Hi guys, (*)

A bunch of us are heading down to Le Mans for the 24 Hour Race this
coming weekend and I was wondering if you fine folks had any
suggestions for wine-related destinations in the area, as a trip away
from the circuit for an afternoon might bring welcome relief from the
dust, fumes and noise. That's sacrilege to the petrol-heads, I know,
but the race is really just an excuse for a group of 40-year old
school friends to have a weekend away.

One of the group is a genuine wine nut, one prefers lager, and the
other two (of which I am one) just like drinking the stuff. Boy, do we
like drinking the stuff.

I can't promise to return copious tasting notes, and they are likely
to be of the Texaco -v- Halvoline variety, but feedback will be
gratefully reported.

Thanks in advance.

Nigel

(*) That's a non gender-specific use of the word 'guy', before anyone
comments

Nigel Poll wrote:
> Hi guys, (*)
>
> A bunch of us are heading down to Le Mans for the 24 Hour Race this
> coming weekend and I was wondering if you fine folks had any
> suggestions for wine-related destinations in the area, as a trip away
> from the circuit for an afternoon might bring welcome relief from the
> dust, fumes and noise. That's sacrilege to the petrol-heads, I know,
> but the race is really just an excuse for a group of 40-year old
> school friends to have a weekend away.

Le Mans appears to be about equidistant from Angers and Tours in the
Loire valley. There are some very interesting wineries in the Touraine
and Anjou. There, you've got the apex of Chenin Blanc production, both
dry and sweet and everything in between. You've also got red wines made
from Gamay, Cab Franc and even Malbec (Côt). There are some other
people in this group who are far more familiar with the region, but some
producers I'd seek out a Marc Angeli, Clos Roche Blanche, Thierry
Puzelet/Clos de Tue-Boeuf, Catherine and Pierre Breton, Olga Raffault,
Baumard, Dom. Closel and (if you can get in) Huet.

Mark Lipton

Nigel Poll > wrote in
:

Congratulations,

Le Mans is a beautiful town. Unfortunately it would be so crowded during
the 24 hours weekend that you will probably miss the mystic experience I
had two years ago when we spent a full sunday in the Cathedral
surroundings. The Cathedral is magnificent, one of the most impressive
buildings I have ever visited, probably more impressive (but in an ascetic
way) than the ones in Spain.

Angers would be a good destination as would be Tours. I can be of help when
it comes to suggestions of restaurants in Angers which I have visited
extensively.

You do not make clear if you want to visit a winery or you just want to go
to some restaurant with a great wine list.

If the latter, I strongly suggest a visit to Béhuard, a small island in the
middle of the Loire (close to Angers) where there is an excellent
restaurant called "Les Tonnelles" where you could enjoy a great wine list
with plenty of mature vintages of Anjou wines. 60 euros/pax with a good
bottle of wine for two people was our last bill. Food was great, service
was excellent, they speak a little english and the bottle of Mark Angeli
Les Fouchardes 2000 was astonishing. You cannot go wrong with that.

From Le Mans to Behuard is a 1:15 hours drive. After the lunch (or before)
you could pay a visit to the Brissac Castle if you are so inclined.

On the way back, stop by Savennieres and try to find the Clos de la Coulee
de Serrant. You can do a short walk along such a mythical vineyard.

Best,

S.

On Mon, 12 Jun 2006 14:32:50 +0100
Nigel Poll > wrote:

> Hi guys, (*)
>
> A bunch of us are heading down to Le Mans for the 24 Hour Race this
> coming weekend and I was wondering if you fine folks had any
> suggestions for wine-related destinations in the area, as a trip away
> from the circuit for an afternoon might bring welcome relief from the
> dust, fumes and noise. That's sacrilege to the petrol-heads, I know,
> but the race is really just an excuse for a group of 40-year old
> school friends to have a weekend away.
>

'lo Nigel,

Jasnières, of course! One of the best kept secrets in the world of whites,
and the most northerly of the Loire appellations. Quite close to Le Mans,
and now with the fab new autoroute to Tours (which I took last week to
help my young Gillian win the National of her piano competition, hehe shameless
parental boast), very quick indeed to get to, perhaps 20 minutes from the
circuit. Some interesting reds too which some consider worth only curiosity
value, but I find I sometimes quite like. (Pineau d'Aunis anyone?)

Anyway some very good Chenin, I like Dom Cezin (M. Fresneau) and I know
Mike Tommasi has a producer he swears by, a google will turn it up.

Anyway with the new leg of the A28 finished between Le Mans and
Tours, Vouvray - Montlouis is actually closer than the Anjou.

If you come down on the (also new) A28 from Rouen, watch out for
the speed trap just above Gacé. If you're coming from Caen, the
gendarmes will be camped out in Mortrée, as usual, and again in
Sées as you join the N138 towards Alencon.

Have fun!

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

On Mon, 12 Jun 2006 14:32:50 +0100, Nigel Poll
> wrote:

Thanks for your suggestions.

Despite our best intentions to get out-and-about the traffic around Le
Mans and Arnage was impenetrable and the furthest we got was a walk
into the village for lunch. We did manage a trip around the
hypermarchè and ended up with a couple of dozen bottles of assorted
reds. Whites were out of the question given that we were camping so
I'm afraid that the delights of Jasnières remain a mystery to me.

Unfortunately I have to report a complete failure to properly select,
taste and note the wine. Instead, we settled for drinking the stuff in
the warm evening breeze whilst the cars streamed past, the Corvettes
and Panoz' with much gnashing and wailing of teeth and the Audis with
the whispered nonchalance that led them to win. There were some
highlights and I'll mention them here as I did promise feedback,
although I apologise for the total lack of meaningful information
about the wines as I didn't have the material (nor, frankly, much
inclination at the time) to write anything down.

We had a Cahors ('98 as I recall) that my companions stated smelled of
dry raisins but I thought smelled of toilets. Horrible, but they liked
it. My opinion was confirmed by the amount of sediment the bottle
threw and their hangovers the following day. We had a different Cahors
another day that had the same nose, but softer, and tasted much
better, though still not particularly memorable. My favourite was a
Gigondas which reeked of burnt toast but had very deep blackcurrant
flavours. Lovely, lovely stuff.

Apart from that there were assorted Côtes du Rhône and Chinon, none
outstanding but all very pleasant. The most noteworthy point though is
that not a single one of them cost more than 4 euros (2.80GBP or
5USD). That may not be a revelation to the US patrons of this forum
but to us Brits its incredible.

So, now I just need to plan another trip to make use of your
suggestions. Shame...!

Nigel