TN: Joël Taluau St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil vertical (89, 96, 15)

WINE TALK
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JOËL TALUAU ST-NICOLAS-DE-BOURGUEIL VERTICAL (89, 96, 15) - (2/19/2017)

Nice 68 degree February day in Philly, so fired up the grill and put on some well-marinated skirt steak and veggies. Figured as good a time as any to try out the Joël Taluau library release vertical from K&L. Double decanted all wines 2 hours before serving. The '89 was the clear favorite.

  • 2015 Joël Taluau Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil L’Expression - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
    Stunning value at $12.99. Some juicy red fruit, but married to a more serious structure with earth, cocoa, and leather. No green notes or VA. Enough complexity, but obviously not in the same league as the '96 or '89. A joy to drink now. (88 pts.)
  • 1996 Joël Taluau Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil Vieilles Vignes - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
    This time, double decanted and served 2 hours later. This made all the difference from the previous bottle. Continued evolving substantially in glass. Much softer and more advanced than the '89. Tertiary notes evolving. damp forest floor, dark brambly fruit, roasted chestnuts, mushroom. Hard to believe the $27 price for the library release. (90 pts.)
  • 1989 Joël Taluau Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil Vieilles Vignes - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
    Double decanted and served 2 hours later. Less sediment than the '96, and seemed the younger wine in most respects. Exuberant nose of flowers, red cherry, and well-worn leather. Really rather young on the palate, with a more masculine attack, very focused and harmonious with all elements in their right place. Not quite a match for our skirt steak, but Would have been fabulous with a roast chicken. Picking up a six pack more as these clearly have much more life in them. Stellar! (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Thanks for the fine notes, Vince. I am gong to grab several as these sound right up my alley.

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Last time I has a bottle of the 96, maybe 5 years ago, it seemed tannic and surly, and I pot it in the “do not try another bottle for 5+ years” camp. So I’m surprised to see that your bottle was on the down slope. Maybe I should pull another bottle to try.

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I recently bought some of the 96 from K&L. Put me in the “too good to be true camp”: 20-year-plus, old vine, library release direct from producer, under 30 bucks, etc.

The wines are good, not great. I expected a bit more aromatics, fireworks, pleasing funk. Soft is a good way of putting it.

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Matthew, I totally agree on the “soft” on the 96 - was disappointed with the first bottle I had, which seemed very much on the downward slope. The decant definitely seemed to help (or this was just a better bottle). If you haven’t tried the 89, I’d recommend it…

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Just had another bottle of the 96 with dinner. Needed half an hour of air to show well. Definitely not on the downslope, but I wouldn’t bank on any improvement. I have 3 more bottles, not in any hurry to drink them up, but I’m not thinking there’s any need to wait. Tannins are finally resolved. Great nose of cedar and tobacco leaf.

My bottles were purchased from Chambers on release. Wonder if that is some of the difference.