Filed under: events, France, holidays, Loire Valley, Music, Paris, Press, red wines, rosé wines, sparkling wines, Touraine, vin, Vins, wine, Wine events, Wine Press, Wine retailers, Wine reviews, wine tastings | Tags: 2011, AOC Touraine, cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Chateau du Petit Thouars, Chateaux, chenin blanc, Chinon, crémants, Cuvée Réserve, cuvée rouge, cuvée sélection, Fenua, France, French vineyards, French wine, French wineries, French wines, iorana, Le Temps de Vivre, Les Nouvelles de Tahiti, Loire Valley, Michel Pinard, Papeete, red wine, rue dupetit-thouars, Sébastien du Petit Thouars, Tahiti, Wines
interview of Sébastien du Petit Thouars in Les Nouvelles de Tahiti
Filed under: Chateau du Petit Thouars, vin, Vins, wine | Tags: Keep Calm and Carry On
Courtesy of D. Raleigh – Thanks!
Filed under: Belgium, Cabernet Franc, Chateau du Petit Thouars, events, La RVF, Loire Valley, red wines, rosé wines, vin, Vins, Wine events, Wine Press, Wine retailers | Tags: 2011, 2eme edition, B-1060 Bruxelles, Belgique, belgium wines, Brussels, Domaine La Taille aux Loups, importers, Jacky Blot, Jacques Giers, La Femme du Sommelier, Le Bar à Gilles, Le Guide d'Achat des Vins Belgique, Le Salon de la Revue du Vin de France à Bruxelles 2011, Parvis Saint Gilles 28, Philippe Sochnikoff, Stéphane Penxten, Terre et Vin negociants, vins rouge, wine magazines, Xavier Faber
At the salon de la Revue du Vin de France
Two weekends ago we had the pleasure of presenting a selection of our wines: our Réserve 2009 and 2008, and Sélection 2010 and 2009, plus our Rosé, at the Salon de la Revue du Vin de France in Brussels.
We’ve been sold in Belgium before, in small quantities, but after being invited by the Revue du Vin de France this year, we decided it would be interesting to come back to Brussels in search of new partners. Plus we had heard amazing things about the Belgian wine-drinking public and professionals who come to the Salon from our friend, Christian Holthausen, at the Maison Piper-Heidsieck.
We had the chance to see many old friends, including Jacques Giers from Le Guide d’Achat des Vins who introduced us to the charming Xavier Faber, a top Belgian sommelier, who took a liking to our wines and sent many of his contacts our way. Among them, we had interesting tastings with Stéphane Penxten from the Brussels’ restaurant La Femme du Sommelier and people from Terre et Vin, who were presenting at the salon with Jacky Blot and his Domaine La Taille aux Loups.
From Twitter, we also had the chance to meet Marc Roisin from Vinogusto.com and Kathleen from Château de Minière in Bourgueil.
We left the salon excited by two wonderful days with the Belgian wine community, which included our first order the very next day, from Philippe Sochnikoff at Le Bar à Gilles in Brussels. As we write, our Sélection 2010 is on it’s way to Brussels, so pay a visit to Le Bar à Gilles as soon as you can, to taste!
Le Bar à Gilles, Parvis Saint-Gilles 28, B-1060 Bruxelles.
T. + 32 2614 57 82 — gilleswine@gmx.com
Château du Petit Thouars at the salon
Sébastien du Petit Thouars and sommelier Xavier Faber
We look forward to hopefully coming back next year!
