Simon and Philippe Tessier, essential vignerons of Cour-Cheverny and Cheverny

9/28/20 -

They are back! The wines of Philippe Tessier have been favorites of the team at CSW for quite some time now. This should come as no surprise to those familiar with Philippe’s work as his wines are undoubtedly among the greatest low intervention wines you can find in this part of the Loire. These wines are sincere in execution and consistently exceed expectations. The eastern Touraine, and more specifically a golden triangle between Cheverny, Mareuil-sur-Cher and Les Montils, as well as both banks of the Cher, have become one of the most important active centers in France for the rebirth of true, living wines, with the likes of Puzelat, Clos Roche Blanche (with their successors Julien Pineau, Laurent Saillard, Noëlla Morantin, etc.), Les Capriades, Bruno Allion, Christophe Foucher and Hervé Villemade. When you think about the concentration of talent in this little corner of Loir-et-Cher, it is just incredible! Philippe has been a force in this movement, as well as one of the main players in the recognition of Cour-Cheverny and the preservation of Romorantin since 1981. 2018 was his last harvest, after which his son Simon officially took control of the 26 ha Domaine. Yet, as Simon puts it “Philippe lives and breathes the vineyards." His father is ever present in the vineyard, helping with the transition. It is great to see such a smooth generational transition of control. Simon understands the work and the legacy of Philippe, and if changes may need to be made to the vineyard (more experiments, continuing to implement more permaculture, cover crop, biodynamic techniques, etc.), these changes will be respectful of the legacy of the estate. So here you are, 2018 and 2019, two very similar and different vintages at the same time, similar as they were both sunny and warm, different as 2018 saw more mildew leading to a smaller, very concentrated crop, while 2019 was more generous in yield - both with great acidity despite the heat! Father and son handled the conditions extremely well to offer us a great line-up of wines denser and riper than usual - yet they managed to preserve the saltiness and the lift they are known for. With Fall upon us, these are perfect wines to enjoy with all the gastronomical treats brought to us this season!

Cheverny, Cour-Cheverny and Sologne.

Just a couple of words on the region. This area is not usually as highly regarded as other appellations of the Loire Valley, and might be completely overlooked if it was not for the Romorantin grape which brings a twist of interesting indigenousness, and this pool of natural winemakers who believed in the potential of their home vineyards. If not (unfortunately) world-famous for wines, the area is without a doubt famous for its iconic castles: Chambord, Chenonceau, Cheverny, Chaumont, Blois, Montrichard, etc. Why did the aristocracy take root in this place? Multiple reasons, including the proximity to Paris (via Orléans), the access to building stones (tuffeau, just west in Montlouis and Vouvray), the mild climate (with the protection of the rivers) and the land. Fertile, flat soils perfect for a large variety of crops including grapes, numerous ponds for fishing, the proximity of the forests for hunting (Chambord was originally designed to be the hunting lodge of Francis the 1st) If you wanted to eat and drink, it was a perfect spot. Since that time, the Sologne Viticole, as it is unofficially called, developed itself as an area of polyculture, and a transition area between the warmer, western influences and cooler continental effects. This is one of the reasons why you have a mix of grapes, and a tradition of blending for Cheverny. One of the other reasons is historical (and commercial), as Francis the 1st indeed asked for a vineyard to be planted in the area. We are pretty sure by now Romorantin was not part of it (more detailed below), but Pinot Noir certainly as the 80,000 vines were called “Plants de Beaune." Being a political center, the number of exchanges, including imports of cuttings, was not surprising. So why was the region not more recognized? Essentially because of transportation: with most of the vineyards on the hills of both banks of the Cher, the wines had to be shipped by this river to reach the Loire where they were usually sent to Orléans with lower quality production (the best being shipped abroad). Phylloxera’s destruction did not help either. You had to wait until after World War II for the first official recognition. In May of 1949 the area was recognized under the designation of “Mont Prés-Chambord, Cour Cheverny” and became AOC Cour-Cheverny in 1993. In 1973 Cheverny gained VDQS recognition, and in 1993 finally gained AOC status. Quality can be found without a doubt, thanks to a mix of soils, and a nice patrimony of old vines allowing the production of original wines, with a distinct personality from the mass of Touraine AOC wines.

Sologne is indeed a flat land, with rolling (low) hills reserved to the bank of the rivers. You are in transitional territory here, and until I visited, I wondered why you had no vineyards between eastern Touraine and the Sancerrois… just forests. Soil and climate variation explain it! The Cretaceous Turonian tuffeau of central Touraine disappeared under younger alluvial soils brought by the different geological phenomena of the Quaternary. There are multiple influences from the many rivers flowing to the Loire, creating terraces of alluvial soils composed of a mix of sands and different types of clay - illite, montmorillonite and smectite. The limestone surfaces stretch out hundred kilometers or so with the Jurassic cuestas of Sancerre. Where you have more sands, on the western side, you find vineyards. For the rest, swamps and forests dominate (with pine trees planted to reclaim the swamp areas.) The forests increase the influence of the continental climate. Northern influences from the Channel are also felt as there is no real barrier north of the Loire but the flat plain of Beauce (the bread belt of France.) This has ,unfortunately, contributed to several hard frost episodes over the last decade…

The Domaine.

