Val du Loir

Producer profiles - Jasnières and Coteaux du Loir

Notes on some other growers

Retired, Part Time and ‘Private’ Vignerons

Jean-Michel Aubert
Domaine Aubert Chappelle
La Roche
Marçon
T/F : + 33 2 43 79 17 82
P : + 33 6 60 56 17 50
domaineaubertlachappelle@wanadoo.fr
www.aubert-la-chappelle.com
The ex-husband of Bénédicte de Rycke. The couple divorced in 1997 and split the domaine. He moved to Marçon and established Domaine Aubert Chapelle, buying the Roche Bleue cellar from Roger Crosnier (see below). He has since sold cellar to Sebastian Cornille. Prior to moving to the region in the mid 1980s, Aubert worked at the cave co-operative in Chambord . He has now taken up a position with La Gourmandière, a co-operative close to Chenonceaux, and effectively has stopped making wine in the region in 2006. Most of his own 12 hectares of vineyards have either now been rented out or sold to Christian Chaussard. He still lives in Marçon.

Roger Crosnier
Marçon
Crosnier, apart from making wine at the old cave at Le Roche Bleue, also ran the government owned tabac in the village. He grubbed his vines and sold off his cellar to Jean-Michel Aubert in 1997 after Aubert and de Rycke separated. He died in 2007.

Thierry Honnons
Tuffeau Mont Veillon
Poncé-sur-le-Loir
A computer expert based in Paris (which is where he made his money) and an amateur vigneron. He is the ex brother-in-law of Philippe Sevault with whom he was in partnership until 2001. After he divorced Catherine he started selling off his ten hectares of vineyards to the likes of Eric Nicolas, who relieved Honnons of four hectares in Marçon, a quarter hectare of old vines in Jasnières and a further one hectare of land in Ruillé-sur-Loir. He is now married to Bénédicte de Rycke and together they have just acquired a second domaine in the south of France .

Abel Gentil
Marçon
Sold his vineyards to Thierry Honnons in the early 1990s, while his son ran the successful Restaurant du Caveau du Marcellière situated in a cave in the commune.

Nicolas Renard
Marçon
Renard was active in the region for one or two years between 1995 and 1996. He rented vines from Michel Boulay who took them back under his control after one vintage. Apparently he worked for Clos Naudin for a while as well as for Lemaire-Fournier, both in Vouvray.

Thierry Leloup
La Chartre-sur-le-Loir
Leloup is an ex-military man who won the lotto and retired young, blowing his fortune on buying lots of vineyards through the region. He was, however, allegedly ill advised and ended up with vines that were degenerate and for which he paid too much. He went bankrupt.

Claude Branjonneau
Lhomme
A full time tonnellière since 1935 and part time winemaker. His barrel making tools can be seen in the wine museum in Lhomme. He retired in 1990 and died in 2006

Jean-Baptiste Pinon
Les Caves aux Tuffières
Lhomme 
In 1979, Robin Yapp wrote of Pinon: ‘A young, dynamic grower who made the decision to invest his skill, energy and slender financial resources into the future of Jasnières’. He worked 4.5 hectares of vines in the Jasnières which he had either bought or owned from M. Langois, owner of the Chateau la Tuffières. The cellars were in caves at the rear of the property and directly underneath the vines. Prior to this he had been producing rosé at nearby Montoire-sur-le-Loir in the Coteaux du Vendômois. He became the reference point for the appellation in the late 1980s making ‘natural wine’, although it his said by his peers that he was better in the cellar than in his vines. Apparently a depressive and unmarried, he had some issues with the rest of his family. He sold 1.5 hectares in Le Clos des Tuffières to Eric Nicolas in the mid 1990s when he retired due to alcohol related problems. He is now in his early 60s and lives in Fosse, close to Montoire. His old cave, which had remained unused between 1995 and 2006, is now under the ownership of Ludovic Bidoult.

1989 Jasnières
Polished appearance. Deep, yellow/gold. Some aromas of toffee, caramel and grilled almonds on the nose. Attractive, delicate and complex. There is still some good firm, fresh acidity on the palate and flavours of toffee and white truffle. It is still clean and fresh, but there is the impression this is just beginning to dry out. Drink now and over the next few years. It won’t make old bones. (12/08) The bottle was bought from Robin Yapp in 1990.

