I also plan to buy Baudry when possible. The '07 Grezeaux was ridiculously inexpensive given how “perfect” it was. Not perfect in a WA/WS/WE sense, but in the sense that is was transparent, honest and pure. After trying some 2007s that just didn’t do it for me, it was quite redeeming. I know to buy in multiples, not single bottles, in the future . . . .
Nathan, that’s a terrific list, but VERY few will be able to participate, and we want to be as inclusive as possible, particularly in the beginning. Broader topics will be needed, making sure we get this off the ground running.
Fair enough. I’m just a strong proponent of the wines and the best growers.
FWIW, I was able to quickly put together 1 bottle from a recommended producer from each area for $105+shipping. It’s the beauty of the undiscovered country.
Puzelat, Thierry 2007 Touraine KO (In Côt We Trust) $19.99
Thomas-Labaille 2008 Sancerre Chavignol Les Monts Damnées $24.99
Baudry, Bernard 2007 Chinon Cuvée Domaine $17.99
Huet 2007 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Sec * $26.50
Pepiere 2008 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Clos des Briords $15.99
Subtotal $105.46
K & L does have a nice list of wines. If you want a very tasty and complex high end Sancerre, take a look at Gerard Boulay. Both his Monts Damnes and Clos du Beaujeu are great examples of the terroir.
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great idea, Tony! ![[berserker.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8600bbd4810d342b8fbd4ffb62b4f0026275fd37.gif "berserker"){kind=small}
Joe Dressner will be at Terroir in SF on the 22nd. I can’t imagine there not being Loire wines poured from his portfolio that evening. Some of the producers on Nathan’s list are imported by Louis/Dressner.
(FYI, I have no affiliation with either business)
Very interesting. I have a lot of notes of Loire wines, though, unfortunately, I cannot list US sources from them as I bought them either in Manila or in France. Still, on the off chance some can find them in the US (which is more than likely), I will post on a few that I found particularly interesting or good QPR (of which there are a lot in the Loire).
2005 Domaine Plante d’Or Cour Cheverny Cuvée Salamandre - (cepage: romorantin)…I had it with the cheese course. My previous notes describe this wine with flavors/scents of very lightly honeyed quince, citrus, some fresh herbs, limestone with a mouth-watering slight bitterness towards the rear.
I add now that it has a sweetish florality, cold-stoniness in its pleasantly rounded middle, and an intriguing, faintly waxy feel (vaguely reminiscent of a Rhône blanc marsanne/roussanne blend) on either side of my tongue just past mid-mouth. In addition, it displays praiseworthy complexity and balance in its structure, ripe/rounded fruit, minerality and bright acidity. J-Lab, again, liked it a lot and so did I. Very nice indeed.
2000 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon “Croix Boisée” - I remember having told Jérome a couple of years ago that, after spending many days tasting through the Loire, I did not like a single red I tried there (the whites, though, are excellent) - finding them aggressively herbaceous, tannic and lacking in body.
With an open mind, though, I sipped this before eating, and, sure enough, it was quite forwardly herbaceous in its dominant ripe blackcurrants, cherry flavors. Also present were typical notes of violets and, more in the nose, black pepper. Admittedly, it had better heft and confidence than any red Loire I had previously tried, but I found the middle a bit weak.
The wine’s magic, however, was in the pairing. With the deliciously earthy veal, the wine fleshed out and even expanded mid-mouth. The notes of violets rode a swelling blackcurrant river that paired hand-in-hand with the meat, and the black pepper found its place with the duck liver’s touch of richness. The wine’s transformation, when taken with the dish, was nothing short of astounding. Excellent pairing.
2005 Michel Redde Blanc Fumé de Pouilly “Les Bois de Saint-Andelain” - Great freshness, purity, minerality in this 100% sauvignon blanc from the Loire. For a 2005, it showed excellent balance - a testament to the winemaking skills of Michel Redde et Fils. Solid structure, good ripe fruit, but all buttressed, brightened and kept in check by its acidity.
Very confident wine. I liked the flintiness that shines through the fruit. Nuances of citrus, white peach and white flowers. This is a hefty sauv blanc with a decidedly rounder, fleshier texture than many Loire whites I am used to (the vintage expressing itself for sure). As I’ve previously stated, however, it was fresh and precisely balanced - the acidity giving the needed brightness and lift to the ripe vintage characteristics. Harmonious wine.
2006 Sancerre La Gravelière by Joseph Mellot - at Au Pied de Cochon, Paris with sizzling moules farci (under a mildly spicy, garlicy tomato sauce), os a moelle (roasted beef marrow bone) and a huge platter of assorted fresh oysters. Though I do not profess to have very extensive experience with Sancerre, I’ve tried several in Manila and immersed myself in the Loire for a week drinking a lot of it everyday, with virtually every meal except breakfast.
