Today, in the morning, we explored the Vouvray region.
Following:
Visit at Domaine Denis Meunier in Vernou-sur-Brenne, Touraine, with Daniel Meunier - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
we visited Domaine des Aubuisières, Bernard Fouquet. This was mainly a tasting in the wine cellar, with a quick look at the winemaking facilities and a longer look at the bottling of a Crémant de Loire.
Domaine des Aubuisières, Bernard Fouquet, is represented in the USA by Weygandt-Metzler.
Domaine des Aubuisières, Bernard Fouquet, in Vouvray, Touraine
This is one of the top domains in Vouvray. Bernard Fouquet is widely regarded as one of the top Vouvray producers and his ability to capture the mineral tones unique to Vouvray’s soil is legendary. This is a relatively young wine producing domaine, but the Fouquet family was involved in the wine business as grape breeders and grape grafting in their own grape vine nursery. Bernard Fouquet had no interest in continuing the nursery; he wanted to make wine and after stints in Alsace and Burgundy he founded Domaine des Aubuisières in 1982. He crafted a portfolio of superb wines and quickly rose to the top tier winemaker in the region. His children pursued other careers and when Bernard Fouquet fell ill during Covid times, the necessity to find an associate became more pressing. Since 2021 it is Charles Lesaffre, who’s family already had connections to the Fouquet family, who is managing the estate. The domaine has 75 acres of vineyards solely planted with Chenin Blanc. The vineyards have the classic Vouvray
terroir: limestone bedrock and superficial flint (Silex in French), and some limestone mixed with fine clay. This combination, particularly when the limestone is the ‘Tuffeau Jaune’ is locally known as ‘aubuis’, hence the name of the domaine.
Weygandt-Metzler
Despite Vouvray's storied wine-making past (its origins extending back to the monks of the abbey of Marmoutier founded in 372 by Saint Martin), many of the appellation's leading domaines have a fairly short history. Domaine des Aubuisières is no exception. Both the domaine and its reputation owe themselves to the humble work of Bernard Fouquet, who built the estate up from the few small plots of vines he inherited from his father.
Bernard's father André Fouquet was not so much a vigneron as a pépiniériste, a "nurseryman" who specialized in grafting new vines. In 1978 André took over 6 hectares of vineyards from Gérald Bruley des Varannes (the winemaker at Château des Girardières). These holdings became the basis for Bernard's beginnings as a winemaker starting in 1982.
The domaine's parcels contain the two classic terroirs of Vouvray: limestone and flint (silex in French). Some plots are rich in flint fragments of various sizes embedded in clay, a soil type known locally as perruches (flinty clays combined with silica). Others are characterized by limestone (specifically "tuffeau," a lower-density limestone variant formed from sediment and fossilized sea creatures) mixed with clay, a blend known as aubuis, the apparent namesake of the domaine.
From 1990 to 1996 Bernard acquired additional plots in Le Plan de Jean, Le Marigny, and Le Bouchet, all rich in clay-limestone soils. Other acquisitions included the 10 hectares of flint-peppered vineyards in Les Girardières. In 2013, the estate absorbed a coveted 2-hectare clay-limestone plot previously rented by Domaine Huet: Le Petit Clos. The wines from this hillside have been vinified in sandstone amphorae since 2021 to contribute to the wine's roundness.
Bernard retired in 2021, handing the reins to Charles Lesaffre. Charles is the grandson of Gérald Bruley des Varannes, the man from whom Bernard's father André acquired his first vineyards, thereby bringing the story of the Domaine full circle. An avid practitioner of viticulture and oenology, Charles joined Bernard as an associate in 2019. Two years into his tenure, Charles has put an emphasis on organic and biodynamic practices. Charles has continued, as Bernard before him, to capture the unique Vouvray mineral tones, along with the wonderfully balanced expression of fruit of the Chenin Blanc grape, in his wines.
