Le Tour de Loire vol 1. (Julie & Toby Bainbridge)
It was great to start our trip with Toby and Julie. Seeing them again always feels like coming home. We had the happy chance to arrive on their son Johnny's 12th birthday, so the first of many barbecues ensued with the newly disgorged "La Danseuse" to welcome us (their older son, Micheal, serving).
We stayed close by, so tasting throughout the night was in good order. This was a great first impression of what we'd learn to recognize as the 2021 vintage throughout the trip. Toby and Julie's wines are so clean and transparent, it was immediately obvious what some of the markers of the vintage would be. The Grolleau was lifted, lighter, and and higher acid than it has been in years. The Cabernet's red strawberry fruit beat out a subtler green pepper. The Chenin was crystalline and bright. New and exciting? One barrel of Pinot Noir from vines planted 4 years ago. I'm making a very strong plea for a few bottles. Basile was smitten.
Everything was promising but the quantities, which would be another unfortunate theme of the trip. The 2021 growing season was full of frost, with many of our producers losing 50% or more of their yield. The Bainbridges were lucky to have some secondary fruit this year to mitigate some of the loss, but numbers are still way down. Still, the family was in high spirits with the yield of a tricky year, and because they grow more grapes than they can feasibly make wine with, they even sold some fruit this year.
Toby and Julie really seem to be settling into their small, family estate, and it's beginning to feel very well oiled. Naturally, extra curricular activities are being worked in. The topic of much conversation and instagramming were Toby's new sheep -- a project he seems quite pleased with. "I've always wanted a passion outside of my profession -- a hobby," he told us, and maybe shepherding is going to be that fit. Of course, the sheep are really just another aspect of the viticulture. The sheep are essentially wooly lawnmowers that trim the herbs between the vines. Otherwise, there are plans for olive trees and fruit trees.
