A BUYING TRIP TO BURGUNDY AND THE LOIRE

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Domaine Guibertean Eggerton, Brézé.

Stephen Eggerton upped sticks with his young family recently and put himself through wine school at Montreuil-Bellay. Brézé is a few minutes' drive away. It was his invitation that brought us to the Loire. I have spent the last 15 years or so firing off letters and press releases to newspapers and magazines. And for more than 10 of those (with one or two honourable exceptions, such as Jancis Robinson) my efforts were completely ignored. Now, miraculously, when I send off press releases to local newspapers they usually print them! I had sent one to the Hereford Times last autumn, and Stephen's mother, who lives in Herefordshire, saw the piece and rang me to say would I like to buy her son's wine.

I'm always on the look-out for good wine, and my long term plan had been, when I ranged further than Burgundy, to go and look round the Rh6ne and the Loire (in that order). Anyway, the order has been reversed. Stephen invited me to stay the night and taste his wines. So we took up his offer.

We arrived about tea time at their house, the Clos des Cannes. It comes with vineyards. The land adjoining the house is being replanted, and there are more vines beyond, going over the brow of the hill, and some across the road; also, some parcels of vines near his partner's house at St. Just sur Dive.

When we arrived their eight-year-old daughter was very miserable because the fox had just eaten their chickens. She had discovered the feathery remains. And she had a nasty cold as well.

Underneath the house are cellars carved out of the rock (as happens in this part of the Loire).

As we drove around the area we saw many troglodyte dwellings - house fronts apparently squashed against hillsides, with the living quarters actually in the rock.

We taste the 2002s in barrel. Stephen and his partner believe in oak maturing, including new oak. He has a fervent and enquiring interest in making the best wine possible, and he is clearly fascinated by all aspects of the business, both in the vineyard and the chai.

He does seem to have rather landed on his feet. His partner's wife was Iris teacher at wine school, and once he'd finished his course, he joined her husband. Vineyard land doesn't come cheap these days, and finding a partner rather than going it alone, particularly a French partner, gets you going much more smoothly.

The wines? They are impressive. There are two reds, from Cabernet Franc, and one white, from Chenin Blanc. The white is a serious wine, with beautiful balance, plenty of oak flavour and really good ripeness. The reds have a very fine texture - a sort of sheen about them - that I think suggests that they have lots of potential. The 2000 subsequently tasted back in Wales was much more impressive three days after it had been opened.

We went out to a restaurant that evening and had a very jolly meal.

The next morning, Stephen took us around his vineyards, which he is in the process of converting to organic methods of cultivation.

We set off for Burgundy, stopping for lunch at Bellegarde, in the cafe by the chateau, and marvelled at the high ceilings and aristocratic windows. Murals had been painted on the walls inside by one of the most incompetent artists in history. A curious mixture.