It may have been May, but it felt like November as we arrived at Melaric in Saumur. It was cold, blustery and the rain beat down incessantly on the roof…
Loire adventure: Bernard Baudry, Chinon
Next stop on the Loire adventure was Chinon, with Matthieu Baudry of Domaine Bernard Baudry. The domaine was created by Bernard, father of Matthieu, back in 1975, and Matthieu joined…
Loire adventure: Clau de Nell, Anjou
There’s an interesting story behind Anjou-based biodynamic winery Clau de Nell, which was the next stop on our Loire tour. Christian Jacques was married to the late Anne Claude Leflaive,…
Loire adventure: Vincent Carême, Vouvray
The drive from Montlouis to Vouvray took us past the famous troglodyte residences built into the tufa (soft limestone) cliffs that follow the Cher and Loire rivers. Here, homes and…
Loire adventure: the film
This is a film of our Loire Valley wine adventure. We started with a day in Paris, then we head to Sancerre, before working our way up the Loire to…
Loire adventure: Taille aux Loups, Montois, with Jacky Blot
We finished our appointment at Puzelat and headed to Amboise. It was a beautiful sunny evening, and we were quite excited, because we were staying in a castle right in…
Loire adventure: Clos du Tue Boeuf with Jean-Marie Puzelat
This was quite a visit at Clos du Tue Boeuf. I’ve met Thierry Puzelat before, and I’ve tasted these wines a bit. They are brought into the UK by Les…
Loire adventure: in Sancerre with Joseph Mellot
We drove from Paris for just over two hours to the beautiful town of Sancerre, looking gorgeous in the May sunshine. Our visit here was with Joseph Mellot, a relatively…
The world’s flintiest vineyard?
I have seen a lot of vineyards in my relatively short career, but this one was one of the most remarkable. Flint on flint. Back in 2009, Domaine Michel Redde…