THE RETURN OF MAJOR SHOWS!

the blog is back

Trade Shows Early 2023

The Vins & Millésimes blog is back: great news for the wine world!

Indeed, at the beginning of 2023, many shows were held for enthusiasts and professionals: if you missed them, you will find a brief summary by show in this new article...

Le Grenier Saint Jean: Paradise of well-made natural wines

Reserved for professionals, this show brought together many exhibitors from all French regions, as well as German, Austrian, Swiss, Greek, Italian and even Serbian and Slovenian estates. 

Some great names we knew before caught our attention at the beginning: the La Souffrandière estate in Burgundy, Hauvette and Réaltière in Provence, Château Le Puy in Bordeaux, Zind Humbrecht and Marcel Deiss in Alsace, the Beaurenard estate in Rhône Valley as well as the Aupilhac estate in Languedoc Roussillon. 

We also discovered European foreign wines: Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Slovenia. 

New gems have caught our attention, notably the Les Vins de Blaise estate: an organic and biodynamic estate in the southern Côtes du Rhône, 25 km north of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. At its head, Stéphanie Rougnon, great-great-granddaughter of Blaise, who owns 12 hectares in organic farming and started biodynamics in October 2021. Blaise was the first in the family to plant vines. Today, the estate offers 4 cuvées: cuvée Marguerite (Grenache and Carignan), cuvée Violette (Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault), Cinsault de Blaise (100% Cinsault) and cuvée Le Vin de Blaise (based on muscat petit grain).  

La levée de la Loire: organic wines from the Loire Valley

This show offered by Loire Vin Bio, the Interprofessional Association of Organic Wines of the Loire Valley, brought together winemakers, merchants and wine marketers of organic wine from the entire Loire Valley!

Among them, we found estates we cherish, such as the Juchepie estate located in Faye-d'Anjou, run by a Belgian couple in love with the region, who settled there in the early 2000s with a view to future retirement. We were also able to taste several cuvées from the Yannick Amirault estate that we appreciate! It is an estate located in the Loire Valley, in the communes of Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, organic and biodynamic: a beautiful image of the Loire!

Haut les Vins: 100% artisan winemakers from terroirs

This show reserved for professionals was held in Paris on Sunday, February 12th: about fifty exhibitors of wines, ciders and spirits were present in a friendly atmosphere. We were able to find emblematic estates of their region...

We started with the Camille et Mathieu Apffel estate in Savoie with their delicious cuvées based on Altesse, Mondeuse and Jacquère: a great way to begin with beautiful salinity and cutting freshness, we love it!

Then, we went to the Le Sot de l'Ange estate stand in Loire: we tasted several cuvées including a parcel cuvée "La Goujonnière" that really impressed us.

Towards the end of our show, we headed to the Cosse Maisonneuve estate in the Southwest, with numerous cuvées made from Malbec and across several vintages. The estate's first cuvée, Cheval en tête (2021 vintage) was already very well made, both in red and white: the latter had surprisingly very pronounced pineapple aromas.

On the Germany side, we tasted several Riesling cuvées from the Immich-Batterieberg estate, a very beautiful discovery with very well-made rieslings!

We also made a Norman discovery with delicious ciders and perries offered by Jérôme Forget at the ferme de l'Yonnière in Torchamp: just what we needed to quench our thirst at the end of this show! 

VINEXPO: Visits to numerous show stands and oenology competition...

Members of our team went to Vinexpo on February 13th and 14th at Porte de Versailles: between competitions and tasting, there was plenty to do! 

Indeed, on February 13th, the Vinexpo Master Class took place where Didier, one of our founders, participated. A tasting competition with wines from many regions were tasted blind by the candidates. Didier came third! Between Maury, Montlouis Triple 0 by Jacky Blot, a 40-year-old Port and many others, the competition offered very varied wines. Congratulations to the 2 Master of Wine candidates who came in 1st and 2nd place in the competition! 

Members of our team also visited some of the 3,000 stands to taste the cuvées of several estates. They mainly tasted Bordeaux wines: first stop, heading to the Left Bank with wines from Saint Julien.

Our tasters were able to taste certain vintages of Château Gruaud Larose, second Grand Cru classé of the Saint Julien appellation. As its motto describes, "the wine of kings and the king of wines," the prestige cuvée proves intense, rich and powerful with fine and silky tannins that give it length! Then, a quick tour to Château Léoville Poyferré. The wines, resulting from a blend of the 4 red Bordeaux grape varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) are characterized by a magnificent depth of color, a spicy bouquet, incomparable elegance and an aging aptitude that have made the reputation of these age-worthy wines since the 1990s. Beautiful discovery for the 2020 vintage, very important for the Cuvelier family that marks the centenary of their acquisition of the Château. For this occasion, the bottle design has changed with gold screen printing directly on the bottle (which reminds us of Mouton Rothschild 2000).

Then, still on the Left Bank, heading to Pauillac for a tasting of wines from Château Lynch-Bages, 5th Grand Cru Classé of Pauillac and wines from Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. More beautiful discoveries for the 2020 vintage within the most prestigious appellation of the Haut Médoc vineyard.

Then, our tasters headed towards Pessac Léognan, one of the most prestigious appellations of the Left Bank that extends over 10 communes and has 16 Grands Crus Classés de Graves. Château Smith Haut Lafitte and Château Pape Clément were tasted in the 2020 vintage as well. More great Left Bank wines for the pleasure of the palate.

A tasting of Château Giscours within the Margaux appellation concluded our journey within the Left Bank. Classified 3rd Grand Cru classé of the Margaux appellation, Giscours 2020 will have very good aging potential in the cellar and promises beautiful emotions!

Finally, their tour ends on the Right Bank of Bordeaux passing through Saint Emilion: they were able to taste Château Canon 2020, Premier Grand Cru Classé in Saint Emilion Grand Cru. A blend of 68% Merlot and 32% Cabernet Franc gives this wine elegance and finesse: another promising vintage for beautiful tastings after a few years in the cellar!

Les Domaines Familiaux: discovering the 2020 vintage

Part of our team was able to attend this fabulous show, Les Domaines Familiaux, at the Marcore restaurant, to taste the very promising 2020 vintage! 

Roumier, Méo Camuzet, Rousseau, Mugneret Gibourg, Raveneau, Leflaive: only the finest for the pleasure of our palates!

For the 2020 vintage, we expected to feel a lot of warmth in the wines: but they are ultimately balanced wines with beautiful freshness thanks to great winemakers, known for their mastery, despite climatic challenges. 

The whites are chiseled and harmonious, they already taste very good and will age perfectly; the reds are radiant, velvety and crafted for long aging!

And a big thank you to the winemakers for the many surprise old vintages served at lunch...

See you soon for more articles and other shows!