roussely, Vincent Roussely

White:

1990 Jasnières Joël Gigou

1988 Vouvray Sec Philippe Foreau

With Starter:  1995 L'd'Or Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin

Red:

1997 Anjou Villages Prestige Vincent Ogereau

1989 Saumur Champigny Prestige  Domaine des Cordeliers, Michel Ratron

With main course:  1990 Saumur-Champigny Domaine de Nerleux, Régis Neau

Sweet:

1996 Coteaux de Saumur Domaine de Nerleux, Régis Neau

2013 RSJ Events: wine tasting and dinner 29th January

The Luneau family: L-R  – Monique, Pierre-Marie, Marie and Pierre

Tuesday 29th January: wine tasting with a three course dinner 

Start 7.15 pm with a welcome glass

Tuesday 29^th January ‘Cellar Raid’ £48.75

For our first event of 2013 we will be delving into our wine archives and will be tasting amongst other gems:

1995 Muscadet sur Lie Le L’ d’Or, Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin

1988 Vouvray Sec, Philippe Foreau

1989 Saumur Champigny Cuvée Prestige, Michel Ratron

1997 Anjou Villages Cuvée Prestige, Vincent Ogereau

1996 Coteaux de Saumur, Domaine de Nerleux, Régis Neau

This is a great opportunity to taste some older and now very rare wines from the Loire.

For reservations please contact:

RSJ Restaurant

33 Coin Street

London

SE1 9NR 

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

Dinner & Tasting – Chenin Blanc: Monday 10th September 2012

Ajo Plunkett: head chef@RSJ

Aperitif:

1 ] 2011 Saumur Blanc, Domaine de Nerleux                        £8.95

            Régis Neau

                       

                                               

White:

2] 2010 Anjou Blanc ‘En Chenin’                                          £11.50 

            Vincent Ogereau

3] 2010 Vouvray Sec, Domaine Champalou                           £11.95

            Didier Champalou

4] 2010 Chenin des Rouillères  Frédéric Mabileau  £8.95 

Mabileau with starter

          

 ***

5] 2009 Le Petit Princé, Domaine de Bablut, Anjou                £11.95

            Christophe Daviau

           

6] 2010 Les Loups Blancs, Saumur, Domaine de Nerleux        £13.50

            Régis Neau

7] 2009 Savennières, Roche aux Moines                                £17.25

            Claude Papin

8] 2010 Château de la Roulerie, Chenin Sec, Anjou                £11.95  

            Philippe Germain

  

Germain with main course

            Pan seared fillet of grey mullet

Artichoke barigoule, tender stem broccoli

Crab bisque foam

9] 2010 Coteaux du Layon ‘ Les Rouannières’          [50cl]   £18.25

 Claude Papin, Château Pierre-Bise

 George sorting the dessert...

George’s dessert

A discount of 10% will be offered on any purchases as a result of this tasting

 

RSJ Wine Offer: April 2012

Jérôme Billard@Domaine de la Noblaie: June 2011

RSJ's exciting new Chinon listing – one of Chinon's leading young producers

Jérôme takes quality control very seriously! 

We have put together a selection of wines ideal for current drinking this Spring  [Please feel free to mix cases]

We include for the first time two wines from Chinon made by a very exciting young grower, Jerome Billard, Domaine de la Noblaie in Ligré, on the south bank of the Vienne.

                                                                    List                             Offer

                                                                    Price                          Price

WHITE

2010 Touraine Sauvignon, Clos Roussely        £8.70                     £7.95

Lovely fragrant fruity Sauvignon from Vincent Roussely,an outstanding young vigneron, whose wines have been received with great acclaim since we introduced them a couple of years ago.

2010 Muscadet ‘Sur Lie’ Clos des Allées           £9.70                      £8.95

Pierre Luneau has made a beautifully balanced fruity and mineral flavoured wine from this special vineyard of old vines. At recent tastings, people have been ‘blown away’ by the quality of Pierre ’s wines, completely laying to rest

their preconceived notions about Muscadet!

