The Chambolle of the Loire??? Why not just get the Chambolle of Chambolle if you want something like Chambolle?
Thanks, Julian. These sound very solid. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be readily available here at all. I stumbled onto my meager two bottles by luck, quite a while ago. In any event, my sense is that there’s no reason to keep sitting on them, so I’ll report back soon.
I was surprised to find the 2014 still available. They tend to be sought after at auction, which to be honest is what brought L’Eclipse to my attention in the first place - I was curious to see why someone would want it so badly - then I got lucky with a lone bottle of 2010 where I was unopposed. I don’t know what your vintages are, but on the basis of last night’s, they will improve a lot with further cellaring.
BTW - on the subject of weird Covid 19 auction action, there are four bottles of Alliet Coteau de Noiré on sale her, with current bids at 50 and…72€ a bottle before buyer’s premium…totally mad.
Because that’s a Burg, meh. 
If you don’t like Burgundy, isn’t calling a wine the Chambolle of the Loire saying that the wine is MEH. ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
I didn’t bite on Germain 2018s yet, as these are not that difficult to buy + I am always a bit confused by the pricing which seems to vary quite a bit based on the soure. As a data point on this: a friend visited the estate about a year ago, and bought some wine, only to realise that the wines were sold cheaper in Belgium than at the estate.
I do have 3 bottles each of the 16 and 17 (30 EUR all-in).
My eclipse is 2005. Time to open one, I think.
Thanks for the interesting report about the Alliet Noire. From what I gather he makes about 500 cases of that wine, so not exactly a micro-cuvée. It’s not that hard to find over here, in my experience, for maybe $30-$40.
From what I understand, Alliet was pretty heavy handed in his use of new oak back in the 90s. He corrected course, but still has a bit of a reputation over here. At least that’s my best guess.
That was Crush, not me. I don’t even know what Chambolle is!
It the hottest new brand of watches. 
That 2005 should be a killer! I like Alliet’s wines, albeit a different style to the one I normally prefer. I think the 2014 bidding is just lockdown madness, boredom or both - it’s available in shops at 25€!
Smart marketing by Crush. Use a simile that will be understood, and likely perceived as favorable, by an audience that is willing to spend $$$ on a bottle of wine. $60 for a bottle of Loire Cab. Franc — expensive relative to most Loire Cab. Francs — making it a hard sell (probably) to most “Cab. Franc drinkers”. But that $60 is a price-point at which you’re barely getting out of the Burgundy kiddie pool, if at all, so an easier sell to “Burgundy drinkers.” All that aside, if this Cab. Franc is to Cab. Franc what Chambolle is to Burgundy, then it seems the simile would be apt.
Is this wine likely to be worth double Baudry Le Clos Guillot? Maybe if it actually did taste like Chambolle?
Tonight I opened up a 2017 Antoine Sanzay Saumur Champigny. 12.5% abv, dark, but translucent. Upon first taste, with no decant, I thought I had it pegged as all primary cassis fruit and loads of graphite and ink. About 40 mins in, I noticed the graphite transformed into a more floral note. Eventually this floral note of elderflower became the top note, even dominating the cassis. I did a quick double decant for the second glass. This showed that there’s loads of sediment in the bottle (I think it might still be macerating). That said, it’s completely clean; no brett, lactobacillus, oak, nor green pyrazines could be detected at all. It now has a top note of elderflower, a middle note of graphite and a base note of cassis and spearmint. Some velvety tannins on the finish. Short to medium finish. More sweet and floral than earthy and savory. My favorite Loire reds have a note of katsura leaves in fall: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/26/science/katsura-leaves-scent.html
Thanks for posting, Josh. I found your excellent note intriguing and wanted to open an Antoine Sanzay myself before responding. I tried a 2014 Les Poyeux on Monday - the nose was floral too, full of fresh spring flowers and yes, some elderflower, although mine had quite a hefty amount of brett too, the colour was quite light, as was the attack - very fresh and elegant, sweet cassis, with a middle section blossoming into very clear notes of strawberry. So far, so good, but the feel at the end was a little underwhelming - it was a very decent wine, but I was surprised at the lack of body and texture. It was a bit simple, lacking in complexity.
