<p>Originally from <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1038">Tours</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> Julien Pineau's college years saw him studying sociology and law, two fields that would have bored him to death had he pursued them professionally. As a young post-collegiate, Julien worked for the l'Alliance Française in Seattle and later <glossary title="951">Sicily </glossary>for a few years. Upon returning to France, he payed the rent through a variety of random jobs, including picking fruit, a stint at an antique store and studying soil compositions for a geology center.</p>
<p>During a harvest at Lise and Bertrand Jousset's in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="684">Montlouis</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> Julien had his eureka moment with wine. Though Bertrand encouraged him to study <glossary title="1103">viticulture </glossary>in<strong> <glossary title="100">Amboise</glossary></strong>, Julien's original plan was to open a wine bar. His father being a professional cook, a restaurant was also a possibility. Yet over the course of helping out in the vines (with the Jousset, <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/Morantin/">Noëlla Morantin</a> and Les Terres Promises in <glossary title="831">Provence</glossary>), Julien began drawing his attention more and more to the plant, the soil, the flowers and even the insects that inhabited the land. <br />
<br />
When Julien found out that Catherine Roussel of <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/Roche/">Clos Roche Blanche</a> wanted to sell her land, he quickly jumped on the opportunity to invest in the legendary site with partner Laurent Saillard. The two have split the 12 <glossary title="523">hectares </glossary>50/50: Julien now works with six <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="927">Sauvignon Blanc</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="366">Côt</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="216">Cabernet Franc</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary> and, appropriately, <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="799">Pineau d'Aunis</glossary><span>.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
2015 was Julien's first <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> In the vines, the inherited greatness of the <glossary title="305">Clos</glossary>'s <glossary title="1026">terroir</glossary> remains respected: the land is worked by horse and the soils are permitted to exist in harmony with the hundreds of plants and insects that inhabit them. Julien's wife is an agronomist, so future plans for the land include fruit trees and free-roaming animals to push <glossary title="815">polyculture</glossary> to the next level. In the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="254">cellar</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> no addition of <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> is used at any point and Julien favors long <glossary title="418">élevages</glossary> of his <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="363">cuvées</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> often releasing them 12 to 24 months after <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="521">harvest</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
producer visit05.08.2019
A Visit With Julien Pineau
This visit with Julien Pineau took place in June, 2016
<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's not. The Clos Roche Blanche vineyard is the most written about on this website, including a nine part recap on my experience <glossary title="521">harvesting</glossary> the <glossary title="427">estate</glossary>'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. Also, read Julien's profile! <br />
<br />
Meeting up with Julien would be one of few uplifting moments of our two weeks in the <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 <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1135">frost</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="1136">hail</glossary> and/or <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1137">mildew</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> This sector also includes Noëlla Morantin, Maisons Brûlées and 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.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. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//2a/b6/2ab61fe85a854caaba35b56fec03bec0.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f6/ad/f6adeafa9a2ef214fd010430b4600496.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//d4/22/d422a42354fc75bac2fe5f1cfcff9718.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//51/0b/510b44e4deb3e26d6d5e9b1514331aae.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f5/6e/f56e7aba96b12ac840a376dee9d52f04.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//23/7d/237d630aeb1fe16994c44528316f2386.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//4e/9b/4e9be67f5d3f3fa877a7e2838a919f47.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//6c/82/6c820daa2a1efa93da1188b4c6c8fcf0.jpg" /><br />
<br />
What a relief to see some healthy <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1138">bunches</glossary><span>!</span></span></span></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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.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 Pépière. Yikes...<br />
<br />
Continuing our walk, Julien explained how he and Laurent Saillard, the other co-owner of<strong> </strong>the Clos Roche Blanche, have ripped out some very old, unproductive <glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary> and <glossary title="366">Côt</glossary> vines that Noëlla Morantin used to rent. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//31/ac/31ac581eef6789b07f8417ee8f3a67d9.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//93/7f/937fdd0be92b0eda88ac61c6a78eeb4a.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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 the <glossary title="1139">indigenous</glossary> and obscure <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="648">Menu Pineau</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but also apple and pear trees. <br />
<br />
