Back in 'Crac 2020. A chat with Vincent Alexis

Back in ‘Crac. A Chat With Vincent Alexis

If all goes to plan, this time tomorrow we should have begun unloading a small mountain of wine from Chateau Barouillet, including a much needed top-up of the Splash pet nat, the new 2019 Pecharmant, and the 2020 vintages of the deeply-missed Bergecrac Blanc & Rouge.

We caught up with Vincent last week on his first sunny morning after 10 days of consecutive rain, to discuss the imminent arrivals and how the April frost had left things looking for 2021.

Bergecrac Rouge 2020 - Cab Sav, Cab Franc, Merlot, Malbec

"With the drought in 2020, yeasts were very low so we haven't been able to make as much this year. The grapes for Bergecrac Rouge in particular really fell victim to the heat. We've kept it fresh though, doing nice short macerations for everything: the maximum maceration in the 2020 blend is just 7 days.

"There's no extraction, we just do one pump over at the beginning of the fermentation and then that's it- so it's almost more like an infusion. We try to respect the juice & the fruit as much as possible."

Bergecrac Blanc 2020 - Sav Blanc, Sav Gris, Semillon, Chenin

"The whites coped in the heat better than the reds, and Bergecrac Blanc is a little more complex this year. Still nice and fresh, thanks to the Chenin. Everything is vinified separately, but blended together before ageing.

"It's lovely and round up front, but then super clean and fresh at the end. It's really nice this year.
Both the Bergecracs are bottled without any sulphur."

Pecharmant 2019 - Merlot, Cab Sav, Cab Franc
"The 2019 will be quite different to the 2018, it's the first vintage where we did a portion as whole-bunch for Pecharmant. It's just 30% whole-bunch, layered in the tank with the de-stemmed grapes like... like a lasagne!
It gives some freshness, some more fruit to the wine, we're really happy with that.

"We have 6 hectares in Pecharmant, and this cuvee is the blend of all the plots. For 2019 we didn't make any Hecate. The yeasts were quite low so we decided to just make one cuvee from these plots, so now the fruit from that flint heavy terroir is in the blend now too. Hecate will return for the 2020 vintage but it will be quite different... I'm super excited when it's ready to bottle to see what people think."

When we last spoke in late March, you were concerned about the imminent cold-snap as you'd had such an early bud-break. How are things looking after the frost?

"After the first couple of days of frost in April it looked like we had lost a lot, much more-so than in 2017. We were really sad. But now, with the second bud break, things are actually not looking too bad. We're quite happy with how it is growing again, I'd say we're going to have grapes for sure!

"The thing we're now waiting for is the flowering on the vine, which can be complicated after a frost. So we could have lots of grapes, or we could lose everything at flowering. Generally after a frost the flowering can be pretty risky. That should be happening in 2-3 weeks, we're waiting for that and hoping for a good sunny time until then!

"That's the next really important step for the vintage. We're waiting and hoping, we need it to be warmer now, the vines are a little yellow, they need the sun again. But it's 25 degrees outside today for the first time so we're full of hope!"

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Alsace... At Last!

Vins d'Alsace Rietsch

France, Alsace, Mittelbergheim

The long-awaited Blanc & Rouge au Litre 2019 have finally landed!

We've had a chat with Jean-Pierre:

"The Blanc au Litre 2019 consists of Auxerrois and Riesling. I have actually also added a good amount from the 2018 harvest, as we've had an abundance of wine that year, compared to 2019. Actually there is even more 2018 than 2019 juice in this wine, I would say about 2/3 of 2018 and 1/3 of 2019. As as a result the wine is more creamy and round. It was just bottled in April but I have the feeling it doesn't need much more time to mature, it is ready to drink now. This is an Edelzwicker cuvee, which is an Alsace appellation. Next year it will be Vin de France like the red one."

"The 2018 addition had long aging on lees. As it was a great harvest that year we didn't have to sort out much rotten grapes, they were pretty good quality already. They then went onto the pneumatic press. I have added a small amount of sulphur into the 2/3 of wine of 2018, but none into 2019. In general the sulphur amount is still very low.

"What is new for the Rouge au Litre 2019 is that it now has an addition of Pinot Gris, so the appellation changed to Vin de France. In Alsace, if you want to keep the Edelzwicker appellation for the reds, you are only allowed to put in Pinot Noir, no Pinot Gris. So that is the reason for the change.
The wine is made from a semi-carbonic fermentation and was macerated for 22 days. It was then aged in steel vats for six months. I have added 10mg of sulphur on bottling.

"This year the harvest is already looking quite good. We've had a good amount of rain over the winter months, which brought a good water reserve to the soil for dryer days. The vines are developing lovely so far, we are now at the end of the flowering phase, with the fruits starting to set very soon. Right now the cool temperatures in Alsace are helping to keep the growth spurts in control."

