producers visit

<p><em><strong>This visit with Julien Pineau took place in June, 2016. Words and photos by Jules Dressner.</strong></em></p> <p>Visiting Julien Pineau this summer felt a bit like being in a parallel universe: everything looks the same, but it&#39;s not. The Clos Roche Blanche vineyard&nbsp;is the most written about on this website,&nbsp;including a nine&nbsp;part recap on my experience <glossary title="521">harvesting</glossary> the <glossary title="427">estate</glossary>&#39;s last <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> in 2014. Julien, who was training under Didier at the time, features prominently in those posts, and I encourage you to re-read them or discover them for the first time before continuing on with this recap.&nbsp;Also, read Julien&#39;s profile!&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Meeting up with Julien would be one of few uplifting moments of our two weeks in the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="602">Loire</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> at least wine wise. 2016 has been a disastrous <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> for the vast majority of Northern France. Yet somehow his sector is one of the only ones not ravaged by&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1135">frost</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="1136">hail</glossary> and/or&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1137">mildew</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> This sector also includes&nbsp;No&euml;lla Morantin,&nbsp;Maisons Br&ucirc;l&eacute;es&nbsp;and&nbsp;Laurent Lebled, so keep that in mind in the Spring of 2017 when you need your <glossary title="602">Loire</glossary> fix!<br /> <br /> Taking our habitual walk through the vines, the sky was menacing.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//fa/b5/fab55ef9606c5b81f4d970d710b88691.jpg" /></p> <p>Regardless, the <glossary title="305">Clos</glossary> is as beautiful and full of life as ever. Here are some pretty flower pictures.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//2a/b6/2ab61fe85a854caaba35b56fec03bec0.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f6/ad/f6adeafa9a2ef214fd010430b4600496.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//d4/22/d422a42354fc75bac2fe5f1cfcff9718.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//51/0b/510b44e4deb3e26d6d5e9b1514331aae.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f5/6e/f56e7aba96b12ac840a376dee9d52f04.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//23/7d/237d630aeb1fe16994c44528316f2386.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//4e/9b/4e9be67f5d3f3fa877a7e2838a919f47.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//6c/82/6c820daa2a1efa93da1188b4c6c8fcf0.jpg" /><br /> <br /> What a relief to see some healthy&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1138">bunches</glossary><span>!</span></span></span></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//c1/a5/c1a5d05283b9a2fabb29058d6e2916e8.jpg" /></p> <p>Especially compared to some of the horrors witnessed in the <glossary title="697">Muscadet</glossary> a few days later:</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//06/f3/06f30aa16adcfa627c707c5d5c3c5cc4.jpg" /></p> <p>That, my friends, is a bunch devastated by <glossary title="1137">mildew</glossary> at&nbsp;P&eacute;pi&egrave;re. Yikes...<br /> <br /> Continuing our walk, Julien explained how he and&nbsp;Laurent Saillard, the other co-owner of<strong>&nbsp;</strong>the Clos Roche Blanche, have ripped out some very old, unproductive <glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary> and <glossary title="366">C&ocirc;t</glossary> vines that No&euml;lla Morantin used to rent.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//31/ac/31ac581eef6789b07f8417ee8f3a67d9.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//93/7f/937fdd0be92b0eda88ac61c6a78eeb4a.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//0e/26/0e26f6385b697a0c78c4f662d6b870f1.jpg" /></p> <p>Some of the <glossary title="1133">plots</glossary> had been replanted with cereals.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//68/e3/68e3adcdef319c89509efa01ecacfd09.jpg" /></p> <p>Julien plans to re-plant about a <glossary title="523">hectare</glossary> of&nbsp;the <glossary title="1139">indigenous</glossary> and obscure&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="648">Menu Pineau</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but also apple and pear trees.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <em>&quot;My girlfriend is currently following a formation for </em><glossary title="160"><em>biodynamic</em></glossary><em> </em><glossary title="815"><em>polyculture</em></glossary><em>. Our goal is to have more than just vines in the </em><glossary title="305"><em>Clos</em></glossary><em>: different fruit trees and vegetable patches, but also livestock to diversify this already incredible </em><glossary title="414"><em>eco-system</em></glossary><em> even more.