Arriving
Tasting
Quick Cellar Tour
Bottling Crémant de Loire
Dinner at L'Océanide (Bib Gourmand Michelin) in Nantes - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at L'Instinct Gourmand in Nantes, with Owner/ Chef Sylvain le Bras - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Guided Tour of Old Town Nantes - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Iconic Brasserie La Cigale in Nantes - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour, Tasting and Light Lunch at Vignobles Günther Chéreau, Château du Coing, in Saint Fiacre-sur-Maine, with Owner Véronique Günther-Chéreau - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Two Domaines under one Roof: Visit at Domaine Gadais Père et Fils and Domaine de la Combe/ Pierre-Henri Gadais in Saint Fiacre-sur-Maine, Muscadet Sévre et Maine, Pays Nantais, with Owner/ Winemaker Christoph Gadais - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Restaurant Les Petits Près of Chef Samuel Albert (Top Chef France 2019) in Angers - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour and Tasting at Château d’Épiré, AOP Savennières, Anjou, with Owner/ Winemaker Paul Bizard - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Barrel Tasting and Salon Tasting at Château des Vaults, Domaine du Closel in Savennière, Anjou, with Owner/ winemaker Evelyne de Pontbriand - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour and Tasting at Domäne Vincendeau in Rochefort-sur-Loire, Anjou, with Owner/ Winemaker Liv Vincendeau - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting with a Light Lunch at Domaine de la Soucherie in Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Anjou - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner at Restaurant L’Essentiel, Michelin-listed and Nestled at the Foot of Saumur’s Fairy-tale Castle - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Guided Visit at the UNESCO-classified L’ Abbey Royale de Fontevraud in Fontevraud - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch in the Courtyard of Saumur's Fairy-tale Castle Château de Saumur - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting, Cellar Tour and Vineyard Tour at Domaine des Roches Neuves in Varrains, Anjou, with Next Generation Owner/ Winemaker Louis Germain and Agathe Germain - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Maison Bouvet-Ladubay in Saumur, with Owner Juliette Monmousseau - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Tasting at Cave M. Plouzeau in Chinon, Touraine, with Owner/ Winemaker Marc Plouzeau his Château de la Bonneliére Wines - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
At Domaine Bouchardière in Cravant les Côteaux, Touraine: Tasting the Wines of Domaine Bouchardière and Domaine de la Haut Olive, Cravant les Coteaux, Chinon and Panzoult, Touraine - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Menu
du Jour Lunch at Bar-Restaurant Le Bistrot du Marché of Hotel Le Lion
d'Or in the Center of Chinon - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Domaine François Cazin, Le Petit Chambord, in Cheverney, Touraine, with François Cazin - Loire Valley
2024 by ombiasy WineTours
3-course "Bistronomique" Dinner at
Restaurant Brut Maison de Cuisine in Blois, with Owner/ Chef Adrien
Delafoy - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Domaine Brazilier in Thoré-la-Rochette, Côteaux Vendômois, Touraine, with Owner/ Winemaker Benoît Brazilier - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
3-course Lunch at Le Moulin du Loir in Vendôme - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Visit of Château de Chambord: "An Epitome of what Human Art can Produce" said Charles V. (Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations) - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Guided Tour of Château Royal de Blois, where 7 Kings and 10 Queens lived - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
With a Large Cheese Cart and Soufflé Flambé au Cognac: 5-course Menu Inspiration - Leisurely Sunday Lunch at Restaurant La Croix Blanche on the Banks of the Loire between Amboise and Blois, with Owner/ Chef Jean-François Beauduin (Bib Gourmand Michelin) - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Guided Visit of Château du Clos Lucé, where Leonardo da Vinci lived and died, in Amboise - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner and Overnight-stay at Château de Pray in Amboise, a Loire Château from the 12th Century - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Visit at Domaine Denis Meunier in Vernou-sur-Brenne, Touraine, with Daniel Meunier - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Visit at Domaine des Aubuisières, Bernard Fouquet, in Vouvray, Touraine - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Guided Visit of Château Chenonceau - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Dinner and Overnight-stay at Auberge du Bon Laboureur in Chenonceau - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard
Walk, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Domaine Pellé in Morogues,
Menetou-Salon, with the Export Manager Pauline Guillot - Loire Valley
2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Restaurant Fluteau in Morogues - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar
Tour and Extensive Tasting at at Domaine Alphons Mellot in Sancerre,
with Alphons Mellot - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar
Tour and Tasting at Domaine de Vrillères, SCEA in Sury-en-Vaux,
Sancerre, with Kevin Lauverjat - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar
Tour and Tasting at Domaine Tinel-Blondelet in Pouilly-sur-Loire, with
Marlène and Annick Tinel - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Restaurant/ Affineur Romain Dubois in Chavignol, with Gilles Dubois - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour, Vineyard Tour and Tasting at Domaine Henri Bourgeois in Chavignol - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Wine-pairing Dinner at Le Clos du Maréchal with the Wines of Vignobles Berthier, with the Owner/ Winemaker Clément Berthier and the Chef/ Owner Nathanael Fromant - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
Last Meal of the Tour: At La Coupole in Paris - Loire Valley 2024 by ombiasy WineTours
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