Now in Stock

WHITE
NEW 2019 Blanc au Litre - Riesling, Auxerrois


RED
NEW 2019 Rouge au Litre - Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris


SPARKLING
2016/17 Extra Brut - Non Dose - Auxerrois, Chardonnay
Natural fermentation from indigenous yeasts. Aged in the tank for one year. Bottling was done with an addition of fresh grape juice from the new crop in 2018.

WHOLESALE ONLY

FOR PRICE LIST ENQUIRIES, EMAIL hello@winesutb.com 

Save the Date: 10th November 2019 - Stockport SK1 1JY

WTLGI Wine Fair

We are excited to announce that we will be part of the wine fair at Where The Light Gets In in Stockport. The fair will take place on Sunday 10 of November 2019, open to general public and trade between 11am and 5pm.

Participating: Tutto wines, Wines Under the Bonnet, Otros Vinos, Newcomers wines, Kiffe my wines, Modal wines including guest wine makers.

Tickets are £20 and will include a glass and the opportunity to meet people we value grandly, the importers and the makers and taste the very best wine available in the UK. It will be possible to purchase food as well during the fair, cheese from the Courtyard dairy, pies from Littlewoods butcher and salads from Isca.  

Tickets are now available prior to the general release for friends and fellow industry people - we would like you to be there!
 

"Once again we are celebrating the people behind what we do and we are inviting 6 importers that we have been working closely with in the past 3 years. They are all engaging fully in a system that we believe in and work with winemakers that produced wines with precision and responsibility, culminating in a balance that both nourishes the body and sustains our eco-system. We pick from our own continent, harnessing the knowledge, ethical practice and exacting standards of these winemakers. 

"We were at the forefront of bringing most of these importers and their wines in this part of the country. And we are now getting all of them under our roof to share and celebrate what they do, and the relationships we created through the years. It is a celebration and chance for everyone to meet, drink and share stories."

- Caroline Dubois, Sommelier

See you there!

A Chat with Fergus Clague

Fergus Clague

France, Languedoc, Junas

Born and bred in South London, Fergus and his wife Vicky ran Hand Made Food in Blackheath for 21 years. In 2014, blown by a wind of change, Fergus and family arrived in the south of France.

The wine story started when Fergus met Thierry Forestier, Laurent Bagnol, Yves & Vincent Moulin and Olivier Pichon at Quilles de Joie, a natural wine festival in Souvignargues (Gard), France. None of them were represented in London so he took a suitcase full of their wines and did tastings all over London with several importers. And it all went from there...

In 2015 they lived on a domain outside of Montpellier as negociants and in return for that they got to make a small amount of their first vintage, ‘Press in the Vines’, a soft and easy drinking Cinsault.

In 2017 they produced 900 bottles of 'Gout Elles', a blend of Grenache and Carignan. The name means 'grappions' - the little bunches on the top of the vines which people usually leave behind during harvest. At that point in time they still didn’t have their our own vines, so Thierry Forestier kindly let them pick the grapes he had left from his vineyard.

Then in 2018, they had the very first harvest on their very own parcel two miles away from their cave. They produced ‘Echappez’ and we now have it - right here - right now...


Tell us about the 2018 Echappez we have just received
I now rent a parcel of Grenache, it is 0.3ha on limestone on a lovely slope. The vines are about 80 years old. Last year was our first harvest and it was fantastic, we've had a really lovely crop. We had two tons of lovely grapes and produced a total of 1200 bottles.


What is the meaning behind the name?
Echappez is the imperative of 'escape'. It basically means 'get out of here'. For us it was partly about escaping from London.


How are you enjoying your life in France?
It's cool, we like it. We've got two teenage boys and they are both pretty happy.


How did the 2019 harvest go so far?
This year in July we've had over 46 degrees for a couple of days. I am a complete beginner when it comes to winemaking and had treated the grapes a couple of days before. They got burned really badly, I was devastated. But there were loads of people in the same boat as me. The heat was terrible and as a result the sugar concentration was quite high, so the issue was the yeast converting all of it.

In total we've harvested one ton, with a really high sugar concentration. So what we did was we went and we picked some Grenache that was lower in sugar at the domaine Mas de la Font Ronde nearby. So this year we've got two cuvees: one which is made from our own super ripe Grenache, and the other one of the less ripe Grenache from the other vineyard. They are both interesting and hopefully by next spring I can put them together, that's the idea.


Which wines do you enjoy drinking besides your own?
'Aramonix' from Thierry Forestier is pretty much 'THE reference' for me.


