Exploring the Centre Loire (4) Domaine Villargeau, Coteaux du Giennois
Website: https://www.domaine-villargeau.fr/
Villargeau is an impressive producer based in the Coteaux du Giennois in the Centre Loire. I visited with Marc Thibault, who arrived here in 2000 and now runs things. The Coteaux de Giennois is a small appellation in the centre Loire next to Pouilly Fumé. There are just 200 hectares of vines here, with 40 winegrowers and 20 producers with cellars. We visited with Marc Thibault.
Marc’s grandfather bought the farm that is now Villargeau from Château de Tracy in 1920, and grew cattle and cereal. In 1991 his father and uncle decided to diversify and planted vineyards on abandoned hillsides that previously had vines before phylloxera hit in the late 19th century.
Marc returned after studies and began working at Villargeau in 2002, and the domaine now has 23 hectares of vines, 18 of which are planted with Sauvignon Blanc, and the remaining 5 are a mix of Pinot Noir and Gamay.
The Giennois has lots of small hills, and typically the vineyards are planted on the top of these, where the soils are more suitable for vines. There can be a mix of soils in the same plot, but typically you find Kimmeridgean marl over limestone/clay. But there can be silex and clay, or chalk and clay. It depends.
Villargeau have gradually moved more in an environmentally sensitive direction to the point that they are now certified organic. The challenge here is that mechanical cultivation in the vine row, needed in organics, results in some damage to replants. Replants are a fact of life in the Centre Loire because of the susceptibility of Sauvignon Blanc to ESCA, a trunk disease that takes out quite a lot of vines.
The first stop was in the southern part of the Giennois, and a vineyard parcel called Les Points with double silex: there’s red and yellow silex (flint), with silex in the top soil and also in the subsoil, which is rare. The red is from iron and the yellow is from manganese, and these are from different geological periods.
The élevage is the same for all the Sauvignons. The grapes are pressed, the juice is then settled for 24 h without added sulfites (to 100 NTU, very clear juice) and then fermented in stainless steel. The wine is then left on lees until bottling. Sulfites are used where needed to prevent any oxidation, anywhere from December to February.
Domaine Villargeau Les 2 Silex 2022 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
Sauvignon Blanc. Very fine, delicate and fresh. Lovely precision to this wine which has a slightly salty edge. 92/100
Domaine Villargeau Les 2 Silex 2020 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
Lovely brightness with keen acidity and pure, mineral-tinged lemony fruit. This has precision and a slight stoniness, with keen acidity. Lively and precise. 92/100
Domaine Villargeau Les 2 Silex 2019 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
Precise with pure lemony fruit, showing lovely acidity. Very fine and expressive with lemon and pear, and even a hint of peach, but all the time this shows purity and good acidity. 92/100
The second stop was in two neighbouring plots, Les Abeilles and Roziers, planted in 1994/95. Here there is a flinty topsoil over limestone. It’s a less dry area than Les Points, and maturity is a week later.
Domaine Villargeau Les Abeilles 2022 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
Highly aromatic with pear and citrus fruit, as well as some melon and honey. The palate has a lovely texture with fine spices and some crystalline citrus fruit. Delicate with great purity, and lots of harmony. A hint of white pepper and salt on the finish. 93/100
Domaine Villargeau Les Abeilles 2020 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
Pure and fine with a subtle green hint, and nice pure lemony fruit. There’s some mineral character and it’s crystalline and vivid with nice purity. Lovely focus. 93/100
Domaine Villargeau Les Abeilles 2019 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
Bright pear and peach notes with a hint of creaminess. Nice pure fruit with some citrus brightness. Has lovely fruit, and stays focused with good texture and acidity. 92/100
Domaine Villargeau Les Genets Gris 2017 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
This is from the same plot. Lovely weight here with pear, citrus and a touch of melon. Textural and fine-grained, this is developing really nicely. Some stony, mineral notes, too. 92/100
The third plot we visited was Les Clous. This has 2 metres of marne under the surface, and the grapes keep acidity for a long time with these soils. The first vintage where they separated this wine out for the Sans Complexe wine was 2015. They initially picked late, but found they were losing aromas even though the wine still had freshness, so now they pick a little earlier. Previously this site was planted to Pinot Noir, in 1973. But they replanted it with Sauvignon in 2001 and 2005.
Domaine Villargeau Sans Complexe 2022 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
This is linear and taut with some lovely fruit. Crisp, fine and refined with a hint of apple and melon. Crystalline with fine lemony notes. Has real focus. 92/100
Domaine Villargeau Sans Complexe 2020 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
Some notes of cabbage and green herbs, as well as crystalline citrus fruit. There’s a twisty of mint, too. Finishes stony and focused. 92/100
Domaine Villargeau Sans Complexe 2019 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
Nuts and apples on the nose with some creamy hints on the palate, with herbs, apples and citrus. 89/100
Domaine Villargeau Sans Complexe 2015 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
This was a warm vintage. It has developed beautifully, with lovely taut citrus fruits and some fine spices, as well as some dried citrus fruit and a hint of marmalade. Finishes fresh and crystalline. 93/100
Domaine Villargeau La Belle Parasseuse 2019 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
This comes from the Roziers parcel, and it is fermented in 500 litre barrels. Really expressive on the nose showing mint, dried herbs and lovely textured pear and peach fruit. Has some depth and spice, with notes of almonds and rosemary. Such texture. 94/100
Domaine Villargeau Chemins de Traverse 2021 Coteaux du Giennois, Loire, France
The same vineyard as Sans Complexe (Les Clous), but with older vines. Carbonic maceration for 6 days then pressing, and finishing fermentation in oak barrels, aged 18 months. Highly aromatic and quite green with cabbage, cut grass and melon notes, as well as pear. The palate is powerfulwith some structure, showing fine spices and even some cherry. Nice spicy intensity with high acidity and a tangy edge. Some nutty notes here. Distinctive stuff, bottled with just 15 ppm SO2. 94/100
Domaine Villargeau Coteaux du Giennois Rouge 2020 Loire, France
This is 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Gamay. Vibrant red cherries and raspberries with some herbs and pepper. The palate has appealing sweet fruit with nice graininess and a touch of spice on the finish. Well integrated green notes here. 90/100
Domaine Villargeau Chicago Coteaux du Giennois Rouge 2022 Loire, France
80% Gamay, 20% Pinot Noir, named to thank the Americans who sent rootstock following the phylloxera crisis. This is spicy, fine and mineral with lovely sweet raspberry and cherry fruit. Fine-grained and mineral with lovely delicacy and purity. Lovely weight here: this is beautifully expressive with a sweet, elegant core of fruit. 94/100