<em>"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."</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> 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 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> he trained under while working with Didier <span class="zalup"><span>(<glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="366">Côt</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="799">Pineau d'Aunis</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary>) and Laurent works the six <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> he worked as the long time employee of Noëlla Morantin. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//eb/0d/eb0d7d04cba6fc413810c00bd2d49356.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<em>"He purchased a ribbon and we did a fake opening ceremony. We drank a bottle of bubbles in there to celebrate."</em><br />
<br />
From the cabin, we went to check out the old <glossary title="366">Côt</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="799">Pineau d'Aunis</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//4b/d4/4bd46ddcca667059023e6bb094f15f6e.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//3b/a9/3ba9f13a7b731545718a3f7e4c1578c2.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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.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.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//94/8a/948ab8627000f13cbbe686243f84524e.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//d4/92/d4922759f2c133c1a439d60dd11bc309.jpg" /></p>
<p>In Julien's first <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> two <glossary title="927">Sauvignons</glossary> were produced à la Clos Roche Blanche N#2 and N#5. The spring <glossary title="185">bottling</glossary> is called "Roche Blanche". For reds, the spring <glossary title="185">bottling</glossary> resulted in a <glossary title="216">Cabernet Franc </glossary>called "L'Écume des Nuits" and a <glossary title="799">Pineau d'Aunis</glossary> called "Les Sucettes à l'Aunis". The latter is a pun riffing on Serge Gainsbourg'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">pétillant naturel</glossary> from <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary> called "Bocca di Rosa"<em> </em>rounds out the lineup. <br />
<br />
Julien has purchased all of CRB's <glossary title="142">barrels</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1140">tanks</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> which we diligently tasted through for wines still being <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="74">aged</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//21/2f/212f39901fca6f96d2909661f70eb951.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//1d/24/1d244b5f3de55c36b07877ac27a20abe.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//56/6c/566c9f92dea11b2a79247166c2b49f88.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//e4/d4/e4d40cf29b9cb412ffadce4a172ec9d9.jpg" /><br />
<br />
These included the younger <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="366">Côt</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="740">old vine</glossary> <glossary title="366">Côt</glossary> and <glossary title="462">foudre</glossary> raised <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Everything is tasting great. <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. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//85/e2/85e238e25ebd74285dba43203c664a85.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//df/0f/df0ff4750eb74a7b41d956fe113d28ec.jpg" /><br />
</p>
<p>Originally from <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1038">Tours</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> Julien Pineau's college years saw him studying sociology and law, two fields that would have bored him to death had he pursued them professionally. As a young post-collegiate, Julien worked for the l'Alliance Française in Seattle and later <glossary title="951">Sicily </glossary>for a few years. Upon returning to France, he payed the rent through a variety of random jobs, including picking fruit, a stint at an antique store and studying soil compositions for a geology center.</p>
<p>During a harvest at Lise and Bertrand Jousset's in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="684">Montlouis</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> Julien had his eureka moment with wine. Though Bertrand encouraged him to study <glossary title="1103">viticulture </glossary>in<strong> <glossary title="100">Amboise</glossary></strong>, Julien's original plan was to open a wine bar. His father being a professional cook, a restaurant was also a possibility. Yet over the course of helping out in the vines (with the Jousset, <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/Morantin/">Noëlla Morantin</a> and Les Terres Promises in <glossary title="831">Provence</glossary>), Julien began drawing his attention more and more to the plant, the soil, the flowers and even the insects that inhabited the land. <br />
<br />
When Julien found out that Catherine Roussel of <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/Roche/">Clos Roche Blanche</a> wanted to sell her land, he quickly jumped on the opportunity to invest in the legendary site with partner Laurent Saillard. The two have split the 12 <glossary title="523">hectares </glossary>50/50: Julien now works with six <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="927">Sauvignon Blanc</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="366">Côt</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="216">Cabernet Franc</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary> and, appropriately, <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="799">Pineau d'Aunis</glossary><span>.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
2015 was Julien's first <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> In the vines, the inherited greatness of the <glossary title="305">Clos</glossary>'s <glossary title="1026">terroir</glossary> remains respected: the land is worked by horse and the soils are permitted to exist in harmony with the hundreds of plants and insects that inhabit them. Julien's wife is an agronomist, so future plans for the land include fruit trees and free-roaming animals to push <glossary title="815">polyculture</glossary> to the next level. In the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="254">cellar</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> no addition of <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> is used at any point and Julien favors long <glossary title="418">élevages</glossary> of his <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="363">cuvées</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> often releasing them 12 to 24 months after <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="521">harvest</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