So, is Thierry a really good friend of yours?
Yes, it wouldn't have been possible without him. He has helped us a great deal and whenever I have a problem, Thierry is the first person I ring. He has been very generous. I do try and make up for it with my cooking skills. For example, this year we will be doing the cooking at theQuilles de Joiefestival for the 4th year in a row. That is just such a lovely event and as we don't get paid for it, that is my opportunity to make up for all the favours that everyone has done for me. Normally there are a couple of chefs who come out from the UK, too. It's a great opportunity for them to understand how to drink all day but then still put in a good evening's work!


What can you tell us about your future plans?
We've got a couple of nice two-year-old barrels coming from Bourgogne. This year we are going to do some barrel aging, partly because there is still some sugar left in the Grenache we've harvested this year. That really needs to be left in a barrel over the winter in order for it to finish.

Now in stock

Red

NEW 2018 Echappez - Grenache
"10 days of maceration carbonique, manually pressed in basket press - that’s why it has a really bright colour as it was lightly extracted. Aged in inox. We bottled it in May this year. It is a wine which has a potential to develop over time."

We can't wait to see where Ferg's journey takes him!

For any wholesale and stock enquiries, please contact hello@winesutb.com

New Producer Aboard: Terres de ROA

Terres de ROA

France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Monetay-sur-Allier

Loren Tisserand was introduced to us by Vincent Alexis (Château Barouillet) at the Biotop wine fair in Montpellier last January. We were quite intrigued as we were neither familiar with wines from the Saint-Pourçain region before, nor the Tressalier grape variety. We obviously liked the wines and now here we are!

The vineyard of Terres de ROA extends over 18.5 hectares spread over the communes of Monétay sur Allier (sandy soils) and Breuilly Cesset (granitic soils). It is run by Lauren and her parents Claudine and Luc Tisserand.

They work with four grape varieties: Chardonnay, Gamay and Pinot Noir, which are common in this region of the Loire Valley - and the Tressallier grape variety, which is grown only in Saint-Pourçain.

The vineyard is farmed organically in respect of the soils and the nature. Tillage or controlled grassing alternates between rows of vines in order to enrich microbiological life, promote biodiversity and aerate the soil. A fertilizing vegetable compost is also put in place. It is the only Domaine in the Saint-Pourçain AOC Appellation in Organic Agriculture certified by Ecocert in 2009.

Their philosophy: just let nature take its place.

We've had a chat with Loren Tisserand:

What have you been up to before you have joined your parents' business?
My parents created the domaine in 2006 and I joined in 2015.
Before that I lived in Paris and worked at Fauchon, a luxury grocery store. I then studied in Beaune, Burgundy, where I met my husband who has just started a new job there. I then decided to join my parents' business.

What are your responsibilities?
I work in the vineyard, cellar as well as the shop.

What do you like most/least about your job?
I like everything except the fact that I don't have enough time. It should get easier next year when we will downsize from 18 to 11 hectares, as our lease will expire.

What does the name ROA stand for?
Raisins (Grapes) – Organics – Attitude 

Tell us about your 2018 harvest: What were your challenges? What went particularly well? 
The year was way too hot and dry. Like for many other winemakers, during the vinification the fermentation was complicated due to a lack of energy in the juice. But, in the end, I can say we've had a great result both quality and quantity-wise.

Who creates the wine labels and what is their meaning?
My mother usually designs the labels but I have created the ones for Dans l'Absolu and Dans ma Sph'R. Both mean translated something like being in your own sphere, being whole. The label is a nod to my own childhood as I was often in a world of my own as a little girl.

Are there any new winemaking techniques or tools you'd like to experiment with?
I started to work with plants and I want to progress with this. I especially like working with nettles.

Which wines do you enjoy drinking besides your own?
I enjoy Malbec wines from Cahors, South West of France.

Now in stock

White
NEW 2018 Tresse a Lier - Tressallier
Manual harvest. 20 to 40-year-old vines. Indigenous yeasts. Vines vinified and matured independently in vats for five months and blended one month before bottling. Bottled with a small addition of sulfur.

NEW 2018 Dans l'Absolu (Cuvée A) - Tressallier (60%) – Chardonnay (40%)
Manual harvest. 15 to 50-year-old vines. Vinified and matured independently in vats for eight months and blended two months before bottling. Bottled with a small addition of sulfur.


Red
NEW 2018 Dans ma Sph'R (Cuvée R) - Gamay (80%) - Pinot Noir (20%)
Manual harvest. 20 to 40-year-old vines. Indigenous yeasts. Vines vinified and matured independently in vats for five months and blended a month before bottling. Bottled with a small addition of sulfur.

For any wholesale and stock enquiries, please contact hello@winesutb.com