So overall, a very pleasant higher level midweek wine: refreshing, delightful, great fruit, but nowhere near the better Roches-Neuves for the same price. This is IMHO the problem - at 20€, I would be happy, at 15€ I would be super-happy, but this costs between 35 and 40€ - where there is a lot of competition. Hopefully it will develop in bottle - I have three more. Compared to the Mabileau Eclipse 2014, it’s not at the same level, for example, the latter costing 25€.
Julian, you are indefatigable at tracking down and trying the wines that get mentioned here. I love your commitment to the thread.
That said, I would push back on the Sanzay characterization, at least to some extent. I’ve only tried the domaine cuvée, 2016 edition (note below), but it was much closer to what josh described than what you report. So, if it’s not presumptuous, could I suggest seeking out an example of that cuvée before writing off the producer? I have a couple of vintages of the poyeaux, and I’ll open one and report back once I can get a suitable meal cued up.
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2016 Antoine Sanzay Saumur-Champigny - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny (4/17/2020)
Ballpoint ink, savory herbs, and some mild spice on the nose. The palate shows red and black plums with some leafy background flavors. The tannins in this wine are really impressive, with extraordinary roundness and elegance for an entry level bottling. Despite the relatively light extraction, the wine gently but determinedly saturates every corner of your mouth. Limited complexity, but impeccable balance and a long, slow finish. Excellent.
Posted from CellarTracker
Elliot, thanks, it’s fun discovering what others have recommended - plenty more to come! Concerning Antoine Sanzay, you’re quite right, of course! It’s only one bottle and I have others, from 2014 and also from 2015. Plus it’s only my taste. I’m going to try something from Blot on Friday, I think.
Opened a bottle of Sanzay Poyeaux 15 over the weekend. I’m notoriously bad at reading the future potential of structured wines from their younger profiles, but that said, I’m pretty sure this will be quite lovely when it reaches maturity. Some pretty floral aromatics, followed by lots of bright, juicy fruit, plenty of herbal and savory notes, and a bit of darker spice. Significant depth and nice integration for a young wine; definitely no brett.
Julian—I very much wish we could taste from the same bottle. Since that’s impossible, I hope you’ll post notes on your 15 Sanzays whenever you open them (good, bad, or ugly). I’m very curious to know whether (or to what degree) our divergent experiences are due to vintage differences.
At this point I think I’ve opened at least a bottle or two from all of the younger S-C vignerons who’ve become trendy in recent years (if available in the US)—though none of them mature. I’m most impressed by Sanzay and Collier at this point. But it’s still hard for me to get past the fact that the top wines are priced 1.5x-2.0x the top wines from Chinon and Bourgueil. Not to mention the fact that there are some less trendy folks in S-C who’ve been making outstanding wine for quite a while—chief among them, perhaps, Hureau, as evidenced most recently by your note in the other thread. Speaking for myself, I really should devote more time (and money) chasing those.
That sounds more like it! I’m sure your experience is much more reliable than mine was, but I’ll have another bottle sometime soon. Yes, the prices reflects those estates’ growing reputations. The difference in price between Loire reds is not always a guide as to their objective quality anyway - just like anywhere else. I did think about the Sanzay when I was enjoying the Hureau Fevettes 96, which was half the price.
The 2009 Joguet Clos de la Dioterie is in a great starting point right now. Still has a long life before it with the structure and sweet chalky tannins, but it’s opening up quite nicely. I’d take this over most 2009 St Emilions.
That does not say that much good about the Joguet. I have had very few 2009 Bordeaux that I have liked. Most of the ones I have had seem roasted and/overripe with no acidity.