Images © Château du Petit Thouars 2011
Filed under: Cabernet Franc, Chateau du Petit Thouars, Château, crémants, Dining/Eating, France, French cuisine, French food, Loire Valley, red wines, rosé wines, sparkling wines, Wine events | Tags: 10 minutes from Chinon, 10 minutes from Fontevraud, Auberge du Val de Vienne, BK Wine Tours, crémants, Florence Gervais, France, Jean-Marie Gervais, Loire Valley, Per Karlsson, red wines, restaurant gatsronomique, rosé wines, Salon des Vins de Loire à Angers, Sazilly, sparkling wines, Swedish tourists, tour of the cellars, tour of the vineyards, Val de Loire, Vallée de la Loire, welcoming a wine tour group, welcoming at the castle, welcoming at the chateau, wine and food pairings, wine Tourism, wine tours
On Tuesday we had the pleasure of welcoming a large group of 45 people visiting from Sweden for a lunch and tour at the vineyard. The tour was booked courtesy of Per Karlsson, whom we had the pleasure of meeting last year at the Salon des Vins de Loire in Angers.
Glasses waiting to be filled with crémant
Checking and opening the wines before everyone arrives
One of the last of the sunny days awaits our guests
Everything is ready for our guests to arrive
Wine tour starts in our cellars
Barrels await!
Tasting from the barrels
It's lunch-time!
Presenting some wine and food pairings with the Swedish translator
Lunch was catered by the amazing and delicious Auberge du Val de Vienne, with chef Jean-Marie Gervais at the stove and wife Florence, providing service. For those of you interested in booking a wine lunch and tour at Château du Petit Thouars, don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your needs. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with the menu from Tuesday!
Toasts
Foie gras toasts with marinated pear – Toast au foie gras à la poire tapée
Smoked salmon toasts – Toast au saumon fumé
Verrines
Cauliflower mousse with crab and tomato purée – Mousse de choux-fleurs au crabe sur concassée de tomate
Cream of lentils with bacon – Crème de lentille au lard
Cream of coco bean with smoke herring eggs – Crème de coco de Paimpol oeufs de harengs fumés
Main course
Sauteed veal with wine sauce – Sauté de veau du vigneron
Cheese course
Spoon of faisselle (a fresh cheese) with chives – Cuillère de faisselle à la ciboulette
Comté brochette – Brochette de comté
Sainte Maure marinated in pepper and olive oil – Sainte Maure mariné au poivre et à l’huile d’olive
Desserts
Verrine of strawberries soaked in a light wine sauce – Verrine de fraises au vin
Blancmange with seasonal fruit – Blanc manger aux fruits de saison
Mini tarts of fresh figs – Mini tarte aux figues
Finished with coffee
Images © Château du Petit Thouars 2011
Filed under: 2010, Cabernet Franc, Chateau du Petit Thouars, crémants, events, Harvest, Loire Valley, red wines, rosé wines, Touraine, Vendanges, vin, Vins | Tags: 2010, 2011, 24 Septembre, acidités, état sanitaire, bonnes conditions, Cabernet Franc, charles joguet, crémants, cuvées, France, grape acidity, grape tannins, harvest, health, Loire Valley, maitre de chai, Michel Pinard, October 2011, Octobre 2011, September 24th, tannins, vendange des vignes, vendanges, vines, vins rosé, vins rouge, winemaker
Cabernet Franc grapes
We’re happy to bring you some thoughts on the 2011 Harvest/Vendanges from our winemaker Michel Pinard. Michel joined Château du Petit Thouars in 2007, after 21 years working with Charles Joguet as his right-hand. He knows and understands this terroir like no other.
The harvest dedicated to crémant [sparkling wines] started on the weekend of September 24th in very good conditions.
The harvest dedicated to the production of our different red cuvées and our rosé will start in the beginning of October, a bit later, in order to take advantage of the favourable weather conditions.
As you may know, there was quite a lot of early ripening in the month of June, due to the early heat, while August was quite mediocre. This wonderful weather at the moment promises to deliver a very ripe and mature harvest, with alcoholic levels that are potentially equivalent to those found in the 2010 harvest.
The weather allows the grape acidity to lessen and the tannins to become more refined. The health of the vines and grapes is also good.