The Tessier’s estate covers 26 hectares split between two main islands of 5 ha or so each, nothing being more than 1 ½ miles away from the cellar. They have three main soils, even though they recognize the variations are subtle: a very draining terroir of sand and faluns (a young limestone rich in fossils), easy to work, sensitive to hydric stress, giving the lighter, more fruit-forward wines; some terroir with sands and a different proportion of clay and silt; and a few plots where the Cretaceous limestone is very close to the top soils, giving deeper wines. All are organically farmed since 1998.

The surface is roughly split 50/50 between the white and the red grapes: 6.5 ha of Romorantin, 5 of Sauvignon, 1 of Chardonnay and some Menu Pineau they replanted recently as it is thought that the grape, although not very aromatic, can bring some acidity (it was uprooted because it used to have a hard time ripening, which is not the case this past decade). For the red they grow 6 ha of Pinot Noir, 4.5 of Gamay, .3 of Pineau d’Aunis they planted 10 years ago and some Côt. 90% is planted on 3309 rootstock, better suited than Riparia for sandy soil. They both own and rent the vines.

Simon joined back the estate at the end of 2017. He always loved wine, but his first career was on the other side of the industry - for 8 years he worked in a wine shop in Nantes where he discovered the world of wine, and could taste from all over France, but also Europe and the rest of the world. He gained knowledge of the distribution network and the retail business, an experience he has found to be quite useful now that he is a winemaker. But in 2017 he decided his future was in the vineyard, and after training in the Amboise viticulture school (where Damien Delecheneau teaches) and interning at François Chidaine and Antoine Arena, he came back to harvest in 2018. He works closely in the vineyards with Philippe who remained at the estate after the “official” transition. In the cellar things are very simple - everything is hand-harvested, then pressed or macerated in a mix of different types of vessels and sizes, including a Georgian qvevri (Philippe visited with Thierry Puzelat and his gang a couple of years ago). Fermentations are spontaneous, malo is done for the white, sulfur dioxide is added with parsimony, depending on the cuvée and the pH. Wines may be filtered, especially if there are some residual sugars - but most of the reds are not. The Tessier website is up-to-date if you want to have all the numbers for each wine! The line up is mostly based on the age of the vines. For the reds, they started to do single-variety bottling a couple of years ago, when certain barrels tasted unique to Philippe. They may not produce them every year.

Romorantin.

Just a note on this grape, as Philippe and Simon are very fond of it, which makes me very happy! Once again, we can thank Henri Galinié and his work on Loire grape varieties. In this case, I am referring to this one - Les noms Framboise, Dannery, Romorantin (1712-1904). In terms of origins, forget the story about Romorantin being brought from Burgundy when Francis the 1st created his vineyard. Like the 1709 frost and Muscadet, there is no historic validation of it. What we know - thanks to historians, grape geneticists and vignerons - is that Romorantin is one of the names used, and not the first one (it was Framboise, which in 18th century French means “delicate smell” - it also means raspberry). The grape with its multiple synonyms seems to appear in the 18th century, and arrived around Cour-Cheverny in the early 19th century. It is a cross between Pinot Teinturier (a mutation of Pinot Noir which gives darker juice) and Gouais, relating it to Chardonnay and Melon. It is a rustic grape, budding early, ripening later than usually written about it (for example it is always the last grape to be harvested at Tessier’s, whatever the style, usually a good week after the reds). It produces significant yield according to Philippe, so you have to prune it short to get something interesting, and ripe. Its acidity is striking. The stems and the berries have a reddish color. The cluster is compact, but when ready to be picked the skin is quite fragile. Romorantin is very sensitive to Botrytis, and can make very unique noble rot bottlings. When young, it can be confused with Chardonnay. It needs some time in the bottle to reveal its honey, acacia, jasmine, almond milk notes. With age, it makes me think of it as Chenin crossed with an Aligoté. It is very versatile in style, from bone dry to sweet, bubbles, and even skin-maceration. The best ones can age 10-15 years at least, as I was lucky to experiment in their dry and off-dry versions. This is really a very interesting grape, and we need to thank those who fought to preserve the 70ha (20% of Central Park's surface) currently planted with this variety, including some 150 year old vines saved at Henry Marionnet which cuttings were used to replant a vineyard in the Château de Chambord! Philippe and Simon Tessier are without a doubt some of the pillars of Romorantin preservation! Without their work and their love for this grape, it would be even harder to taste it and enjoy its uniqueness! They farm 6.5 ha - one the largest holdings, with those of Michel Gendrier, François Cazin and Hervé Villemade. The Tessier produce up to 6 different cuvées of Romorantin in the best years, including a skin-macerated, a late-harvest and a sparkling. Is this not love...

Conclusion

Philippe and now Simon Tessier are making soulful wines, true to their terroir. They are both complex and easy to drink which is not easy to achieve. In warmer years like 2018 and 2019, the vineyard work paid off without a doubt! The entire line up the shows upfront juicy ripeness supported by a backbone of structure you expect from the domain. Without a doubt these are great wines to enjoy in the next months, but don’t hesitate to cellar the Romorantin, especially the Les Sables et La Porte Dorée. Riper vintages are really good for Romorantin, and the 2018, with its concentration, is guaranteed to be layered and delicious in 10 years or so!