Le Thoureil – a beautiful riverside village perched on the banks of the Loire

It’s interesting to see how the vintage year has such an impact upon vine development. In 2011 the Cabernet Franc sprung into action early and by the end of May they were in full flower. In 2012 you can see that the vines have not reached that point and this year we are even further behind with the lack of sunshine throughout May. We count 100 days from flowering to harvest so it looks like we’ll be picking considerably later this year.

5th generation winemakers, Xavier and Geraldine Cailleau at Chateau de Bois Brinçon make an eclectic range of wines of impressive quality in the heart of Anjou close to the delightful village of Blaison-Gohier just 10 minutes from us here at le tasting room.

We popped over to see Arnaud Lambert last week for a long overdue catch up and tasting. Arnaud’s wines are some of our favourites from Saumur.

You know when you wake up in the morning and already can’t wait for bedtime again? That was me this morning. A large cup of tea – and back to bed.

I had the best night’s sleep last night. Was it due to the fact that I got up at half five yesterday morning? Was it the 6km walk through the vineyards?

If you like to run and are in the Loire this September, the Foulées du Saumur Champigny is a lovely event amongst the vines. Runs of 9km, 17km and a troglo trail of 29km as well as 2 Nordic walking trails and much more.