—
La vendange des vignes dédiées au crémant s’est déroulé le weekend du 24 Septembre dans de très bonnes conditions
Les vendages des vignes destinées à la production de nos différentes cuvées de rouge et à notre rosé commenceront début Octobre, voire plus tard si les conditions météorologiques favorables se maintiennent
Après la phase de précocité autour du mois de juin et la médiocrité du mois d’Août, le beau temps qui s’est installé promet des vendanges très mûres avec des degrés alcooliques potentiels équivalents à ceux de 2010.
Les acidités diminuent et les tannins s’affinent grâce au temps magnifique. L’état sanitaire est bon.
Filed under: Awards, Cabernet Franc, Chateau du Petit Thouars, Château, events, France, French cuisine, French food, Harvest, Loire Valley, Paris, Press, red wines, Touraine, vin, Vins, wine, Wine events, Wine Press, Wine retailers, Wine reviews, wine tastings | Tags: #Cabernet Day, #CabernetDay, 2011 DWWA, 68 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 75001, Bottling our 2009 Réserve wines, Cabernet Francs, Cabernet Sauvignons, Chateau du Petit Thouars, commended at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2011, Indre et Loire, Loire Valley chateaux, Loire Valley château, Michel Pinard, Miss Vicky Wine, O'Chateau, O'Château Paris, Olivier Magny, Rick Bakas, travelling from the Loire to Paris, twitter, vineyards, wine tastings, winemakers
By Sébastien du Petit Thouars.
We started the day at Château du Petit Thouars, waking up early to begin the exciting process of finally bottling our 2009 Réserve — a vintage that won a Commendation this year at the 2011 Decanter World Wine Awards. Around noon we left our winemaker, Michel Pinard, and the wine team to come to Paris with bottles in hand for tonight’s #CabernetDay celebration at the O’Chateau wine bar.
This is the second year we’ve been involved with Rick Bakas‘ day of celebration for Cabernet — and as a Cabernet Franc producer, there’s no way we could miss out! Thanks to Miss Vicky Wine for co-hosting and we hope to see you tonight to try our newly bottled 2009 Réserve!
We get an early start on the day
Michel and our vineyard team in full swing
The tanks!
- In full-action
Almost ready for your dinner table
Images © Château du Petit Thouars 2011
Filed under: Cabernet Franc, Chateau du Petit Thouars, Château, France, Harvest, holidays, Loire Valley, Press, red wines, rosé wines, sparkling wines, Touraine, vente en ligne, vin, Vins, white wine, wine, Wine events, Wine Press, Wine reviews | Tags: 10 minutes from Chinon, 20 minutes from Saumur, 5 minutes from Candes Saint Martin, 5 minutes from Fontevraud L'Abbaye, Cabernet Franc, Candes St Martin, castle visits, Chateau du Petit Thouars, chenin blanc, crémant de Loire, crémants de Loire, French castles, French wines, Isabelle Rademakers, Loire Valley vineyard, Martijn Rademakers, red wines, rosé wines, sparking wines, vineyard visits, visiting the region, wineries, winery tours, www.bestwineroutes.com
Visit www.bestwineroutes.com
Earlier this month we had the pleasure to welcome Martijn and Isabelle Rademakers, two of the passionate wine-loving founders behind the excellent website www.bestwineroutes.com, which reviews vineyards and winery visits from around the globe.
Visit their website to view more information on their visit to Château du Petit Thouars as well as to view a video interview direct from the domain!
Filed under: Chateau du Petit Thouars, Château, Harvest, Loire Valley, red wines, rosé wines, sparkling wines, Touraine, vin, Vins, white wine, wine | Tags: architecture, bougueil, castel, Chateau du Petit Thouars, Chateaux, Chinon, decorations, decorative, engravings on château, fontevraud, France, French castles, la vie de château, les rois de france, Loire Valley château, Saumur, sculptures, statues, stone carvings, stone works, Val de Loire, valley of the kings of france, visitez la vallée de la loire, visiting the loire valley
Château du Petit Thouars
Who are the faces of Château du Petit Thouars? They line the walls, sit atop buildings, and they love to watch all the visitors who come for wine tastings in our salle de dégustation. Look for them on your next visit to the domain!
