L'Union des Gens de Métiers reveals their latest vintages!

Report from the Union des Gens de Métier (UGM) salon in Paris on Monday, 11 June 2018

The UGM salon brings together talented men and women who work with respect for their environment and their land. It was under the initiative of Didier Dagueneau, in 1990, that these artists of the vine gather each year to share their precision. Driven by the same passion, our Vins & Millésimes experts went to discover the latest vintages from these lovers of terroir. Champagne Selosse - Anselme Selosse Back at the family estate in 1974, Anselme will be harvesting his 45th vintage this year. He proudly champions the uniqueness of each harvest and offers Champagne lovers the precision of his terroir through his 14 cuvées, sourced from 8.5ha, primarily in the commune of Avize, the birthplace of the Côte des Blancs.

• V.O. - by Anselme Selosse, delivers its sharpness and its characteristic precision over a phenomenal length.
• Substance - by Anselme Selosse, explodes on the palate with the complexity of a Champagne that has aged yet retains all its freshness from day one.
• Lieu-dit Sous le Mont, Mareuil-sur-Ay - by Anselme Selosse, a 100% Pinot Noir, something uncommon at the estate, combining vinosity and the power of a Grand Cru terroir. A lesson in patience is required for this great Champagne.

Domaine Didier Dagueneau - Louis-Benjamin Dagueneau With 11ha at the heart of the Pouilly Fumé appellation (plus 1ha of Sancerre in the Côte des Monts Damnés in Chavignol), Louis-Benjamin and his sister Charlotte are convinced that the difference lies in the details, just as their father before them. Purity and respect are their guiding principles: a maximum of hand work, a minimum of intervention, with particular attention paid to the vines in order to harvest the finest grapes and produce elegant, deep and authentic wines.

• Blanc Fumé de Pouilly 2015 - by Louis Benjamin Dagueneau 
• Silex 2015 - by Louis Benjamin Dagueneau 
• Astéroïde 2016 - by Louis Benjamin Dagueneau, a cuvée so confidential (and financially out of reach...) that it was served only to a select few... A UFO... of unusual concentration that will require a great deal of ageing.
• Les Jardins de Babylone - by Louis Benjamin Dagueneau, a delight of balance and vibrant fruit.

Domaine Roulot - Jean Marc Roulot Based primarily in the commune of Meursault, Guy Roulot was one of the first wine growers to vinify his Meursault village wines separately in the 1960s, paving the way for the definition of the diversity of Burgundian soils and their most faithful expression. Winemaker at the family estate since 1989, Jean-Marc follows in the footsteps of his father Guy by developing a biological, then biodynamic approach in the 2000s. The estate's 2016s are in line with the profile of the emerging vintage: a pronounced acidity, sometimes a little austere, requiring a great deal of patience. An analogy can be drawn with the 2007 vintage, with the hope that the 2016 Meursaults from Domaine Roulot will find the same destiny.

• Meursault 1er Cru Clos des Bouchères 2016 - by Jean Marc Roulot
• Meursault A Mon Plaisir Clos du Haut Tesson 2016 - by Jean Marc Roulot

Clos Rougeard - Nady Foucault An international phenomenon still largely unknown twenty years ago, Clos Rougeard has become the darling of the Loire with its superb Cabernet Francs. Following the acquisition of the Clos by Martin Bouygues in 2015, Nady Foucault remains in charge of the upcoming vintages and continues to work as the eight generations before him did: with the support of time. The 10ha of the Clos produce 40,000 bottles in the finest high-yield years, from impeccable clusters, harvested at perfect maturity and aged for twenty-four months, followed by two years of cellar ageing.

• Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny 2013 - by Nady Foucault, delivers a superb fluidity and fruit. A low-yield vintage (almost no Poyeux or Brézé, 30 to 50% less on the other cuvées...) that will offer a great deal of immediate pleasure. The wine will soon be leaving the estate's cellars.
• Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny Les Poyeux 2014 - by Nady Foucault, after a few swirls to let a slightly reductive wine breathe, this Poyeux shows a somewhat harder profile, different from what one is accustomed to tasting in this cuvée. Best to wait a while.
• Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny Les Poyeux 2015 - by Nady Foucault, wine drawn straight from the barrel for the occasion, with perfect maturity, supple tannins and perfect balance. Outstanding!
• Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny Le Bourg 2015 - by Nady Foucault, the Poyeux in an upgraded version! Superb maturity and concentration. Numerous tannins, beautifully ripe and superbly integrated. A top-flight ageing. A truly great Bourg... to be enjoyed in 20 years...

Jacques Puffeney After 52 vintages and at the age of 70, Jacques Puffeney leases half of his domaine to the Marquis d'Angerville and keeps the rest for his nephew and himself. It is with these emblematic plots on the marly terroirs of Montigny-les-Arsures and Arbois, among others, that the Marquis d'Angerville created the Domaine du Pélican, a domaine well worth discovering.

• Vin Jaune 2011 - by Jacques Puffeney

Because indulgence has never been a vice, we took the opportunity to meet some artisans of gastronomy who did not leave us wanting... Alex Croquet : "I love bread rich in flavour, with a thick crust, a creamy crumb full of irregular holes, revealing the generosity of wheat ripened in the sun."