France – Domaine de la Senechaliere La Boheme 2014

Domaine and vineyard

The Domaine de la Senechaliere is located in Saint Julien de Concelles, few kilometers far from Nantes, on the border between Loire-Atlantique and Brittany (Nantes is the ancient capital city of Brittany, even if is now administratively out of the region). Essentially land of a sweet wine, the Muscadet. And the Muscadet was exactly what the owner, Marc Pesnot, used to produce from his 13 hectares of Melon de Bourgogne on a terroir derived from schist and exposure to the south.

Everything changes at the beginning of the nineties when Marc tastes the first “natural wines”; it is an illumination that pushes the vigneron towards a reconversion of the production in a natural way. The process ends in 2001 when he can officially affirm to produce wines 100% natural, without yeasts, sulfites and chemical additions. In few words, his wines are nothing but fermented grape juice!

For this reason his wine cannot be labelled with any of the AOC of the region, so they are sold on the market as "Vin de France". But this has not constituted a limitation to the success of his wines. Nowadays he exports 80% of the overall production abroad (mainly USA, Switzerland and Japan). And Japanese is the financial group (Nomura) that owns the domaine since 2008. Marc is still there, anyway, free to continue to produce his wines, in his way.

The wine

Il Domaine de la Senechaliere La Boheme 2014 is a 100% Melon de Bourgogne. The vines are well over 50 years old. They are are trained in Guyot simple system with an average yield of 40 hl/ha.
Grapes are hand-picked when they reach its maximum ripeness and then, once again manually, destemmed. A slow and controlled manual pressure follows and then the grapes undergo the fermentation with indigenous yeasts in temperature controlled stainless still tanks. From this moment onwards they will remain on their lees (up to nine months) before bottling. In the overall process there is no acidification, no fining.

Tasting Note

Date	28 January 2016
Wine name	La BOHEME	Vintage	2014
Nation	France	Region	Brittany (Nantes)
AOC-DOC	//	Grape Varieties	100 % Melon de Bourgogne
Serving temperature	12° C	Alcohol	12
Price (in euro)	16	SO2 (in mg/l)	20

 

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Full
Color	Straw yellow	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Quite consistent	Soft sensations	Quite Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quite Fresh – Quite tasty
		Flavors intensity	Quite Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavours	White flowers
Aroma intensity	Intense
Complexity	Quite Complex	Finish/Persistence	Quite Persistent
Quality	Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	White flowers, pear, green	Development	Ready
	apple	Harmony	Harmonious

Food pairing

Shellfish, grilled chicken & fish, hearty garden salads or simply by itself.

It’s quite strange to surf on internet searching information about a French wine and … finding the most of them in English and only few documents in French. It is a clear indication of the market target of this producer that sells 80% of his wines abroad.

And, tasting a natural wine, being prepared to do that, is something as interesting as exciting.

Once opened the bottle the stream of aromas is really fantastic with clear and well defined perceptions of green apple and white flowers. But, on the other side this stream is quite volatile becoming more and more aerial soon. In the mouth the wine is a real pleasure, with a nice taste and great balance of freshness and saltiness. Another marking note of this wine remains that little sparkling that perfectly balances the freshness without covering the overall taste.

I wish I could try it again after a couple of years of maturation in bottle.

Official website: //

Jersey Island (UK) – La Mare Sainte Marie 2011

Last year I read an article on the online edition of Bibenda about the (only) wine producer on the island of Jersey. Searching on internet I realized that I couldn’t buy those wines online, as expedition out of the island is forbidden by law … what a shame!

But, as last summer I went to visit Brittany, I could finally arrange a trip to the island and look for those unreachable wines!

It took quite a long trip to find the winery but, once there, the first impression, the hospitality of the staff was simply delighting. I couldn’t do the tour of the domaine and its vines but I had a nice tasting and a full immersion in their shop. After almost an hour I went out with three bottles, representing a wide panorama of the production. Here it is the white one!

Domaine and vineyard

La Mare Wine Estate was established in 1972 by Robert Blayney and was purchased by the new owner in 1997 when Mr Blayney retired. The estate itself is a fascinating combination of history and tradition. Comprising of historic buildings and beautiful gardens; extensive vineyards and orchards; function rooms, a winery, distillery and estate kitchens which produce a wonderful array of genuine jersey produce.

The first building of the actual estate was built in 1600 and two centuries after, in 1797, is dated the construction of the central farmhouse. The Second World War, due to the German occupation of the island, meant abandon and poverty for the property.  Only in 1968 the restoration of the estate started, with the slow transformation in the actual touristic attraction, as well as the keeper of the jersey’s traditional gastronomy.

Of the 25 acres of the domaine only 6 are dedicated nowadays to the vines, resulting in a limited production.

The wine

A medium dry white wine made from a blend of Orion and Seyval Blanc grapes. The wine was carefully fermented using a Burgundian yeast strain, in stainless steel tanks under cool conditions. This combination has created a wine that displays ripe citrus and herbaceous aromas, delicate pome fruit flavours and well structured acidity. Over all it displays the tipicity of the site similar in character as the fresh North West winds that prevail.

