Loire France
Grape variety: Tana
In 2008, when it rained a lot until August, I bought Tana grown in LeGers from a friend. Harvested in September, pressed, fermented and aged for 7 months in several types of cement tanks before bottling. Beautiful ruby pink, Sato Nishiki, plum, strawberry scent, sweet berry and floral aroma, well-balanced taste and fruity sweetness spreads, and the rich fruity feeling continues even after.
Situated east of Tours in the Loire region between the Loire and Cher rivers, AC Montlouis was certified in 1938 and produces white wines from dry to sweet Cheninblanc. Starting with the appearance of M.JackyBLOT, various producers including the late Stephane Cossais have increased the awareness of this AC.
Franz Somon is a brewer who started making wine in 2002 and is now Domaine.
In 2009, we established the negociant company UnSaumondanslaLoire (Anne Saumon Dan La Loire), and are actively working. I was interested in pesticide-free farming and chose Montlouis because I wanted to try Chenin Blanc. There is no end to the pesticide-free work in the field. His field is 4 hectares, but the owner did the opposite farming method to pesticide-free, so the work was endless in the first year. There is also a budget relationship, and the field can't be purchased from the beginning. I bought 1ha and rented the remaining 3ha. This 3 ha will also be purchased in the future. Can you imagine how hard it must be for just one person to switch from chemical fertilizers to pesticide-free farms on 4ha? Grapes harvested from a field that receives a lot of energy in this way are exceptional. His fields are getting better every year. After drinking his Montlouis for the first time in a long time, it is a wonderful wine that has been baptized better than the wine in 2002. The young Franz has always been impressive to me, but now he has joined the ranks of the big names, and Mr. Gregory Leclear has worked as an apprentice at Franz's place, and is in a position to train and guide young brewers. is. An experienced brewer with just the right amount of fat. After all, this kind of wine is a line that I would like you to put on the list. (Junko Arai)
Since March 2019 Franz shares the brewery and maturation area with his partner Marie Thibault. From my home and brewery in Montlouis, which I have been using for a long time, to a village called valleres, which takes about an hour by car even if I use the highway, I use a cave (very large) as a brewery and aging place, and various kinds of wine are produced. I own tanks, amphoras, and barrels. There is a house right across the cave, and Marie and her two daughters live happily every day. In this new curve, Negos is brewed, and it is a technique that can be done because there is a large place to put the tank, but we can use different tanks according to the characteristics of each millejim and the characteristics of the grapes, and each cuvée has a different aging time. We are brewing in a very good environment where you can put it on. In the old cave in Montlouis, we are brewing domaine wines using our own grapes, and in a few years, we will be able to unveil the domaine red wine made from Caux and Pinot Noir planted in a new field near the new cave. (Visit January 2020)