&quot;</em><br /> <br /> As far as the division of the 12 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> that actually constitute the <glossary title="594">lieu-dit</glossary>&nbsp;of Clos Roche Blanche (the <glossary title="427">estate</glossary> once ballooned to as big as 25 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary>), Julien and Laurent have split the land in an intuitive fashion: Julien works the six&nbsp;<glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> he trained under while working with Didier &nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span>(<glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary><span>,</span></span></span>&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary><span>,</span></span></span>&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="366">C&ocirc;t</glossary><span>,</span></span></span>&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="799">Pineau d&#39;Aunis</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary>) and Laurent works the six&nbsp;<glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> he worked as the long time employee of No&euml;lla Morantin.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//50/eb/50eb69d96ee6ff506646ff42b1729b92.jpg" /></p> <p>As we continued our walk through the vineyards, Julien pointed out the 100% straw cabin Didier had recently restored.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//eb/0d/eb0d7d04cba6fc413810c00bd2d49356.jpg" /><br /> <br /> <em>&quot;He purchased a ribbon and we did a fake opening ceremony. We drank a bottle of bubbles in there to celebrate.&quot;</em><br /> <br /> From the cabin, we went to check out the old <glossary title="366">C&ocirc;t</glossary> and&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="799">Pineau d&#39;Aunis</glossary><span>.</span></span></span>&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//4b/d4/4bd46ddcca667059023e6bb094f15f6e.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//3b/a9/3ba9f13a7b731545718a3f7e4c1578c2.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//4f/81/4f81a95e9654b9d5a9fa3ba6e0ae5648.jpg" /></p> <p>It really started raining at this point, so we had to take refuge in the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> to taste.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//aa/4d/aa4dc60f3c7effb6134b594441181a23.jpg" /></p> <p>The first thing we spotted was some <glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary> heading to our coasts (now available in NYC!!!!)</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//21/d6/21d69c4b2438028247d829ea5407e375.jpg" /></p> <p>We began by tasting all the wines bottled in Spring, all of which are now stateside.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//94/8a/948ab8627000f13cbbe686243f84524e.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//d4/92/d4922759f2c133c1a439d60dd11bc309.jpg" /></p> <p>In Julien&#39;s first&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> two <glossary title="927">Sauvignons</glossary> were produced &agrave; la&nbsp;Clos Roche Blanche N#2 and N#5. The spring <glossary title="185">bottling</glossary> is called &quot;Roche Blanche&quot;. For reds, the spring <glossary title="185">bottling</glossary> resulted in a <glossary title="216">Cabernet Franc </glossary>called &quot;L&#39;&Eacute;cume des Nuits&quot;&nbsp;and a <glossary title="799">Pineau d&#39;Aunis</glossary> called &quot;Les Sucettes &agrave;&nbsp;l&#39;Aunis&quot;. The latter is a pun riffing on&nbsp;Serge Gainsbourg&#39;s Les Sucettes, a song whose subject matter you may catch from the (ahem) extremely subtle images in that Youtube video. A <glossary title="778">p&eacute;tillant naturel</glossary>&nbsp;from <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary> called &quot;Bocca di Rosa&quot;<em>&nbsp;</em>rounds out the lineup.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Julien has purchased all of CRB&#39;s <glossary title="142">barrels</glossary> and&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1140">tanks</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> which we diligently tasted through for wines still being&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="74">aged</glossary><span>.</span></span></span>&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//21/2f/212f39901fca6f96d2909661f70eb951.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//1d/24/1d244b5f3de55c36b07877ac27a20abe.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//56/6c/566c9f92dea11b2a79247166c2b49f88.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//e4/d4/e4d40cf29b9cb412ffadce4a172ec9d9.jpg" /><br /> <br /> These included the younger&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="366">C&ocirc;t</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="740">old vine</glossary> <glossary title="366">C&ocirc;t</glossary> and <glossary title="462">foudre</glossary> raised&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Everything is tasting great.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> It was lunch time, and since Catherine knew I was coming, she made sure to stock up on a little bit of cheese.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//ad/59/ad596b2ba1334cbc3fccac52edb31559.jpg" /><br /> <br /> It made me happier than a gnome with his arms up or a cat in a basket.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//85/e2/85e238e25ebd74285dba43203c664a85.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.sfdevserver.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//df/0f/df0ff4750eb74a7b41d956fe113d28ec.jpg" /><br /> &nbsp;</p>