Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Thursday 1 October 2009

2009 vintage@Domaine des Herbauges, Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu

30 September 2009

Jérôme Choblet and his young family tasting 2009 juice before it has started fermenting

Having seen two producers in the Sèvre-Maine AC – Bernard Chereau (Château de Chasseloir) and Pierre, Monique, Pierre-Marie and Marie Luneau (Domaine Luneau-Papin) not forgetting Domaine de Topaze – we headed across to Bouaye to see Luc and Jérôme Choblet. Like Bernard and Pierre, they were both thrilled and exciting by the quality of the vintage – not surprising after the misery of last year's frost.

Jérôme Choblet: "The quality is extraordinary and as well we have a normal yield for the first time since 2005 – the last three years have been very difficult. We have finished the Melon de Bourgogne. Nothing came in under 11.5% potential and most of the crop has been around 12% potential. Acidity is between 3.5g-3.8g. We have 55hl/ha for the Melon and 65hl/ha for the Chardonnay vins de pays. We'll finish the Chardonnay tomorrow morning. It's been coming in at 12.96%-13.30% with the acidity between 4.2-4.4g.

Luc Choblet grins as he reverses one of the last trailer loads of Chardonnay towards the winery

Tasting the juice of both the Chardonnay and the Melon showed both to be impressively rich, clean but with good freshness in the finish. Indeed very like all the juice that I have so far tasted in various parts of the Loire over the past week.

Driving away from Bouaye towards our chambres d'hôtes in Monnières the exterior temperature at 6.20pm was still 24.5˚C – quite extraordinary!

(to be finished)

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