2009 Anjou Blanc ‘ Petit Princé’                      £10.65                      £11.25

Superb dry, honeyed and beautifully balanced Chenin.Organically produced by Christophe Daviau at the Domaine de Bablut. It has a wonderful concentration and complexity.

2010 Quincy , Domaine des Ballandors           £12.20                      £11.25

Award winning Sauvignon from Jean Tatin. This beautifully balanced wine continues to go from strength to strength.

2010 Sancerre ‘Les Pierris’                         £12.50                         £11.55

This classic Sancerre from the Champault brothers has a lovely blackcurrant nose, elegance and wonderful balance.

SPARKLING!

Crémant de Loire, Domaine de Nerleux        £11.30                         £10.40

Regis Neau’s ever popular, delicious dry sparkler is made from 70% Chenin Blanc & 30% Chardonnay and makes a wonderful aperitif!

Crémant de Loire Rosé, Domaine de Nerleux £11.30                      £10.40  Lovely pink sparkler from Régis Neau

RED

2010 Touraine Gamay, Clos Roussely            £8.70                           £7.95

Vincent Roussely’s organically made Gamay has lovely fruit with a good concentration and balance.

2010 Chinon Domaine de la Noblaie                £9.75                          £8.95

Jerome Billard’s lovely Chinon is packed with ripe fruit. It has a glorious nose of violets and has a lovely elegance and balance.

2010 Saumur Champigny, Domaine de Nerleux  £9.75                   £8.95

The Neau’s ever popular fruity Champigny is stylish and has a lovely elegance.

2010 St Nicolas de Bourgueil  ‘Les Rouillères   £11.20            £10.35

Frédéric Mabileau’s delicious St Nicolas has had a great following for a number of years. Ripe, beautifully balanced and with a lovely concentration, this wine is made organically.

2010 Sancerre Rouge ‘Les Pierris’                        £12.95               £11.95

Made from 100% Pinot Noir, this is an elegant attractive and stylish wine from the Champault brothers.

ROSÉ

2011 Chinon Rosé, Domaine de la Noblaie           £9.25               £8.55

Delicious dry rose from exciting new discovery,Jérome Billard. It is packed with ripe fruit and has a lovely concentration.

RSJ  33 Coin Street London SE1 9NR   

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

Harvest news from Saumur

(3 October 2008)

Looking towards the church of Souzay-Champigny
and Château de Villeneuve (right)

Jean-Pierre Chevallier

Jean Pierre Chevallier, Château de Villeneuve
Caught up with Jean-Pierre in his Les Cormiers vineyard (Chenin Blanc), close to the famous Clos des Murs. He and his pickers were busy doing a selective picking – choosing those bunches affected by noble rot and therefore too rich and powerful in alcohol to go straight into Les Cormiers, his grand vin blanc. They started yesterday afternoon and Jean-Pierre was very surprised that the juice that came out of the press was 18.4% potential. “I can’t make dry wine with that!” he said. “I’ll ferment it separately and may be I’ll make some Coteaux de Saumur again this year – not what I had intended to do.” Château de Villeneuve has made Coteaux de Saumur only twice before – in 1921 and 2003. JP is well satisfied with the quality of the fruit both Chenin and Cabernet.

What they are picking: botrytis affected grapes

What's being left to pick next week:
perfect bunches for a great dry white

“I got a special derogation from the INAO to start picking my Cabernet today as one parcel was already at 13.7% on Monday and the rest is between 12.8%-13.2% but with an acidity of 6.7. I’ll start picking the Cabernet next week.”

Thierry Germain (Domaine des Roches Neuves)
We saw Thierry on Thursday afternoon. He was hoping to start on Friday (3rd) if the weather holds. His Chenin is between 12.5%-13% potential and between 6.5 and 7.5 acidity. “The acidity levels are dropping,” said Thierry. He intends to start on his Cabernet Franc next Wednesday. “They were at 12.2% potential last Friday with the acidity at 5.5.”

Cabernet Franc in one of Thierry's vineyards (2.10.2008)

“With the high acidity levels and their thick skins the 2008 reds will be complicated to vinify well,” he says. “It will be very important not to extract a lot of tannin. With the white I will do a less severe débourbage (juice settling) than usual.”

