Domaine Éric Louis
Les Celliers de la Pauline
(An Online Virtual Visit)
by
Kathy and Terry Sullivan
Images provided by
Domaine Éric Louis unless otherwise noted.
This article describing Domaine Éric Louis is based on the online interview, online data and photos supplied by Domaine Éric Louis. We also received two wine samples. This article was written during the time of the world-wide 2020-2021 pandemic. Éric Louis answered our questions.
Summary: Domaine Éric Louis Les Celliers de la Pauline, located in the Sancerre region of the Loire Valley, produces white, red and rosé wines. Currently the winery is operated by the fourth generation family members with an up and coming 5th generation. The winery offers numerous activities for visitors, both adults and children.
History
Domaine Éric Louis Les Celliers de la Pauline was originally started in 1860 by the fourth generation’s great-grandmother, Pauline. The vineyard estate was known as “Les Celliers de la Pauline.” She planted grapevines so that she could craft wine for her family and local community. At the same time the farm was also growing tobacco, wheat and barley and planted a vegetable garden.
During the 1980s, Éric Louis’ parents, Ginette and Leon, decided to focus on the vineyards. They also began to offer wines at markets and fairs in France. They encouraged people to visit the estate and began selling the wine on the property. Éric Louis expanded the winery network to other businesses including importers. By 1995 the property consisted of 8 hectares (20 acres) of vineyards. Éric Louis took control of the vineyards in 1995 and increased the vineyards to 35 hectares (86 acres). Éric Louis wrote, “I focused all my effort to develop the winemaking by extending and modernizing the cellar. Today, the whole production is made and bottled in our cellar. All the bottles are sold by ourselves all around the world!”
Future
The fifth generation of the family has joined the winery. Éric Louis’ oldest son, Hugolin, studied winemaking and already works with the team of vineyardists.
Vineyards
Most of the vineyards are located in Sancerre, however, recently Éric Louis purchased some vineyards in Quincy.
The majority of the vineyards are planted with Sauvignon Blanc. Pinot Noir is also found in the vineyards. Éric Louis wrote about introducing organic farming in the vineyards. “We are now in our 2nd year of organic conversion. We will start to communicate on our conversion next year, on the back labels of our bottles for instance. Today, consumers are looking for wines which are respectful of nature and biodiversity. They are also looking to consume local. We saw this trend getting even clearer during the lock down periods we had since last year. We are fully convinced we are going in the good way!”
The vineyards are certified “High Environmental Value-level 3”. Today Éric Louis Les Celliers de la Pauline vineyards are transitioning to organic vineyard management.
Winemaking
Éric Louis wrote, “I am the winemaker and I am helped by Sebastien who works all the year round in the cellar. Winemaking is the concretization of a whole and hard year of work in the vineyard. Harvest is always an intense and joyful moment! I won’t miss this unique moment for the world!”
We were curious as to the uniqueness of the winery. Éric Louis replied, “I take a special attention to produce healthy wine for our body by lowering sulphites level in all wines. It starts at the harvest with the biocontrol technique and finish at the bottling under nitrogen to always limit addition of sulphites.”
Most of the wine barrels in the winery are crafted of oak. However, some of the Éric Louis wines are produced using acacia barrels. We asked about the use of acacia barrels at the winery. Éric Louis responded, "In the region we have plentiful of forests in which you have the nicest oaks to make barrels. My grand-father, Robert, was a barrel maker and during the war, to compensate the shortage of oak, he started to look for new woods and crafted acacia barrels. Today the great cuvée of the Estate is aged half in acacia, half in oak, in his memory. Acacia will bring you nice and pleasant flower notes to the wine.”
Wines
The 2020 Sancerre White AOP was crafted with Sauvignon Blanc grapes from vineyard plots on the southeast side of Sancerre. Grapes came from plots in Thauvenay, Ménétréol sous Sancerre and Vinon. The grapes were grown in limestone and clay soils. The 14% alcohol wine had a yellow color with golden hue.The intense aroma offered tropical fruits. The taste was reminiscent of pineapple, green apple, citrus and chalk. The finish was crisp with fruit yielding to a faint chalkiness. We used the wine as an aperitif with neighbors.
The 2019 Cul de Loup Sancerre Blanc AOP (image left by winetrailtraveler) was made entirely of Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The grapes were harvested from a parcel called “Cul de loup;” the words translate into “wolf’s ass”. An image on the bottle’s label shows a wolf walking away. A story tells of the last wolf to be seen in the Sancerre region. The 13% alcohol wine had a dark yellow color with a golden hue. The wine was very aromatic from the removing of the cork to the glass. The aroma offers some tropical notes and lemon grass with some mineral. The taste included green apple, citrus, faint hint of pineapple and melon. The finish was crisp and fruity with a bit of chalk on the long aftertaste.
Tourism
Éric Louis is enthusiastic about tourism. “My parents were pioneers in wine tourism in the region by opening their cellar doors to travelers. I followed in their footsteps by creating various touristic offers such as horse-drawn carriage rides through the vineyard, winemaker lunch, vineyard hikes…”
The winery offers a large selection of activities for visitors, both children and adults. Éric Louis wrote about the activities for children, “We are proud to have Monin syrups company located in Bourges (main city of our district) so we like to make blind tastings for children by making them guessing a multitude of syrups flavours! It is a kind of an initiation of wine tasting!
For sunny days, they usually love to play at the playground area we have in front of the tasting room, swing and slide are always of a great fun!”
Activities at the winery include: Cellar and Goat Farm Tour, a Cellar Tour, the Pipette Baptism, a vineyard hike and a winemaker lunch. We were curious about the Pipette Baptism. Éric Louis explained, “The pipette baptism is an ancestral tradition of Sancerre region, we have a special staging in the barrels cellar for it. The lucky guy is sitting and proclaims a typical funny prayer before drinking straight a full pipette of Sancerre. This enthronement has been perpetrated for generations and is part of local folklore.”
Food Pairings
Éric Louis suggested a couple of food pairings. “Best pairing of our Sancerre is with the famous crottin de Chavignol goat cheese! It is going pretty well with river fish as pike or catfish we find in the Loire. Regarding red Sancerre, the traditional recipe of « œufs en couille d’âne » are always comforting! This dish is composed of poached eggs in a red wine sauce along with bacon. A must try!”
When in the Sancerre region of the Loire Valley, consider a visit to Éric Louis Les Celliers de la Pauline.
Domaine Eric Louis website
Domaine Eric Louis
Les Celliers de la Pauline
Le Bourg – 26 rue de la Mairie
18300 Thauvenay – France
Article written August 2021.
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