The 2008 Vouvray “Les Argiles” was never a happy chenin, but I thought age might tone the acidity down a wee bit. Last night I popped one open only to discover a sense of oxidation before it’s time, a little more than the typical Loire chenin funk and actually tasting older than Huet’s demi-sec’s from 2002 which have had notorious issues. The acidity is still very sharp on this, but I’d be afraid of keeping too much longer (beyond 2-3 years).
I have had some 2005s go over the edge before their time.
We opened a 2008 Chidaine Les Bournais last night. I love this wine, and this bottle was no exception. Just an explosive nose – as if a Sumo wrestler had collapsed into a crate of apples in the corner of the kitchen. I loved it, but I did wonder if the smashed/bruised apple element --mixed in with minerals, tropical fruit and honey --was a harbinger of bad things to come. No matter, since it won’t be any hardship to drink my remaining bottles soon. I’m definitely curious about where they develop to next, however.
It’s interesting because many of the notes I read on “older” Chidaine (6-8 years past vintage) say it’s more mature than expected. Do these just have a surprisingly fast aging curve, or is there oxidation at play? I have a bunch of the 14s, which are just cracking, so it does make me wonder how many to hold and for how long.
I’m not sure we really know how long lived Chidaine is going to be. It’s not like we have folks trotting out bottles from the 1920s and 1940s the way they do with Huet.
That’s a great question, Chris. Perhaps these are not meant to age for decades. Any kind of winemaker notes that give expectations?
And there continue to be so many reasons why wines begin to show their age prematurely - from closure issues to too much dissolved oxygen in the wine at bottling.
Cheers.
I too have heard rumblings of Chidaine perhaps not being the long distance runner that it has been forcasted to be. To be honest though, it’s of little concern to me personally as I enjoy the hell out of these wines as youngsters.
Had a 2008 Le Argiles a couple months ago, and in contrast to your experience, it drank younger than I had anticipated, and I had actually hoped to see a bit more progression. I took this as a good sign. An off bottle would not make me want to throw the baby out with the bath water and rush to generalize. I don’t recall seeing many instances from Chidaine, at least here in the WB-ubble.
If it occurs more often, such as with 2002 Huet, I will take notice (although I ony avoid 2002 Huet, but not other vintages) . As David said, there’s not a long history, so it’s worth watching moving forward.
I had the 14 Les Choisilles (delicious) last night and noticed just a trace of oxidation on the finish but was a very nice addition to all of the other sensations. Not sure I would want to see much more though.
I have this same bottle on tap for tonight with pistachio crusted halibut, should be a match made in heaven. I’ll pay attention to see if I notice any oxidative traits.
I don’t know about premox, but I have never liked how Chidaine develops in the cellar. In fact, I cannot think of a single bottling that I liked more with age than shortly after release.