Tasting Note

Date	18 December 2014
Wine name	SAINTE MARIE	Vintage	2011
Nation	United Kingdom	Region	Jersey Island
AOC-DOC	//	Grape Varieties	Orion, Seyval Blanc
Serving temperature	10-12° C	Alcohol	11,5
Price (in euro)	12	SO2 (in mg/l)	//

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Brilliant	Body	Weak
Color	Straw yellow	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Scarcely consistent	Soft sensations	Scarcely Warm – Scarcely Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quite Fresh
		Flavors intensity	Scarcely Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavors	Citrus fruits, hints of balsamic
Aroma intensity	Quite Intense
Complexity	Scarcely Complex	Finish/Persistence	Scarcely Persistent
Quality	Quite Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Herbal, Citrus fruits	Development	Ready
		Harmony	Harmonious

Food pairing

The typical locally caught scallops or chancre crab.

I was not expecting much from this wine. It remains a niche product that has as its main commercial vehicle the particularity to come from an island suspended between France and the UK, with the two souls who try to coexist. In addition, the very fact of having imported clones specifically says a lot about the absence of local winemaking traditions.
The wine has no great pretensions, in my opinion, and few will get. A flat product, which does not leave his mark neither in the mouth nor in the memory but that puts his name in the long list of wines "without infamy and without praise. "
Advise it? I would not say. Unless of being on the island of Jersey in front of a plate of fish or shellfish for a 100% local meal.

Official website: www.lamarewineestate.com

Slovenia – Movia Modri Pinot 2007

Every time I visit my parents in law, before heading back to France I usually make a short trip to Slovenia. Twenty minutes by car and in reward you receive a lot of advantages: good and cheap food (especially meat), cheap gasoline and great wines. So, at every occasion, I surf a bit on internet and then I plan my trip in order to pass by the producer I have chosen to discover.

In this period I am particularly interested in organic and biodynamic agriculture and, if you google these words, Movia will be at the first position.

The result? Here it is the second one, a difficult and ambitious wine: the Pinot Noir.

Domaine and vineyard

“Be genuine, respect Mother Earth and do not stand in its way”. That is why Movia is more than merely a brand. It is nature's agent in your wine glass, in you. The Movia estate has existed since 1700 and has been in the hands of the Kristančič family since 1820 following a wedding. The estate covers 18 hectares of land, half of which lie on the Italian side of the Collio. After World War II the vineyards remained in the family's hands, allowing the continuation of this tradition in the Brda. Our wine's quality allowed the Kristančič family to become exclusive suppliers of wine for state protocol events in the former SFR Yugoslavia in 1958. In keeping with the family's decades of winemaking endeavour, Aleš honed his skills in Bordeaux and in Burgundy, returning back home with the idea of a completely different concept of wine production, enriched with new knowledge of modern winemaking and marketing concepts. It was on the basis of these new ideas that the historical breakthrough of Slovenian wines began.

The Movia and Vila Marija brands are among the most important and most frequently awarded wines in South-Eastern Europe. One fifth of the Kristančič family's annual production is sold domestically, while all of their remaining products are sold to Western European markets. Movia wines are produced with the highest measure of respect towards nature, no fining, no filtration.

The wine

Movia Modri Pinot comes from vines aged 30 years average. Concerning the Vinification, it consists in a late harvest, hand-picked, short vine-to-fermentation times (max. 2h). Beginning of fermentation in large fermentation tanks with natural yeast picked out from the same grapes harvested during pre-harvesting (5 %). Maceration takes place from 3 to 4 weeks till the completion of fermentation until the cap of grape skins sinks to the bottom of the tank and clears the wine naturally. The wine is thus ready for a long and fully active life in barriques, without decanting. Quiet fermentation is completed in wooden barriques where wine matures on its own lees for four years without decanting. Until it is bottled no sulphur or any other conservation additive is used. Thus the wine has gone through all natural processes and becomes sound and stable naturally, ready to last one lifetime of ours. On completion wine is bottled are placed on their side for 6 months.

Tasting Note

Date	19 December 2014
Wine name	MODRI PINOT	Vintage	2007
Nation	Slovenia	Region	Brda
AOC-DOC	Brda	Grape Varieties	Pinot Noir
Serving temperature	16-18° C	Alcohol	13
Price (in euro)	40	SO2 (in mg/l)	35

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Full
Color	Ruby Red	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Quiet consistent	Soft sensations	Quite Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quiet Tasty
		Flavors intensity	Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavors	Red fruits, Liquorice
Aroma intensity	Intense
Complexity	Complex	Finish/Persistence	Persistent
Quality	Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Red fruits, liquorice	Development	Ready
		Harmony	Harmonious

Food pairing

Important white meats or light red meats, mid aged cheese, charcuterie. Fantastic even alone.

I opened this bottled full of curiosity and expectations. I have just finished Nossiter’s “Liquid Memories”, a book in which Pinot Noir and Burgundy are painted as the grape of God and e region of little microcosms of different perfections.

I have learnt that Pinot Noir is a grape hard to handle, capable of the best and the worst results; and to be able to treat it and extract THE juice … not everybody can do that. Movia’s Pinot Noir looked to me as a very good result with a soft bodied basket that carries a cornucopia of inebriant flavors.

Drinking this bottle of wine has given me real pleasure.

Buy it again? Yesssss.

Official website: www.movia.si