Guide
to the Loire regions
Côte
Roannaise
Grower
Profiles

Bouchéran
vineyard
Philippe
et Jean-Marie Vial
The Vial’s have their roots firmly set in the region,
being part of the Plasse dynasty that have been here since the 17th
Century. The domaine is run by two brothers; Philippe, who joined his
father, Marcel, in 1991 and who is the current president of the local
Roannaise growers syndicate, and Jean-Marie, who has worked with Philippe
since 1998 when Marcel officially retired (although he is still a regular
feature in the Vials tasting room). In addition to vines, they maintain a
small herd of Charolais beef cattle.
The brothers tend 9.5 hectares of vines, all of which are within the
commune of Saint-André, including 3.5 hectares of 50 to 75 year old vines
in the Bouchéran lieu-dit. They
have also in the past few years planted one hectares worth of Chardonnay
and Viognier for Vin de Pays.
WINE
OVERVIEW:
The wines are made in a new cellar at the foot of the
slope, just off the main D8 road that runs parallel with the slope. This
square, functional, if soulless, facility houses a combination of cement
and stainless steel tanks. In the past couple of years, they have
introduced a barrel aged cuvée, which has seen the Vials investing in oak
for the first time in 1991.
The Vials rosé is made by maceration, direct press or
saignée methods, depending on the conditions of the harvest. There
are four reds in their selection; the ‘Découverte’ comes from lighter
sandier soils and receives a short, one week, fermentation is designed for
early drinking. The ‘Bouthéran’ enjoys more serious attention with a
10 to 12 day cuvaison followed
by six months of ageing in tank. ‘Vieilles Vignes’ is all from hand
harvested bush vines that are now over 50 years old, and the ‘Fût de Chêne’
comes from the same old plot, but this is raised in seven old oak barrels
with the malolactic performed in the wood.
They were also one of the first three producers, in 2007, to release a
sparkling Gamay. Their example called ‘Pink Bulles’ contains 27g/l of
residual sugar and 9.5% alcohol. It has a second fermentation of five
months, by which time the pressure in the bottle has reached 5 bars (about
the same as Champagne).
THE WINES:
I’ve visited the Vials on both of my visits to the
Roannaise and whilst they tend to be considered as one of the benchmark
producers locally, I have not been inspired by their wines. This, again,
might be a function of the weakness of the 2007 vintage showing through,
but with the exception of a pretty good, cru
Beaujolais quality ‘Bouthéran’ release in 2005, the wines are a
little too pedestrian.
Philippe et Jean-Michel Vial
Bel Air
Saint-André d’Apchon
T: + 33 4 77 65 81 04
P: + 33 6 88 67 21 75
P: + 33 6 88 37 83 80
F: + 33 4 77 65 91 99
Geac.vial@akeonet.com
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