"Say that a little louder?"
"Just hanging around..."
"We read about wine in our spare time!"
"Welcome!"
Curling up for a nap?
A squirlish friend
"I spurt water when it rains!"
"Waiting for the harvest drives me batty!"
Why so glum?
Peek-a-boo!
"Can you spot me?"
Images © Château du Petit Thouars 2011
Filed under: Cabernet Franc, Chateau du Petit Thouars, Château, Dining/Eating, French cuisine, French food, Harvest, Loire Valley, Press, Vendanges, vin, Vins, wine, Wine events, Wine Press, Wine retailers, Wine reviews, wine tastings | Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, accords mets et vins, AOC Touraine, Cab Franc, cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Caves, Caves Oenotouristiques, Chateau du Petit Thouars, Cuisine Actuelle, cuvée sélection, Decanter Magazine, Decanter World Wine Awards, DWWA Awards, French vineyards, hachis parmentier, Interloire, Loire Valley, Loire Valley wines, red wine, red wines, rosé, rosbif froid, Sélection 2009, shepherd's pie, Val de Loire, vendanges, vendanges 2011, vin de copains, vin rouge, Vins, vins de Touraine, wine tastings, Wines
By Sébastien du Petit Thouars.
Despite the rain (that finally seems to be going away) spirits are up at Château du Petit Thouars!
Since the end of June we’ve officially joined the Caves Oneotouristiques de Loire, a label granted by Interloire, the interprofessional body for all Loire Valley wineries! This label certifies Interloire standards for French and Foreign visitors at the vineyard. Check the Contact Us/Visit Us page of this blog for opening hours and location for your visits, tastings and group lunches (the last, by reservation).
Logo Caves Oneotouristiques de Loire
In other news, the popular French Magazine “Cuisine Actuelle,” which is dedicated to food and wine, has a feature on Touraine wines in its August issue and we’ve been included!
The wine presented is our Sélection 2009 and the author recommends pairing it with cold cuts or shepherd’s pie. We’d also like to suggest grilled fish, such as salmon, or goat cheeses as well. Don’t hesitate to contact if you want more pairing suggestions!
For those of you who’d want to try this wine while in Paris, you can buy it at Le Barav 6, Rue Charles-François Dupuis, 75003 Paris.
Cuisine Actuelle August 2011
Finally, it looks like the 2011 harvest will take place around September 24th. It’s earlier than usual but the quality looks promising and it’ll be right in time to taste our DWWA Commended Reserve 2009, that will be bottled on September 1st! Personnally I can’t wait!
Thanks for following our news and stay tuned for more updates from the vineyard!
Filed under: 2010, Cabernet Franc, Chateau du Petit Thouars, Château, France, La RVF, Loire Valley, Press, red wines, Touraine, vin, Vins, wine, Wine Press, Wine reviews | Tags: 2010, AOC Touraine, cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Chateau du Petit Thouars, cuvée rouge, cuvée sélection, cuvée sélection 2010, French wine, French wineries, French wines, grapes, La Revue du Vin de France, Leading Wine Publication, Michel Pinard, Millésime 2010, red wine, red wines, RVF, Touraine, Val de Loire, Vallée de Loire, wine making
by Sébastien du Petit Thouars
La Revue du Vin de France, one of the leading publications on wine in France has just put out its special 2010 vintage issue, and we’re in it!
Our Cuvée Sélection 2010 is listed in the “réussites” category of the reds from the Loire Valley, which literally means that it is a success !
Following on the 2011 DWWA commendation, we can definitely say that May has been a good month for the winery!
Our cuvée Sélection 2010 will be bottled next week, so don’t hesitate to come and taste.
- Cover RVF – special issue on the 2010 vintage
RVF Review of our Cuvée Selection 2010
