The Marionnet family’s description of their “Première Vendange” cuts right to the heart of the matter:
C’est le vin de la joie (“It is the wine of joy”). Made from old-vine Gamay grown in the flint-clay soil of Touraine, in the Central Loire, today’s 2017 is also distinguished by being made without any sulfur additions whatsoever.
Think such a wine might suffer during its long overseas journey to us? Think again: Première Vendange is a paragon of purity and vivacity, a testament to careful, clean winemaking in an era when such naturally made wines are greeted with (often unfounded) skepticism. Whereas some wines in this category feel like well-intentioned experiments, Première Vendange is a fully realized, deceptively complex red from a family that has farmed the same plot of land since the 1850s. It’s kind of incredible to me that a wine that is a playful lark for the Marionnets is so impactful, but such are the luxuries of more than a century of experience in one terroir. I’ve found myself reaching for authentic, primal wines like this more and more often: I’d liken the experience of drinking this ’17 to eating a perfectly ripe tomato in the middle of August, or a fresh, cool slice of raw fish dressed only with a sprinkle of sea salt and good olive oil. The flavors are clean and crisp, leaving you feeling energized, sated, and yes, joyful. What more could you ask for from a bottle of wine, especially at this price?
Worth repeating is that this is hardly some flash-in-the-pan operation. In this part of the Loire, the name Henry Marionnet, and that of his family’s Domaine de la Charmoise, still resonate widely; Henry was the one who re-planted and expanded the estate’s vineyards in the late-1960s and early ’70s, making world-class wines from un-glamorous varieties like Gamay, Côt (Malbec), Chenin Blanc, and Romarantin. Nestled in the hills of Soings, at the eastern edge of the Touraine AOC, the Marionnet vineyards sit at a high elevation at the convergence of the Loire and Cher Rivers, just south of Cheverny. The soils are a unique mix of clay, flint, silica, and gravel, which produce a Gamay rich in color and mineral depth. The sustainably farmed source vineyards for today’s wine were planted between 1967 and 1978, and while Première Vendange is all about bright, mouth-watering refreshment, it also persists on the palate in a way only old-vine wines can.
It’s fascinating, in fact, to experience a wine of both substance and straightforward pleasure. Now overseen by Jean-Sébastien Marionnet (who began working with Henry when he was 10 years old), vinification is carried out in stainless steel using ambient yeasts, with all grape clusters left intact. The wine ages in tank until bottling the following March, with no sulfur added at any point in the process. The result is a wine of tension and transparency, a pure expression of dark-toned Gamay fruit and crushed-rock minerality.
Compared to your average Cru Beaujolais, Première Vendange has a deeper cast, displaying a dark ruby core moving to magenta and pink at the rim. Color notwithstanding, however, this is not a “big” wine: It’s a bright, bouncy tangle of brambly black and red fruits, including blackberry, raspberry, pomegranate, and plum followed by floral notes of rose petals and lavender. Light- to medium-bodied and well-rounded on the palate, it is nevertheless super-satisfying and persistent on the palate, drawing you back immediately for another sip. Because it was bottled without sulfur, you’ll notice a slight prickle of CO2 when you first open the bottle, but don’t worry—splash this wine in a decanter and let it aerate for 30+ minutes and that ‘gassiness’ will dissipate and the wine will blossom on the palate. It’s amazing to watch this wine come alive in the glass—after all, it’s alive in the bottle, and it really does change as it interacts with the ambient oxygen. Serve it in Burgundy stems at or near cellar temperature (55-60 degrees) and before you know it, the bottle is gone—so be sure to have another close by. Pair it with lighter fare like grilled/roasted salmon, roast chicken, pork tenderloin, or enjoy it as an apéritif as you prepare dinner. It’s one of the friendliest, most versatile reds we’ve offered all year, so you’re going to want it around—shop accordingly! Cheers!
