On the Road with the Grape Guy

Pio Cesare Winemaker's Dinner

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

(May 2024) ... Barolo lovers came out to a dinner to taste seven wines from this historic, iconic producer whose history dates back to 1881 and the great great grandfather of the current owner Federica Boffa - our host this evening. The talk she gave was mostly about the wines ... Let's get right to it.

2021 "Piadelei" Chardonnay
Name translates to Pio for the ladies ... The wine spends one year in oak, where roughly 33% is new. The vines were planted in 1981. Creamy mouthfeel with notes of vanilla, apple and great acidity for balance.  (****)

2021 "Fides" Vigna Mosconi, Barbera d'Alba
From the Mosconi vineyard, these Barbera plants were put in the ground in the '40s and in the '60s. 9,000 bottles are made of these dark fruited and smoky wines with a lovely, playful acidity. It spends one year in big barrels to gain complexity.  (****)

2020 "Pio" Barolo (classic)
This is a nine-vineyard blend. It's an easy drinking Barolo, ready now with age ability potential under the cork. Red fruit dominates ... It's gentle and easy on the palate.  (*** ½+)

2020 "Ornato" Barolo
This single vineyard is located in the Serralunga region of Barolo. Dark berry fruit with smoky notes, good acidity and a long finish. Best wine of the night.  (****+)

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The older Barolos: 2015
 
"Pio" Barolo - The acidity on this wine proved to be very jumpy and in your face. I love acidity in my wine, but this seemed almost over the top and came across disjointed. I question the notion to decant this wine before serving, as I believe it did not benefit the wine.

"Ornato" Barolo - once again questioning the decanting of these older wines.... Quite possibly, the decanting opened them up too much. Then again, this was the better of the two wines - here the Ornato proved powerful with good fruit and even some elegance. But a pour from the bottle might have allowed this wine to open more gracefully.

Last beverage of the night was a Chinato, a digestive drink with quinine and herbal character. 1,000 bottles are produced. No other comments about this.

Loire Valley: Vineyard, Grape and Sales Presentation

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

(October 2023) … I had a chance to revisit the Loire Valley – but this time the focus is on Cabernet Franc and see the new marketing campaign of the region.

So let’s take a moment and look at the Loire Valley by the numbers in an overview:

-    2700 producers
-    410 wine merchants (negotiants)
-    80% producers - environmentally certified (by 2022)
-    1 of 10 UNESCO World Heritage designations (about ⅔ of region)
-    By 2030 every vineyard will have at least one environmental certification

The Loire’s new marketing focus is on words that begin with “F”:
Floral, Fruity, Fresh (crisp and light), Fair (low environmental impact)
The one “f” word missing is “fun” – but we as consumers can always put it back in.

The Loire Valley is the 3rd largest AOP winegrowing area in France (and the most diverse) with 4 subregions:

Nantais (Nantais - Ancenis & Clisson) Melon (main) + Folle Blanche /
Anjou-Saumur (Angers & Saumur) Franc - Chenin (main) + Grolleau - Chard - Gamay - Cot /
Touraine (Blois - Tours - Amboise - Chinon) Sauv Blanc - Pinot Noir (main) + Cot - Gamay

Centre-Loire (Sancerre etc.) - own agency / own agenda
(this final region is not part of Inter-Loire, which takes care of the other three)

24 Grape Varieties

Whites: Melon 31% - Sauvignon Blanc 29% - Chenin 27% - Chard 9% … most appear as single varietal wines
Reds: Cabernet Franc 53% - Gamay 14% - Pinot Noir 7% - Grolleau 7% - Cabernet Sauvignon 5% … most appear as single varietal wines
Breakdown of production numbers is:
37% white wine - 29% sparkling wine - 17% red wine - 17% rosé

Loire River: 25% of water supply in France / covers ⅕ of the country

In 2022 the Loire Valley sent wines all over the world, to many different markets …

-    22% of wines exported (with growth potential of 30% by 2030)
-    Volumes exported are on the rise in places like Germany (+15%) - Belgium (+7.3%) along with Norway - Italy and Latvia
-    Volumes are dropping in Australia - Swiss - Netherlands - USA (- 7.5%) and the UK (- 30%)

That said the top markets for the Loire are:
Germany - USA - Belgium - UK - Canada (up 1.2%) - Netherland - Australia and Japan

Since we were there at the tail end of the 2023 harvest, numbers were not completely available – but they did have some idea as to how the vintage had gone, so far:

-    high temps caused risk of spontaneous fermentation
-    Chard / Franc / Savvy B - good balance of sugar and acidity
-    hot year helped elimate pyrazines (vegetal notes) - good fruity character will be present (in still wines)
-    Chenin, in particular had a high risk of mold because of the rains during harvest time
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Dialing Down to Cabernet Franc …

-    Most widely planted grape - 25% of vineyard plantings
-    14,000 ha (same as Bordeaux)
-    ⅓ of total plantings in France
-    main sub-regions: Touraine et Anjou-Saumur
-    styles range from rose-sparkling fruity reds to ageable reds

History: origins of the grape are linked to Spain and Basque Country; it’s first name looks to be Biturica.

Cabernet Franc is perfect for the Loire Valley because …
-    it buds mid-season
-    it prefers cooler climates
-    it is vigorous and likes deep well-drained soils
-    sunshine will help minimize pyrazine (vegetal)

There are 9 Cab Franc Appellations that run through the Loire Valley:
Chinon (major) - Bourgueil - Saumur-Champigny - Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil - Anjou - Anjou-Brissac - Anjou-Villages - Saumur - Saumur-Puy-Notre-Dame (smallest)

In Touraine - 27% of region is Cabernet Franc
Chinon - 12.4% / St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil - 7.8% / Bourgueil - 6.9%

In Anjou-Saumur it is 41% of the region

-    Cabernet d'Anjou (rosé) – this is the number one appellation rosé wine sold in France
-    Saumur-Champigny (red only)
-    Saumur et Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame (red and rosé)
-    Anjou, Anjou Villages, Anjou Brissac (red)

Finally a look at exports of Cabernet Franc to Canada (and the rest of the world) …

40% of the Cabernet Franc exported comes from Chinon
Saumur and Saumur-Champigny 15%
Anjou and Anjou-Villages 3%
Bourgueil and St. Nicolas de Bourgueil – have just joined Inter-Loire so their numbers are not available at this time.

70% of Loire Wine go to Quebec

Here are a couple of links to dive deeper into the wines tasted:

The Franc of the Saumur
Chinon : Impressed or Not Impressed