ICI, COMMENÇE LA LOIRE

HERE, THE LOIRE BEGINS

Bonjour Cru,

I hope you have some powder dry for these. They are among my favorites wines we import and far too many have hit the recycling bin at our house. Many of you will recognize the labels and reply straight away. Such is the following for these wines around here.

But first, let's start with some trivia...In what year did the following occur?

• Edison makes electricity available for household use
• Pulitzer buys the St. Louis Dispatch
• First telephone installed in the White House

That would be 1878. Everyone on earth that was alive then has been gone for more than twenty-five years by now. This was also the same year that Jean-Claude Chaucesse's great, great grandfather planted Gamay vines on a small parcel of rose-hued granite near the city of Roanne. It was just four years after the phylloxera epidemic that killed nearly every vine in France. These same vines still stand, still yield fruit (although not much), and annually make some of the finest bottles of wine I've come across in my 25 years of doing this.

They may be the oldest vines in the Loire, and among the oldest in all of France.

This area is the Loire's most upstream appellation. And even though the river meanders quite a way to here from its headwaters in the Ardeche, a sign on the main wine road approaching from Roanne reads "Ici, commençe la Loire"--Here, the Loire Begins.

I spent a pretty and glorious afternoon with Jean-Claude in 2015. I told him that I had visited a few other wineries in the region earlier that day and he winked at me as if to say, "well, you finished up at the right place." Four hours later I had made a new friend. We tasted some incredible wine together, learned an even more incredible story, and then we agreed to work together, with a handshake, while sitting at his kitchen table.

My kind of day.

Jean-Claude had never exported his wine before, and largely still doesn't. Anywhere. His family has made wine in the village of Renaison (Côte Roannaise) for 13 generations, having started in 1610 (!) The land, the buildings, everything, has been passed from father to son over all those years. Prior generations also farmed Charolais cattle and grazed their stock on the high pastures above the village. But the wine? The wine has stayed near home, sold predominantly to locals, and elsewhere in France. And mostly still does.

Every year since our first visit together, Jean-Claude is quick to warn me that he doesn't have much of anything available. So every year, I gladly take whatever he allocates for us. Today, I want to offer you two different of his bottlings from the youthful, approachable, and delicious 2019 vintage. We have 20 cases of each arriving later this fall.

These are a smart buy for ANY wine lover.

Cuvée 1878 Cote Roannaise 2019

Regular at $27, on pre-arrival today for just $22

In 2010 Jean-Claude and his wife Laetitia decided to commemorate the 400th anniversary of their heritage winery La Paroisse (the Parish) by creating a special wine produced only from these old vines. They appropriately decided to name it 1878. Elegant and simple. 

The old vines comprise only a portion of an hectare and the cuvée tops out at just a few thousand bottles each year. My notes from our first ever tasting together read: "Holy hell. So pretty and juicy. Red fruits, succulent & mineral; mouthwatering. J-C thinks the wine can age for 6-10 years, and then says, 'but why would you?' Sweet on the lips, incredible length. Elizabeth would love this!"

And every year, those notes continue to be apropos. For this year, I wouldn't change a thing.

Coup de Foudre 'Vieilles Vignes' Cote Roannaise 2019

Regular at $21, on pre-arrival today for just $17

Coup de Foudre ("love at first sight" in French) is made from some of Jean-Claude's, ahem, "Old Vine" Gamay--from between 80-110 years old, and in a style that was favored by his father and grandfather before him. In this case it means a 1-year aging in old, upright barrels (foudres) to allow a silky, warm mouthfeel that gives way to layers and layers of concentrated Gamay fruit. A very fine wine that will make many of you pay more attention to this part of France, especially given the ridiculous $17 pricetag!

I would invite you to order whatever mix you'd like at a further 5% off any six bottles, or 10% off solid or mixed cases. But to make it easy, here is an even-Steven mixed 6-pack, comprised of three bottles of each, at even slightly better price:

La Paroisse Old Vines Gamay 6-pack

3 bottles each of 2019 Cuvée 1878 and 2019 Coup de Foudre

Just $109 on the six-pack (regular at $144)

This is a pre-arrival offer that I expect to be in our warehouse sometime around Thanksgiving, and ready for pickup or shipping not long thereafter. To order yours please simply reply to this email with your request and I'll confirm with you ASAP. Or, you can click any of the links above to read more and place your order on-line.

Cheers!

Dan