Naturally Loire: New Arrivals from Philippe Delmée and Domaine Jousset!
9/7/18 -
Anyone who knows about Chambers St. Wines knows that our fascination and love for Loire Valley wines is longstanding. With that in mind, and as our duty to the wine-drinking public, we present some delicious new arrivals from two of our favorite domains!
Though we have only worked with Philippe Delmee for two years now, it feels as if we've known him and his wines for a long time. One part of this is his kindhearted and welcoming nature, and the other is how much his wines remind us of some of our favorite producers from the area. It's no wonder that Philippe worked alongside Benoit ("Beni) Courault, for example, as the aromatics and energy of his wines are reminiscent of Courault's. A math teacher in his former life, Philippe became interested in wine in the early 2000's, and after studying for 2 years, began commuting from Brittany to Angers, in the Loire Valley.
during his commuting days.
He worked with the aforementioned Benoit Courault and at Domaine des Griottes, before eventually making his start with one hectare (about 2 acres) that Courault helped him find in Faye D'Anjou. He now has about 6 hectares total, spread over multiple small vineyard parcels. His approach has always been low-intervention, with the use of only copper and small amounts of sulfur in the vineyard, along with biodynamic and plant-based treatments. Most of his wines are started with a "pied de cuve," which is a small batch of wine that is introduced to a larger vat of fresh juice once there are healthy yeast populations going. Though he uses a fraction of a mg/l of SO2 (usually around .5 or even less) with the pied de cuve, he does not add at any other stage, during aging or at bottling. His reds have always been vibrant, zingy, and thirst quenching. The whites, all from Chenin Blanc, are serious and structured, owing much of their minerality to the schiste soils of Faye d'Anjou. The Pet-nats are just plain fun! We don't have all of his bottlings available at the moment, but we did just receive a shipment and the wines are tasting great.
Lise and Bertrand Jousset make superb natural wines at ther small estate in Montlouis-sur-Loire, and we're happy to offer some returning favorites as well as two delicious new wines. Like many other growers in the Loire, the Joussets have been hit by severe frosts in 2016 and 2017 which have destroyed a large percentage of their crop. Forced to look elsewhere for grapes, Lise and Bertrand have created new wines in their "Exilé" series, with the help of organic and biodynamic growers in other regions, such as thier vibrant and delicious 2017 Menetou-Salon Exilé Rouge. Using grapes from 40 year-old vines in biodynamic farming on Kimmeridgian soils purchased from Philippe Gilbert, the Joussets harvested the grapes and vinified and bottled the wine (with zero added SO2) at the Gilbert estate in Menetou-Salon. The result is pure juice with no additives that is 100% "gouleyant," as the French would say - very little wine is available, be sure to try it! Another new release is the 2015 Chardonnay "Les Audouines" from the Joussets vines on sandy clay soils in Touraine, recently bottled after two years in old barrels, also with no added SO2. It's a unique, quite complex and full-bodied Chardonnay that will be a great pairing with a spicy ceviche and fish or chichen in sauce. And of course we're happy to have three of the Jousset's superb sparkling wines back in stock - two Pet Nats and a Methode Traditionelle, all of which are incredibly delicious - don't miss them!
Article co-authored by Eben & David Lillie