1976 Jasnières
Mature appearance. Mid depth with distinct gold hints. Unfortunately a bit of TCA spoils this bottle, but below there is a lovely delicate Chenin nose. Delicate on entry with a good thread of minerality. Good freshness and still quite lean with a taut structure. There are faint flavours of marzipan. Very gentle and soft. This would hold, if not improve. (04/09)

Jean-Bernard Métais
Courdemanche
www.jpmetais.com 
Metais was born in Le Mans in 1954. The family owns a property in the village of Coudemanche just north of the Jasnières vineyards. He has been making wines for friends and family for the past thirty years and he remembers his father and grandfather opening bottles in the old cellars here. He ‘took charge’ of the family winery in the early 1980s, but in reality his day job is one of designer and sculptor, his commissions and permanent exhibitions can be seen world wide, including Cardiff and hopefully soon in London.

Gérard Guede
Le Haut Perray
Chahaignes
T: + 33 2 43 44 46 98
Guede makes Coteaux du Loir red, white and Rose which he sells primarily in cubitainer.

Gaston Cartereau  
Bordebeurre
Lhomme
T: + 33 2 43 44 48 66

Gaston Cartereau is now well into his 80s, yet still making wines in Jasnières and Coteaux du Loir. He started bottling his own wine in 1981 and was, until around 2001 still raising his wines in old chestnut barrels. His son, Claude and daughter-in-law Danielle (see separate entry) bought their own farm in 2001 and have since been supplying Gaston with juice which is transferred down the hill to the old cave at Bordebeurre, where has since adopted fibre-glass tanks. His wines can be found at Le Jasnières, the bar in the main square in La Chartre, where it is also possible to track down some of his older vintages. 

 
Martial Boutard
La Varenne
Lhomme
T: + 33 2 43 44 43 63  

‘The big voice of Jasnieres’. This is ex lorry driver started the successful foire á vin in Lhomme and has an old and loyal following. He has more recently sold off most of his vines to Pascal Janvier and Eric Nicolas also rents one hectare from him. His cellar can be found in a cave just to the east of Le Clos des Jasnières. He sold wines from both the Coteaux du Loir and Jasnières.

 
Monique Ernoult
L’Yvonnière
Ruillé-sur-Loir
T: + 33 2 43 79 06 81

Monique Ernoult is single handed lady vigneronne in her late 50s who works 1.3 hectares of Jasnières in a cave just above that of Martial Boutard. She first made wine here in 1998.

 
Michel Chevalier
Montabon
Chevalier is a fruit grower who sells his apples and pears alongside his wines on the local markets. Coteaux du Loir wines only.

Les Beduaux
1 rue du l’Esperance
La Chapelle-Gaugain
T: + 33 2 43 35 73 82
My research tells me this is a Belgian doctor, making wines in an old wine making village that is no longer included in the 22 communes that make up the Coteaux du Loir appellation.

Dominique Raveneau
7 Chemin Bois Blandin
Marçon
T: + 33 2 43 79 45 77
Apparently makes both Jasnières and Coteaux du Loir.

Jean-Luc Lhermitte
Vaubertain
Lhomme
Lhermitte works for a bottling company in Vouvray and he tends his father’s parcel of vines in Lhomme on a part-time basis. He makes wines mainly for pleasure and family consumption.

 
Régis Bréton
1 Rue Percheron
La Chartre-sur-le-Loir
P: + 33 6 22 03 00 24 
The winemaker of Michel Boulay, currently looking to acquire vines himself and has set up shop in the cellar of Thierry Leloup.

Claude Cochonneau
La Péraudière
Marçon
T : + 33 2 43 44 36 78
The mayor of Marçon. He has a parcel of vines in the commune. 

Gie La Jable d’Or
A worthy initiative started in 1988 by Raynald Lelais and saw a number of growers (Lelais, Maillet, Jean-Marc Raimbault, Crosnier, Fresneau, Bouin, Chevalier and Renaud) involved. The idea was to create a generic Jasnieres label with growers submitting wine for bottling under a single label. They worked out of an address in Château-du-Loir. The initiative was undermined by the excellent quality of the 1989 and 1990 vintages when growers had no problem in finding a market and the project fell apart in the early 1990s.

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