The story: a trip to the Loire, 2nd half!

 

 

Tuesday May 19th, departure 8:30 am from Nantes. The weather is nice, this day looks good!

I pick up Aymeric, from the team Petites Caveswho is waiting for me at the edge of one of the many traffic circles in Nantes.

Today we leave for Saint-Aubin de Ligné, in Anjou, to visit, first of all, the Carsin family, at Winery Terre de l'Elu. On the road, we stop at Guillaume's who accompanies us for the day. A small saving coffee and we cut the road.

It is getting hotter and hotter as we approach Saint-Aubin de Ligné. We have to call Thomas Carsin, the boss of Winery, to know where to join him. It is 10 o'clock. Meet him directly at the winery. Nice!

Winery Land of the Chosen

When we arrived, we were greeted in the courtyard by a small dog barking to warn us of the arrival of visitors. Thomas comes to greet us and takes us into his vineyard, on the plot of the Aiglerie. Before getting into his truck, we eat some cherries from his garden, kindly offered.

When we arrived at the plot, it started to hit. The "youngsters" are disbudding in a good mood. After a couple of jokes with them, the winemaker explains us how to disbud and why it is important. "We continue the work started with the pruning, we orientate the vine, we choose the best buds by removing the excess so that the vine breathes". In short, this is another key moment in the vegetative cycle of the vine.

Aymeric then takes out his drone to take some videos and pictures of the Carsin's vineyards. We are all three around the pilot, excited like kids.

After this interlude, we return to the cellar to get down to business: the tasting!

It's 11:30 am and it's really hard outside. We think about the disbudding and go into the cellar to cool down. The famous mildness of the Anjou region, in the version of global warming... Charlotte, Thomas' wife, joins us to share this moment. We sit around a table, standing, surrounded by stoneware amphorae of different sizes. What a beautiful setting!

We start with the 2019 whites that are not yet in bottle but already taste great! We then linger on a tank. We like the 2018 chenin and it gives us ideas, we men of Petites Caves. Why not make an exclusive vintage? To be continued...

Then came the reds, always in the finesse, whether it is the cabernet, the grolleau or the pinot of Aunis. The wines are straight, clean and on the fruit. Easy to taste in these conditions!

After a good moment of exchange and sharing, it is time for us to continue our peregrinations. We leave the cellar. Outside the disbudders are eating in the sun, the atmosphere is good, rural. It is pleasant.

Before leaving the Carsin, Guillaume went to the cellar to buy about 40 bottles that we put in the trunk of the car. We thank the Winery Terre de l'Elu and say goodbye.  

It is 12:30, it is hot, and we are hungry! To remedy this, we take the road towards Epiré to get some generous meals to take away (Covid obliges ) at the restaurant "A table chez Mili". Once the food was collected, we went to the banks of the Loire river not far away to have a bite to eat. In the middle of the heat wave, we enjoy the postcard landscape while eating our delicious meal accompanied by a bottle of Pinot d'Aunis "Espérance" 2018 of Winery Terre de l'Elu. We are at the top, although the Breton that I am began to suffer a little from the sun!

 

 

Winery Little Sister 

After this interlude on the river, we take the road again to go to Adrien de Mello 's house at Winery Petite Sœur, also in Saint-Aubin de Ligné. When we arrived, Adrien was waiting for us, with a cigarette in his mouth, in front of the winery at Château de la Genaiserie where he makes wine. The guy seems to be at ease with himself, frank and serene. We ask him about it: "Everything is stopped, the pallets are stored in the cellar until it starts again. It's true that it's not the best cash flow, but I'm not the one to be pitied; and then we have so many things to do, no time to think or to be bored!

He finishes his hand-roll and invites us into the cellar. When we arrived inside, 4 glasses, one for each of us. It's logical. We start with the white of Winery, Globule Blanc 19 (100% chenin), it's tense, it wakes up ! Just right. Then we taste the 2018, slightly pearly with a frank and tonic mouth on citrus fruits. Then comes the turn of 2 or 3 reds; it is really mastered, the wines are pure and do not lack chew. Adrien de Mello tells us that knowing what we want and especially how to do it always takes time. Nature is not mathematical, you have to understand it and accompany it. To finish, he makes us taste an exclusive cuvée "Coumou", press juices of cabernet sauvignon. How good it is, we don't want to spit it out... We want to buy some too, but it's not possible. Arrrf!

We could have spent hours in the cool of this nice cellar, but all good things must come to an end and Adrien has to go and find his daughter. " See you soon, guys! "

We make squeal the tires by leaving, it is not necessary to drag too much, there is wine in the trunk! We drop Guillaume and his precious skittles at his place on the road then direction Nantes.

 

Winery The Feathered Grape

Before going back home, we went to see Jacques Février (Winery Le Raisin à Plume) in Oudon in the hills of Ancenis. It's the first time we come to visit him and I don't hide that we had a hard time to find the winery... But there are clues that don't deceive: a big tasting barrel and some dead wine bottles in front of an iron door, it's definitely here! When we arrive, Jacques is not here, but he should be back soon. While waiting, we discreetly observe the neighbor of opposite, lying under his truck to repair it. He grumbles a lot, it doesn't seem to be a small matter. We smile in spite of us.

Jacques Février arrives in his Logan Pickup a short time later. I compliment him on his vehicle and he tells me that many people envy it.

He is a calm person, calm, who is interested in others, it is obvious. He asks us a lot of questions while opening bottles. We are sitting on the side of this country road, leaning against the tasting barrel, with the neighbor's grumbling in the background. A good atmosphere all in all.

As for the wines, well, they are pure juice, what do you expect! It is mastered, both in whites and reds with a special mention for the pinot gris de macération (12 days of maceration), a real delight!

After a good hour of discussion while tasting, it is time for us to return, it is 7 pm. On our way out, we follow Jacques at the wheel of his fast car, and then we stop at his plots. The vines are beautiful, lively, on hillsides overlooking the Loire. This certainly explains it...

After explaining how to get back to Nantes without taking the highway, we leave Jacques at a crossroads. " Hi! ". A wonderful day, but exhausting. And what a great feeling!