TASTING CLOSELS WITH EVELYNE DE PONTBRIAND - Le Caveau, Chamblee, GA (10/21/2014)
Evelyne de Pontbriand, the vigneron from Domaine du Closel, was in town last night pouring some of her recent releases at Le Caveau, and I brought along a few older wines to share with her and as examples of how the estates’s wines age. The wines were enjoyable, but visiting with Mme de Pontbriand was even more so, as I was struck by her enthusiasm, humility, and engaging personality. I didn’t take detailed notes, as the far-ranging and fascinating conversations with Evelyne and some of the others present seemed much more important to me.
Current Releases
We started with three current releases, all of which were enjoyable in different ways.
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2011 Domaine du Closel-Château des Vaults Savennières Clos du Papillon - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
Surprisingly rich mouthfeel, with lots of honey, some lanolin, a little dust, and decent acidity. Not overly complex, but a good Savennieres from a challenging year. -
2010 Domaine du Closel-Château des Vaults Savennières Clos du Papillon - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
Delightful, complex and well balanced, I was impressed with how white fruit and mineraility added a nimble quality that complemented the honeyed richness that can make young Savennieres from ripe years a little ponderous. -
2012 Domaine du Closel-Château des Vaults Savennières La Jalousie - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
Bright fruit and minerals and well-integrated acidity make it easy and fun to drink. An interesting contrast to the Papillons, which showed much more honey and lanolin.
Older Vintages
I provided all of the older wines. The 1996 has been in temperature controlled storage since release, the other two have been at my house, which I keep on the cool side but that is far from optimal storage. That may account for the poor showing of the 2002, but makes the fine performance of the 1992 even more impressive.
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1992 Domaine du Closel-Château des Vaults Savennières Cuvée Spéciale - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
It initially showed a lot of oxidation, which is not surprising since it spent more than 15 years in my short-term drinking rack. Some maderized character led me to conclude at first that it was shot. But a hint of clean fruit encouraged me to give it some time and ultimately to decant it.
In the decanter, it looked like a good sorghum syrup, dark gold, but still translucent. As it warmed up and aired out, the maderization faded, leaving honey and lanolin and a decent core of fruit that was more prominent on the palate than on the nose.
It turned out to be a very pleasant surprise, but the greatest pleasure came from the privilege of sharing it with Evelyne de Pontbriand, whose mother made the wine and who was a pure joy to meet.
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1996 Domaine du Closel-Château des Vaults Savennières Cuvée Spéciale Clos du Papillon - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
I was concerned about the level of oxidation when it was first opened, but as the night wore on, it became cleaner, and seemed to lighten in color, as much brighter fruit, minerals, salinity and fresh spring water, joined the honey and lanolin. By the end of the evening, it was singing, and the last glass was the best. -
2002 Domaine du Closel-Château des Vaults Savennières Clos du Papillon - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
Oxidized and funky, and while time and air raised it to drinkable, this bottle never really turned around like the older ones did.