REGISTER FOR LA PAULÉE 2024

LA PAULÉE D’ANJOU WILL MEET ON JUNE 17, 2024, TO CELEBRATE THE TERROIRS OF THE HISTORIC PROVINCE OF ANJOU

On Monday June 17 2024, the unmissable Paulée d'Anjou will take place at the Royal Abbey of Bourgueil. Sharing, culture and camaraderie are the watchwords of this 12 th edition.

Organized by a collective of 90 winemakers, the Paulée's objective has remained the same throughout the years : promote Anjou wines through its history, landscapes, heritage of “beautiful stones”, gastronomy and culture, all with a deep respect for the environment.

THE ROYAL ABBEY OF BOURGUEIL EXCEPTIONALLY OPENS ITS DOORS TO WELCOME THE 12TH EDITION OF THE PAULÉE D'ANJOU !

This private site, rarely open to the public, has been a source of inspiration for many artists since its foundation in the year 990.

It was also here that the first vine of Cabernet Franc, the region's emblematic grape variety, was planted.

Conscious of the richness of this exceptional site, the Paulée d'Anjou collective pays tribute to it : the program for this 12th edition will be all about culture.

10:30AM - 11AM : “THE HISTORY OF BOURGUEIL IN ANJOU”

by Martine Hubert-Pellier, Geographer and Historian &

“CABERNET FRANC: 2000 YEARS OF HISTORY by Muriel Roudaut, M2RP Director

11AM - 12PM : ROUND- TABLE: “CABERNET FRANC CONQUERS BORDEAUX

AND THE NEW WORLD”

moderated by Alexandre Lazareff with the participation of Gabriel Lepousez (Paulée’s Guest of Honor, researcher and neurobiologist), Pierre-Olivier Clouet (General Manager of Château Cheval

Blanc), Allison Slute (Canadian reporter, @cabfrancchronicles) and Jeanne Yerre (Historian, CNRS researcher)

11AM - 12PM : Animal traction demonstration in the abbey grounds

11:30AM - 12PM : Guided tour of the abbey

12PM - 2PM : OUTDOOR LUNCH

made by three rising stars of Anjou gastronomy,

chefs Romain Butet (restaurant Ververt), Florent Mounier (Les P'tites Terrasses) and Charly Mabileau (Chez Odette)

2PM - 3PM : SOIL PITS

by Dominique Boutin (soil life specialist, former member of the Chamber of Agriculture)

3PM - 4:30PM : MASTERCLASS : “THE DISTINCTIVE FRESHNESS OF LIGERIAN FRENCH CABERNET, A READING OF THE TERROIR AND THE VINTAGE”

by Alexis Goujard (Journalist-Taster at Revue du Vin de France) and Gabriel Lepousez

3PM - 5PM : ROUND-TABLE : “SOIL’S LIFE AND HISTORY”

moderated by Patrick Baudouin (Winemaker) with the participation of Christine Strullu-Derrien (Paleo-botanist and paleo-mycologist), Dominique Boutin, Dominique Rioux (INRAE) and Paul Pisani-Ferry (Winemaker)

5PM - 5:45PM : Guided tour of the abbey

5PM - 6PM: Animal traction demonstration in the abbey grounds

7PM: APERITIF in the abbey’s park

8PM : OUTDOOR GASTRONOMIC DINNER in the heart of the abbey's inner courtyard

Showcasing of organic and local products & tasting of old vintages at the winegrowers' table

THROUGHOUT THE DAY :

o Under the Pergola : Wine tasting of the Paulée d’Anjou organic winemakers o Theatrical sketches around Rabelais

GABRIEL LEPOUSEZ, AN OUTSTANDING GUEST OF HONOR

The members of the Paulée d'Anjou collective are proud to welcome Gabriel Lepousez as the Guest of Honor.

Neurobiologist specialized in sensory perception and brain plasticity, Gabriel Lepousez is a researcher at the Institut Pasteur Paris I. He is interested in the brain's perception of smells, and more specifically in the mechanisms by which a fragrance can be perceived differently depending on experience, mood or context. Passionate about wine, he has conducted a number of research projects on the link between the olfactory sense, the brain and oenology. He studies how the brain interprets all the dimensions of the sense of smell when tasting wine, and is interested in the impact of artificial intelligence on sommeliers.

During the day, Gabriel Lepousez will take part of an original Masterclass, co-presented by Alexis Goujard, journalist and member of the Revue du Vin de France tasting committee :

“The distinctive freshness of Loire Cabernet Franc, a reading of terroir and vintage”. Whether born in a late or an early, generously sun-drenched year, Loire Cabernet Franc is imbued with an unforgettable freshness and structure that expresses the terroir in which it was born. How do you read this expression in the wine? A comparative tasting of eight wines from Anjou, Saumur-Champigny, Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas- de-Bourgueil.

CABERNET FRANC, GRAPE VARIETY OF THIS 2024 EDITION

Cabernet franc is the main red grape variety in the Anjou noir appellations. It is a relatively recent name (around 1850), replacing many vernacular names (carmenet, carmenelle, vidure, bouchet, bouchy, breton-berton...). It designates an “ancient” grape variety (before 1500 - Lacombe 2012) probably coming from the south-west of France.

With its small berry size, it produces aromatic, structured and fruity single-varietal wines. In blends, it brings roundness, liveliness and delicacy. An emblematic grape variety of the region, revealing its full potential on clay-limestone and clay- silica soils.

Taking place at the Royal Abbey of Bourgueil, the Paulée d'Anjou immerses its participants in the history of this grape variety : it was there that the first Cabernet Franc vine was planted in the year 900.

Other famous grape variety native of the region, the Chenin Blanc.

The history of Chenin is intimately linked to that of the Loire. Successively called franc blanc, plant d'Anjou, plant de Brèzé or pineau de Loire, it is in the Loire angevine by its climate that it found its place of election, allowing it to express all its facets. Its origin remains mysterious even if ampelography has allowed us to identify its "parents": savagnin, a grape variety from the Jura and, by deduction, perhaps sauvignonasse or friulano whose origin is complex. Recognized in its "sweetest" expression by Flemish merchants who came to the Loire in the 17th century, it was exported to South Africa where it covers 19,000 hectares. Today, chenin wines (9000 ha in France) only represent a little more than 20% of the wines from Anjou. Chenin represents 4% of the French vineyards and 0.4% of the world vineyards. Thirtieth grape variety in the world, seventeenth white grape variety... Anjou is one of the rare regions where winegrowers have been able to tame this polymorphous but difficult grape variety and to obtain great wines. Threatened treasure: its surface has decreased by half in Anjou in 50 years. Chenin in Anjou is 4% dry, 7% sweet, 14% bubbly. https://www.academieduchenin.org/le-congres

One of the great challenges for the Anjou winegrowers is to make a treasure out of this rarity.