Côtes du Forez
Grower Profiles
Domaine
du Poyet
The Arnaud
family has long since been associated with the vineyards of the Forez,
although had, since the early 1960s, supplied their crop to the
co-operative. When Jean-Francois Arnaud took over the running of this
mixed agriculture farm in 1995, all this was set to change. Leaving his
career as a mechanic, he put himself through viticultural school in
In his
cellar in the hamlet of Le Poyet, just to the south of Marcilly-le-Châtel,
Arnaud makes a clean and lively unwooded Vin
de Pays d’Urfé Chardonnay, followed by four wines under the Côtes
du Forez appellation. The first is his light, chalky Rosé produced from a combination of pressurage direct and saignée
which, with its red fruit expression and fine thread of acidity, is
certainly one of the best examples tasted from the 2008 vintage, and
accounts for around one-quarter of the domaine’s production. The red
range commences with a Fruité,
fermented using semi-carbonic maceration to extract fruit but not tannin
to ensure a light, early drinking style, the 2008 being a good effort in a
difficult year. The Cuvée Poyet is more corsé
and a little reductive ; chalky textured, but with good balance,
whilst the Cuvée
des Vieux Ceps is from his oldest 1.5ha parcel, with bunches that
are mostly destemmed and pumped over during fermentation to extract more
tannin and which benefits from longer ageing in bottle.
Jean-François
Arnaud looks like the sort of man you’d entrust your Peugeot to for a
service, but despite this he is clearly a competent winemaker, capable of
delivering well made and some of the most worthy examples of the
appellation. He’s probably not in the same league as some of his peers,
but neither should he be overlooked. I liked the man and his wines.
Domaine du Poyet
Le
Bourg
Marcilly-le-Châtel
T: + 33 4 77 97 48 54
F: + 33 4 77 97
48 71