French Wines

Loire

Vendée
J. Mourat Père & Fils

The vineyards of J. Mourat, Père et Fils, 67 hectares of them, lie in the intriguingly named ‘Fiefs Vendéens-Mareuil’, inland from the Atlantic coast, below the Loire estuary. The stunning Château Marie du Fou, one of the oldest fortified farmhouses in the southern Loire – it dates from the 12th century and has survived intact the Hundred Years War, the Revolution and all the ravages of more modern times – is the family home and headquarters of the winemaking operation. Jean Mourat started to modernise the winery over 35 years ago and for the last eight has been joined by his son Jérémie in this excellent domaine.

Two types of soil dominate, schist, red and crumbly, which favours wines for ageing and volcanic rhyolite, a cousin of granite, which promotes more aromatic and mineral styles. Moreover the Vendée is possessed of its very own oak forest and all new barrels used in the cellars are made of timbers from the Mervent locality.

There is a touch of iconoclasm in their approach; one of the lines is called ‘the Nonconformists’ and this includes two of the best sellers on this list, the ‘Sacré Blanc’, made of pure Chenin, and the Sauvignon Blanc ‘A notre façon’. Both are very modern expressions of the varietals, the former round and generous with a tantalising touch of beeswax and honey on the finish, the latter having an almost New World style of fruit, attractive and exotic. There is also a superb rosé from the ‘Collection’ range, of Pinot Noir, Negrette and Cabernet Franc, lovely fruit with a good dry finish.

(As you see below, we carry an almost complete complement of their wines – should any others catch your eye, please call as we are always happy to talk the notes, so to speak!)

	White	Vintage	RRP
	Collection (Chenin/Chardonnay) 2007	2007	€13.70
	'Sacré Blanc' (Chenin Blanc), Vin de Pays de Vendée 2006	2006	€16.20
	Sauvignon 'A notre façon' VdP du Jardin de la France 2007	2007	€16.20
	Rosé	Vintage	RRP
	Collection, Mareuil VDQS 2007	2007	€13.70
	Red	Vintage	RRP
	Collection Rouge	2005	€13.70
	Château Marie du Fou, VDQS 2005	2005	€15.50
	Très Franc (Cabernet Franc), Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France	2003	€14.65
	Très Noir (Pinot Noir), Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France	2004	€14.65
	Mouratus 2005	2005	€16.30

Magnums available

Loire

Sancerre
Domaine Doudeau-Leger

This wine comes from a small family run concern and has a quality to price ratio that is hard to beat. Following the theme of this list, this Sancerre is very true to its origin and is highly expressive. There is gooseberry on the nose, followed by overtones of grass and asparagus. It is very clean on the palate, with good acidity balancing the fruit and the finish is long, citrus and refreshing.

	White	Vintage	RRP
	Sancerre 2007	2007	€17.95

Pouilly Fumé

After an extensive tasting in which we were hugely impressed by the quality coming out of this appellation in 2005 & 2006, we just couldn’t cut our choice down to one wine. Without doubt a revelation of a tasting and now we’re on a mission!

Domaine Chauveau

The Charmette is full of white fruit, (peach) and quite floral, the most mineral of the 3 and a great price. The Sainte Clélie is a gold medal winner in Paris, very floral on the nose with a hint of sweetness, ripe and very elegant. Lovely finesse here.

	White	Vintage	RRP
	Pouilly Fumé, La Charmette 2006	2006	€18.25
	Pouilly Fumé, Sainte Clélie 2006	2006	€20.95

Domaine Hervé Seguin

A rounded almost creamy textured wine, from very old vines. Domaine Hervé Seguin purest and most elegant of the three.

	White	Vintage	RRP
	Pouilly Fumé, Cuveé Prestige 2005	2005	€22.55