None of these were blue, which perhaps explains why they were good. Tried over separate evenings and then all together.
Batailley 2006
Better than expected. Not quite ready yet, but very enjoyable. Classic in a very positive way. Ripe notes of raspberry with trademark cassis and cedar on the nose, then a well-rounded, juicy mouthful of mainly blackcurrant, with quite a lifted middle section and a decent finish. Not quite the power and intensity of a really top vintage, but without the fiery tannins of an 05 for example. The balance between precision and fruit is perfect, rather like a good 2001. This has a good decade left.
Domaine de Chevalier 2001
We’ve had this several times over the last year and it never fails to disappoint - er, I mean impress!!! Typical Pessac aromas of gravel and tobacco mixed with those of ripe red berries and cassis. It takes a while to get going, but then the attack is smooth and rich, with brightly expressive redcurrant, before a luxurious middle section which fills the back of the palate, and a long, precise, slightly chalky finish. I prefer this to the 00 at the moment - the fruit is perhaps less vibrant but the balance is better between the structure and the fruit, it’s somehow more defined.
Clos de L’Echo Couly-Dutheil Chinon 2003
Some of you will be surprised that a Chinon can compete with Bordeaux, some will not. Couly-Dutheil used to be quite trendy about 25 years ago, at least over here, then it lost ground to the rising stars and has become almost slightly obscure. I’ve been really getting into the wines over the last five years and they now account for one of my larger holdings.
I bought six of these a few weeks ago, part of a vast cellar sold by a true aficionado who had stored them in perfect conditions. Most of his wines were Bordeaux, but there was a small but significant amount of Loire wines - which were ignored by other bidders. I bought them out of curiosity but also because I thought they might have an outside chance of making up my daughter’s birth year collection.
The nose was reminiscent of a Bordeaux 2003: very intense, very ripe aromas of cherry and blackberry with a strong wave of forest fruits. The attack was arresting, tongue tingling, highly concentrated, so much so that it was hard to separate the black cherry from the blackberry and then from the redcurrant. They were tightly blended, too much so at first, but they loosened up after a couple of hours in the decanter. The impressive thing is the middle section - cool as a cucumber, it calms down the fruit and rises gently to the top of the palate, with the same sense of chalkiness as the Chevalier 01, before a long, persistent finish with a touch of black peppercorn right at the end. Not quite at peak yet, this was much better the day after opening. Not really a typical Chinon, because there isn’t the green peppery touch but huge potential.
Tried together, the Chevalier came out top, because it was the most ready of the three. The Batailley and Clos de l’Echo were not far behind, but the wine with the most potential of the three was the Clos de L’Echo: once the power has become more relaxed, it’ll be outstanding.
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