We have been drinking Laurent Lebled’s beautiful wines for a number of years on our trips to France and then a few years ago we finally got the opportunity to visit Laurent and his wife Sonya at their winery in the Loire where we able to arrange a shipment of the gorgeous Gamay called Ca C’est Bon and the 100% Sauvignon Blanc called La Sauvignonne.
We enjoyed our time tasting through their range of wines which were accompanied by some stunning terrines and rillettes which went so well with their food-friendly wines.
Now we have expanded the range of wines from Laurent that we are importing and are delighted with the quality of all of the wines that we import from him.
Laurent Lebled Vin de France Ca C’est Bon 2018
This is the wine that we have been following for some years. We have come across it a number of times in fashionable wine bars and bottle shops in Paris on our perambulations through that wonderful city. We have always loved its juicy, gulpable qualities and the fine winemaking that sits behind it.
We have always loved the juicy, gulpable qualities of this smashable Gamay, made with carbonic maceration, which also has plenty of length. Some of this length comes from the rocky soils that the Gamay vines grow in and further complexity is the result of the carefully selected (selection massale) vines that were planted in 1950 and 1970 and are therefore at the peak of their maturity.
RRP: SOLD OUT
Laurent Lebled Vin de France La Sauvignonne 2015
This wine is an entry level Sauvignon that has been treated with great respect during the winemaking process. The small plot of vines grow in clay and limestone soils Laurent will never release a wine that he is not happy with. In fact, we had to convince him that we treated his wines well in bringing them to Australia.
We were able to explain that there was complete traceabilty of our wines from the moment they were picked up at the winery until they arrived in our temperature-controlled warehouse in Australia.
This Sauvignon Blanc has been produced from organically-grown grapes which macerate for some time (between 7 and 12 days) in large concrete tanks with a twist! The concrete tank has a raised chestnut wood floor through which any juice that comes out of the grapes passes to the floor of concrete below thus is not in contact with the skins. This reduces the effect of the long maceration, before being pressed and then fermented naturally so that the wine retains the true flavour of the Sauvignon Blanc grape rather than the “tropical” flavours introduced via commercial yeasts.
This is a lovely macerated wine at a very reasonable price considering the quality of the winemaking skill involved.
RRP: SOLD OUT
Laurent Lebled Vin de France On Est Su l’Sable 2018
As the name implies, this wine is made from Cabernet Franc grapes that have been grown in a sandy vineyard near Chinon.
It has none of the harsh aspects that Cabernet Franc can display in the wrong hands. Laurent understands this grape well and coaxes a suppleness, fruitiness and juiciness from this grape to make this fine, gulpable wines.
The grapes are harvested manually in small crates. The grapes then undergo carbonic maceration for up to 30 days in cement tanks. The grapes are then pressed in a screw press before completing the fermentation in large fibreglass tanks. The wine is neither fined nor filtered. The wine is light enough to accompany chicken or quail or a range of charcuterie while being complex enough to pair with grilled meats.
RRP: SOLD OUT
Laurent Lebled Vin de France Je t’ai dans la Peau 2018
This is a new cuvée for Laurent Lebled. This is made entirely from the very rare, local grape called Menu Pineau (which is also used to great effect by Hervé Villemade).
The grapes are treated like red grapes with destemming and maceration of the skins for about three weeks accompanied by daily pigeage (punching down). The result is a beautiful light orange wine with lovely tannic structure.
This is a great wine that will stand up to a wide range of foods.
RRP: SOLD OUT
