Guide
to the Loire regions
Touraine
Azay-le-Rideau
Grower
Profiles
Nicolas
Paget
Nicolas
Paget
can date his viticultural roots back five generations and although the
family originates from Riverennes, they are equally recognised for their
holdings in Chinon after vineyards were acquired through the marriage of
his great-grandfather, Ferdinand Paget. Typically, for the start of the
last century, their holdings included both orchards and vineyards and it
was Ferdinand’s son, Francis, who during a period of rationalization of
the nations orchards instigated a conservatoire to protect
threatened varieties of pear and at the same time establishing the
association for the village’s most renowned produce; the poire
tapée. In 1983, Francis gave way to his son James who, along with the
Chinon vineyards inherited ten hectares within the Azay-le-Rideau
boundary. Together, James and his wife Genèvive, ran the domaine together
until the arrival of the youthful looking Nicolas in 2001. James, now
officially retired, still manages to keep an eye on his son’s progress.
Nicolas clearly has a love of the land and understand the potential he can
extract from the vines. His approach is very natural and is currently in
the process of converting his vineyards to organic.
There are now five hectares of vines dedicated to the Touraine
Azay-le-Rideau appellation, plus a further 7.5 hectares for the production
of a pair of Touraine Méthode
Traditionelle wines which use both Chenin and Grolleau as their base.
Red wines, produced under the Touraine appellation, are made from Cabernet
Franc and Côt.
Whilst James and Francis had to hone their winemaking skills working in a
series of small caves hewn out of the rock, finance was found, in 2004, to
allow Nicolas the luxury of erecting a purpose built warehouse-cellar
where the hand picked grapes are now delivered, although the tufa cellars
are still utilized for the barrel aged wines which are allowed to follow a
slower and more natural course.
The range begins with Syncopette,
a sparkling wine which uses Chenin as its base. Bottled in January, it
receives the basic nine months on its secondary lees before dégorgement.
The Syncopette Rosé, made
solely from Grolleau, receives the same treatment.
Paget remains a great believer in Grolleau and he sees it as a variety
that receives only bad press but, when handled sympathetically and planted
in the right location, it is capable of delivering its full (if still
relatively modest) potential. His commitment is evident in the fact that
he produces two rosés made solely from this cépage.
The first, Arpège, a Touraine
Azay-le-Rideau is fermented in
stainless steel and bottled the following March with just a few grams of
residual sugar, whilst the Gourmandise,
comes from his older vines and is released (in a rather silly shaped
bottle) slightly later. It too retains some residual sugar (around 8g/l).
The white Mélodie is from young vines and fermented in stainless steel. It is
kept on its fine lees before being bottled in the spring following the
harvest with the resulting wine carrying around five grams of residual
sugar. Opus is from older vines
and is fermented in barrel for around six months. The wine receives no batonnage
and is bottled in May following the harvest. All of the wines above carry
the Touraine Azay-le-Rideau appellation.
In terms of red wines, there is a basic Touraine Rouge Tradition,
produced from a blend of two parts Cabernet Franc to one part Côt which
is released early for summer quaffing. A second red Touraine, Côtcerto is 100% Malbec
planted by Francis between 30 and 40 years ago in the warmer, sandier
soils where maturity never seems an issue. The resulting wine aged in
barrel for around one year.

Paget's
Chinon vineyards at the rear of the Clos de l'Echo
There are two separate cuvées of Chinon. The first,
Ferdinand, is a hommage to
his great-grandfather and comes from three hectares of 50 year old vines
planted on both the plain and slopes around Cravant-les-Côteaux. The wine
is raised in stainless steel and follows the classic Chinon formula; one
spring bottling and a second just before the harvest. The second wine, Symphonique, is from 1.5 hectares of 60 year old vines located
immediately behind the Clos de l’Echo. The wines are aged in 3rd
to 5th fill barrels for 15 months before release.
This is one of the two best addresses in the Azay-le-Rideau appellation
with Nicolas also simultaneously producing very good examples of Chinon.
His wines come recommended. As a postscript, two older wines, produced by
James Paget, a 1996 Chinon and a 2000 Touraine Azay-le-Rideau blanc tasted
at the Le Grand Monarque in Azay in June 2011 were both still in very good
condition, thus proving the durability and quality of their wines.
Nicolas
Paget
7 Route de la Gadouillère
Armentières
Riverennes
T: + 33 2 47 95 54 02
F: + 33 2 47 95 45 90
Domaine.paget@wanadoo.fr
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