A BUYING TRIP TO BURGUNDY AND THE LOIRE

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FRIDAY

Domaine Heimbourger, St. Cyr les Colons. The Heimbourgers live on the edge of the Chablis appellation, in fact just outside it, on a road that leads to Irancy, a red wine appellation the other side of the autoroute from Chablis. They make reds and whites, straight Bourgogne and Chablis and Irancy.

The younger son of the household, Olivier, is in charge of the wines and vineyards. We taste through the 2001 whites. Then Olivier shows us a new wine — first vintage 2001 — a Pinot Gris. This is a pink/orange colour. It has a really interesting smell which in France reminded me of orange peel, but on retasting in Wales reminds me of wet dog. The taste is dry, less hairy than the smell, and absolutely unlike a rose. Interestingly, an agent in Paris who takes this wine told him to change the label (which claimed that the wine was a rosé). The Parisian agent is quite right: it's a vin gris.

On to the reds, 2001 vintage again. His straight Bourgogne is fine, as usual. His Irancy is better - with each succeeding vintage, as the vines in the recently planted vineyard gain age, this wine becomes more and more impressive.

Then off to the cuverie, which is a few hundred yards away the other end of the village, to taste the 2002s, which are not bottled yet. The cuverie is installed in some old stone barns. A couple of years ago - the last time I saw it - only one barn was being used and space was seriously limited. A considerable amount of work has been done since, and now the adjoining barn has been fixed up; throughout new insulation has been put in and extensive refurbishment has taken place.

We taste the 2002s. They look very promising.

Finally, back to the house, where we have a cup of coffee. On leaving, Olivier gives us a bottle of the Pinot Gris, and two little jars of Pinot Gris jelly, which turns out to be excellent on toast and with cold meats.

Originally I'd been hoping to see the Pommiers outside Chablis, but in the meantime I'd been in touch with M. Elliau near Saumur in the Loire, who looked as if he might be making interesting wines. I had been hoping to see him on Saturday, but he was going to be in Paris then, so I postponed the rendezvous with the Pommiers and arranged to see M. Elliau at 5 o'clock that afternoon. It was quite a long drive from the Heimbourgers to M. Elliau - about 5 hours. We stopped in Bellegard where there was a fascinating chateau: moated, locked up, with some broken windows, but in good structural order. We went to have look and walked round the outside. A lovely building, in brick a stone dating (if I remember correctly) from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. There was a café housed in a magnificent outbuilding belonging to the chateau, with its entrance in the main square of the town. We had to press on, but I thought we could stop off here on the way back to Burgundy on Sunday when we would have more time.

Domaine de la Fuye, Sanziers. This is M.Elliau's domaine. It is outside Montreuil-Bellay, where we have booked a room for the night. Montreoil-Bellay is a small town south of Saumur with a chateau and fortified church next to it, and a wine school. We check in to the hotel first, and then ring M. Ellian for directions to his place. He gives up trying to explain and decides to Come and fetch us. We follow him in our car, as he speeds off into the middle distance. We just manage not to lose sight of him. We arrive: at an unassuming brick and corrupted iron building which reminded me of a pig shed.

We start tasting. First, a dry white, which is nice enough, quite rich m the mouth. Then his basic Saumur Rouge 2001 - terrific! It has good colour and smells wonderful. It also tastes wonderful, with clean, vivid fruit, excellent balance, finishing with a hint of tannin, which suggests it will develop interestingly over the next few years. This is very exciting. M. Elliau farms his land organically, and is clearly very conscientious about his winemaking.

We taste his Saumur Rouge "Vieilles Vignes" 2001. Made from 43 year-old vines, this is denser and darker than the previous wine, with a marvellous' mouth-coating texture, lovely ripe flavour, and better length.

Next we try his Methode Traditionnelle (fizzy wine), which is nice enough, but not so exciting.

Finally we try his Coteaux de Saumur 2001 (made from Chenin Blanc). I had seen some new-looking oak barrels, and they are entirely used for this wine. It is sensational: a deep golden colour, with an extraordinary oaky smell, and in the mouth rich, fascinating, even oily; lusciously sweet, with perhaps a touch of aniseed in the taste. A remarkable wine.

M. Elliau then asks us if we'd like to taste his 2002s in tank. Everybody wants us to taste their 2002s. The weather was brilliant for growers all over northern France in 2002. Specifically, his dry white (which he tells us is completely unsulphured) looks pretty special.

This domaine is a thrilling new discovery, and I buy a few dozen bottles from him on the spot.