On the Road with the Grape Guy

Tripping Through the Vineyards of Ancenis (Loire)

12 Jan 2023

Galloires(April 27, 2022) … Aboard a bus we travelled to Domaine de Galloires, where we unloaded and had lunch overlooking the vineyards – afterward we traipse through the vineyards (over hill and dale in some cases) to taste more wines and have some tasty treats (namely cheese and dessert) at different stops along the way – these are the wines we tried that afternoon:

Domaine Des Galloires 2021 Les Chailloux
Fresh, lively, good acidity, lemon/lime, bright, hint of melon - stony/salty quality, perfect with oysters.  (****)The wagon

Domaine Du Champ Chapron 2020    
Middling kinda wine with pith and lemon notes. (*** ½+)

Vignoble Marchais 2020 Vignoble de Thouaré
Quite citrusy, but with an underlying bitterness and heft on the palate - nice mineral and stony quality.  (*** ½+)

Domaine De La Cambuse 2021 Rosé
Nice raspberry-lemon with hints of lime on the finish.  (*** ½+)

ParcelleDomaine Merceron Martin 2019 Parcelles Rouge
100% Gamay … Lovely red berry fruit, lively acidity, subtle shake of pepper, black and boysenberry finish - 1 week carbonic (any longer and you take away the fruitiness and risk bitterness) - needs 2-3 years to meld and come together.  (****+)

Domaine Romain Moreau 2021 Rouge
Has depth with plenty of red berry fruit.  (*** ½)

Domaine Des Clerambaults 2021 Rouge Pretty with floral, subtle smoke and red fruit.  (*** ½+)

Domaine Du Haut Fresne 2021 Rouge
Red cherries and white pepper dominate.  (*** ½)

Domaine Des Galloires 2016 Champtoceaux
Fresh lemon zest and honeycomb notes.  (*** ½+)

Domaine Du Moulin Giron 2018 Champtoceaux
Shows an intensity of fruit: namely apple, nectarine and a little beeswax on the finish.  (*** ½)

Domaine Romain Moreau 2021 Malvoisie
A little on the sweet side, but with a good fruit core: peach and white peach with nice hint of minerality ... the name has been around for over a century, denotes Pinot Gris harvested late and with some sweetness – so this is bang on what it should be.  (****)

 

Dinner at Barco Vino …        

“Dinner” tonight was finger foods aboard a docked boat, a floating wine and food tasting would be the best way to describe it … and here are the wines that impressed. On Board

Domaine Aux Moines 2019 Roche Aux Moines
Nice structure and flavour, with beeswax, honeycomb and floral notes most noticeable.  (*** ½)

Manoir de la Tête Rouge 2018 Enchantoir
Vines planted in 1959. Nice earthy character with cassis and black raspberry. Interesting to note that this wine was also aged in amphora.  (*** ½+)

Les Sables Verts 2020 Les Poyeux
Floral, namely violets, with smoky-black fruit, along with a fresh, mineral note; elegant with subtle spice. Aged twelve months in vat … a very tasty wine.  (****)

Les Sables Verts 2020 Les Rouères Blanc    
Honeycomb and beeswax, a little bitter, but still nice. They grow 16 hectares - 10 go to the co-op while they keep 6hectares for their own use.  (*** ½)

Le Facteur Su’l Vélo 2021 Le Facteur Su’L Vélo 
A six hectare estate, this wine is aged and fermented in oak barrels. Nice and crisp with easy drinking appeal; the 10% new oak barely registers here and that is probably the point as it just adds weight and texture, but little in the way of flavour.  (****)

Le Facteur Su’l Vélo 2019 Bénasse
A one hectare vineyard of flint and limestone; the wine is aged 12 months in oak barrels, and produced a nice richness in the mouth, very pleasant.  (*** ½)

Domaine Grosbois 2019 Clos Du Noyer
Still has those green notes, but the fruit is there as well, subtly smoky and earthy; good acidity but still comes across a little lean.  (*** ½)

Domaine Grosbois 2020 Gabare  
A little green around the edges, but there is also black cherry, black raspberry, blackberry and cassis.  (*** ½)

Domaine Amirault 2018 Le Fondis
The wine is made using fruit from 63-year-old vines. There's a mineral component here along with cranberry, plus red and black cherry notes ... barrels are rolled to mix the wine, after 5 weeks they stop the rolling; they also use 40% new oak.  (*** ½+)

Domaine Amirault 2020 Ferme Des Fontaines
Violets and dark fruit; fresh and fruity: concrete fermented and aged for 9 months.  (*** ½+)

 

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