The subject Sancerre is the one that stuck most in my mind.
Offered as the only Sancerre on the restaurant’s current wine list, I ordered a 375ml for my wife and I just to try. We loved it so much with every dish, we ordered another at the first bottle’s halfway point.
Superbly clean, crisp, refreshing and palate-resuscitating, its alluringly flinty, minerally mild white grapefruit/mild gooseberry flavors cut the roasted marrow’s richness, as well as that of the moules’ sauce, and danced with the fresh oysters. There is the merest touch of grassiness to it - much unlike the usual more aggressive grassiness of NZ sauv blancs. The acidity is milder than many Sancerres I tried in my Loire immersion - and I think this is a good thing - made the wine much friendlier with the food.
I really, really like this wine, and it is inexpensive to boot. The restaurant’s price is a mere 20Euro for a 375ml and around 38Euro for a regular 750ml.
(nb: I’ve since found a supplier in Paris selling the 750mls for only 9-10Euros per bottle.)
2003 “Zero” por Bouvet-Ladubay Extra Brut, Saumur - recommended to go with my seafood dishes at La Licorne (an impeccable restaurant, a must in the area) 250-or-so yards from the Fontevraud Abbey on an extremely hot day. As its name states, this is a bone-dry white - bracingly crisp, clean pure white fruit, hints of grapefruit and pre-ripe pear, lots of white mineral, with generous acidity yet doesn’t come off as tart. Very light and bright on the palate. Alluring mild spiciness on the nose didn’t seem to translate onto the palate. As dry a white as I’ve ever had, you could cut your cheek on it. Superb on a hot day. Would be great as an appetizer as well. I would drink this young (nb: last tasted in July 2006).
Great idea. I have limited exposure to this area and am looking forward to Wine Exploration Week.
Nathan, thanks for the list.
I think this is a great idea, Tony & Todd, but also think the area is too big to stuff into one thread (as has been mentioned by several other posters already). Even if you just used very broad categorizations like Loire Reds, Muscadet, Sweeties & Sancerre/Pouilly Fume you’d at least establish a little order. Just one man’s vote, but I can see a week-long thread of “everything Loire” getting very unwieldy and therefor unusable.
Perhaps because this one is rather broad (by design) we could start separate threads once it launches, for the different subcategories…
Serge…told you I have one with your name on it.
Think it’s still ok?
THis is a fantastic idea and I can’t wait to start as I have close to zero experience with Loire wines and have been itching to explore. K&L, here I come… ![[training.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/d0f39866e5714408d7091b0bd2d7bb764d7bb973.gif "[training.gif]"){kind=small}
Yoni. Awesome glad you will participate.
Tony,
This is a great idea. The few Loire wines I have tried have been great QPR’s, in particular the Muscadets. I have been looking at K & L and Chambers and have a nice selection in my carts. Thanks for the push to explore another wine area. I look forward to getting more involved in posting notes. Cheers!
JOKE ALERT FOR THE COMICALLY CHALLENEGED - Yeah, but once the anti-flavor elite get their mitts on it, all the themes will suck.
I think it’s a great idea. We tried to set up a tasting group that did that once a month in NY, but it died due to lack of interest. Since this allows for much more flexible involvement, it should work fine. I prefer keeping all the notes together.
In honor of Posner, I think the second theme should be “Spanish wines with TWA ratings of 95 or higher.”
I agree with getting a little more focus on the Loire week-Loire is huge, diverse, rich in selection, and widely popularized, but unfortunately not widely understood. I would recommend singling out a region/village e.g., Chinon or a varietal, e.g., Sauvignon Blanc and ignite people to delve into how the grape or region/collection of sub-regions can be expressed. Great initiative-will add a whole new dimension to WBs.
Thanks Stephen - I think it’s a great idea to divide it up. I’d defer to more Loire experts to divide this week up into 3-4 categories, and I’ll post it as such.
Great, just saw this. On WLDG we went with “Open Mike” where anyone can suggest a subject, say like Loire, and we are off and running. Open Mike: Malbec from Argentina went on for 10 pages!
So when do we get started?
Stephen. Thanks for the input. I agree that we can and shod drill to even more specific levels for the large area that is the Loire. However this is the first of it’s kind tasting for this board and I want to keep it as broad as possibe. We can focus on future tastings. I hope you participate
Wikipedia is wack for wine. I started this project a while ago called wine-e-pedia. Peep it and click on through. Still have lots more to do but would love feedback.