We went with Thierry on a quick drive to look at his vines. This took in a visit to his small parcel (15 ares – 0.15 ha) francs pieds vines (ungrafted vines) planted using the old system of échalas (cultivation around a pole). Thierry’s 15 ares are planted with Cabernet Franc to the equivalent density of 10,000 vines per hectare – the average density in the region is 5500 per hectare. He is very excited as he will get the first crop off them this year as they were planted in 2004/05. “I love their purity of flavour – their freshness,” says Thierry. “The flavour is totally different to grapes from grafted vines.” This fruit will be vinified separately in 400 litre open topped barrels. Thierry hopes to get a few vintages from them before the vines are destroyed by phylloxera. The soil is sandy clay over limestone, so with luck it may take a little while for the phylloxera to get at them. “I’ve long had a dream to cultivate vines using this old system (échalas) that you’ll find in parts of Burgundy.” It can also be found in the Mosel.

Thierry in his ungrafted vineyard of Cabernet Franc

Thierry also confirmed that there will be no Marginale 2007 as the vintage wasn't good enough. Instead it will be blended into the other cuvées. Jean-Pierre Chevallier has come to a similar decision for his 2007 reds – there will be no Grand Clos or Vieilles Vignes 2007. As in 2004 and 1998 all will go into the straight Saumur-Champigny, which will be bottled in early 2009. On previous experience this should mean that the Villeneuve 2007 will be extremely good for the year and remarable value.

Antoine Foucault: getting ready for the vintage
We dropped in on Antoine at Chacé who, assisted by his cousin, was busy making final preparations for the start of the harvest of his Chenin Blanc expected early next week depending on the acidity levels. When last checked his young Chenin vines were at 12.2% and the Centenaires at 13.5% with acidity levels around 7. Antoine said that the Foucault brothers, Antoine’s father Charly and Nadi, will probably start in the middle of next week – again dependent on what happens to the acidity.

Antoine with his 2006 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc

We quickly tasted the Domaine du Collier 2006 Saumur Blanc, which has just been bottled – absolutely delicious (see below) as well as the 2005 La Charpentrie Saumur Blanc from 100 year old vines. This is richer reflecting both the vintage and the age of the vines but still with fine minerality.



Antoine Foucault’s stock control problem
So delicious is Antoine’s 2006 Domaine Saumur Blanc that his father, Charly, can’t keep his hands off this recently bottled wine, which has some floral aromas, a hint of butter and toast but overall a wonderful mineral purity and great length of flavour. Although the disappearing stock may be hitting Antoine’s bottom line, it’s also a huge compliment as Charly and his brother, Nadi’s, wines are the benchmark for the region.

Antoine's dog gets ready for the vintage – snoozing in the little trailer that will take the debris that's left over after being through the press

We currently have both the 2004 Saumur Blanc Domaine du Collier and the 2004 Saumur Blanc La Charpentrie from Antoine Foucault on the restaurant list.

Régis Neau, Domaine de Nerleux

Our last visit on Friday (3rd) was to see Régis. From having been a glorious morning the sky was now covered and threatening rain. There’s good news for RSJ customers, who enjoy Régis’ ever-popular Crémant de Loire.

Régis in his vines destined for Coteaux de Saumur: early November 2007

“I’ve finished picking grapes for the Crémant,” said Régis “We started on the Chardonnay on 19th September, the Chenin on 22nd and the Cabernet on 23rd/24th. We finished on 29th/30th with another parcel of Chenin. We now have 7 hectares, which we use for sparkling wine. As everywhere the yields are down this year. Normally we have 70 hl/ha – this year it’s 57 hl/ha overall. The Cabernet at 50 hl/ha and the Chenin at 65 hl/ha. We are now waiting for the Chenin and cabernet for the still wines. For the Cabernet the acidity in the best parcels is now down below 6. At Monsoreau I have some Cabernet that is between 11.2 and 12.2 with acidities between 5.2 and 6.5. The Chenin is a 12% with 7.5 acidity. It’s been very dry – we need a little rain now but not too much!”

Will be reporting from Sancerre, Pouilly etc. early next week.