Article
producer visit05.08.2019
This visit with Julien Pineau took place in June, 2016
<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's not. The Clos Roche Blanche vineyard is the most written about on this website, including a nine part recap on my experience <glossary title="521">harvesting</glossary> the <glossary title="427">estate</glossary>'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. Also, read Julien's profile! <br />
<br />
Meeting up with Julien would be one of few uplifting moments of our two weeks in the <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 <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1135">frost</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="1136">hail</glossary> and/or <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1137">mildew</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> This sector also includes Noëlla Morantin, Maisons Brûlées and 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.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. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//2a/b6/2ab61fe85a854caaba35b56fec03bec0.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f6/ad/f6adeafa9a2ef214fd010430b4600496.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//d4/22/d422a42354fc75bac2fe5f1cfcff9718.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//51/0b/510b44e4deb3e26d6d5e9b1514331aae.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//f5/6e/f56e7aba96b12ac840a376dee9d52f04.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//23/7d/237d630aeb1fe16994c44528316f2386.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//4e/9b/4e9be67f5d3f3fa877a7e2838a919f47.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//6c/82/6c820daa2a1efa93da1188b4c6c8fcf0.jpg" /><br />
<br />
What a relief to see some healthy <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1138">bunches</glossary><span>!</span></span></span></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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.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 Pépière. Yikes...<br />
<br />
Continuing our walk, Julien explained how he and Laurent Saillard, the other co-owner of<strong> </strong>the Clos Roche Blanche, have ripped out some very old, unproductive <glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary> and <glossary title="366">Côt</glossary> vines that Noëlla Morantin used to rent. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//31/ac/31ac581eef6789b07f8417ee8f3a67d9.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//93/7f/937fdd0be92b0eda88ac61c6a78eeb4a.jpg" /></p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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 the <glossary title="1139">indigenous</glossary> and obscure <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="648">Menu Pineau</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but also apple and pear trees. <br />
<br />
<em>"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."</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> 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 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> he trained under while working with Didier <span class="zalup"><span>(<glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="366">Côt</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="799">Pineau d'Aunis</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary>) and Laurent works the six <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> he worked as the long time employee of Noëlla Morantin. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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. </p>
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<em>"He purchased a ribbon and we did a fake opening ceremony. We drank a bottle of bubbles in there to celebrate."</em><br />
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From the cabin, we went to check out the old <glossary title="366">Côt</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="799">Pineau d'Aunis</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//4b/d4/4bd46ddcca667059023e6bb094f15f6e.jpg" /></p>
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<p>It really started raining at this point, so we had to take refuge in the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> to taste. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.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.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>
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<p>In Julien's first <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> two <glossary title="927">Sauvignons</glossary> were produced à la Clos Roche Blanche N#2 and N#5. The spring <glossary title="185">bottling</glossary> is called "Roche Blanche". For reds, the spring <glossary title="185">bottling</glossary> resulted in a <glossary title="216">Cabernet Franc </glossary>called "L'Écume des Nuits" and a <glossary title="799">Pineau d'Aunis</glossary> called "Les Sucettes à l'Aunis". The latter is a pun riffing on Serge Gainsbourg'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">pétillant naturel</glossary> from <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary> called "Bocca di Rosa"<em> </em>rounds out the lineup. <br />
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Julien has purchased all of CRB's <glossary title="142">barrels</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1140">tanks</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> which we diligently tasted through for wines still being <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="74">aged</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
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These included the younger <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="366">Côt</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="740">old vine</glossary> <glossary title="366">Côt</glossary> and <glossary title="462">foudre</glossary> raised <span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="927">Sauvignon</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Everything is tasting great. <br />
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It was lunch time, and since Catherine knew I was coming, she made sure to stock up on a little bit of cheese. </p>
<p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Aug_05//ad/59/ad596b2ba1334cbc3fccac52edb31559.jpg" /><br />
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It made me happier than a gnome with his arms up or a cat in a basket. </p>
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