As part of our monthly group winetasting last night, we had some interesting Loire white. The wines we had were:
Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire 2008 - Fully mature with lots of fruit. Fairly dry wine that was quite elegant and had a nice finish. A beautiful wine.
Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Sec 2002 - Somewhat similar in profile to the Chidaine but noticeably older. More mature flavors, a bit less fruit, but again a fairly dry wine that was quite elegant and a nice finish. Which one would like better would depend on whether you would prefer a bit more fruit flavors or more mature flavors.
Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Clos du Bourg - Very different animal from the last two. Really rich, darker color, somewhat sweeter but mostly richer. Loved this wine also (the balance on all three wines was really wonderful). Again, a joy to drink.
Then, after dinner, we had side-by-side 1996 and 1997 Baumard Quarts de Chaume. The 1996, by itself is a fabulous rich dessert wine but the 1997 was just in another league - richer with more acidity and a longer finish. Having had these wines several times when they were younger, I was convinced that the 1996 would be the better wine and worried that the 1997 could be over the hill. Instead, I was shocked by how good the 1997 became. Just a wow wine.
I did not bring that wine (I brought the Huet and Foreau and 1997 Baumard) and the person who brought it did not list a vineyard on the emails we send around before the tasting where everyone states what they are bringing. To be fair, I also did not list the Baumard 1997 as I did not decide to add that until late after someone said they were bringing the 1996 and I thought the comparison would be fun.
Not really. I find typically that I like these things younger than the real aficionados do so I was surprised some by how much I liked these wines. I found that the wines had retained good fruit for longer than I expected. Probably the vintages helped.
Nice. I never got into Clos Habert, but maybe the RS helped it age.
Les Bournais was always the bottling that most impressed me for aging, but I havenât had any with 16 years of age, and I know some folks question the longevity relative to the Vouvray blue chips.
@Howard_Cooper I hope you donât mind me piggybacking on this thread, but I encountered it last night while drinking a fun one at Hi Fi in McMinnville.
Pouring a medium-light gold of a wine perhaps 5-10 years younger than 31. Mushrooms, fennel, asparagus-adjacent funk, and a fruit that Iâm not exactly sure of but reminded me of an overripe papaya, the wine was bone dry and framed nicely by acidity. It had a long, savory finish. A good value on a generally well-priced and extensive list at Hi Fi.
Clos Habert is typically Demi-Sec. Iâm guessing that since 2008 was a really a great vintage in Touraine structurally, the RS was somewhat masked or already resolving. I always found that among the Sec and DS wines from Chidaine, Clos Habert needs the most time.
I have also been surprised how strong Layon wines are in 1997 considering it was considered riper and hotter after the 96s. Love 96 too but it can it tough side by side because the good 97s are just bigger and richer and have more Botrytis, yet have a plenty of acidity to carry it. If you liked the Baumard, then if you ever see the Pierre Bise 97 QdC, grab it.
In the past, I have liked some sweeter 96s more than 97s because I found them to be better balanced. But, I guess with maturity, it appears that the acidity in the 97s was hiding behind the massive fruit and is now balancing the wine better than in its youth. Getting pleasant surprises is why we age wines, right?
I kept a few other bottles of 97s to see what would happen to them with time and I would not be surprised if I waited too long for a couple of bottles, but, without trying to see what happens to these with age, I would never learn. What I have left are individual bottles of:
The Huet will outlive us for sure but no need to wait then. Itâs really good.
Last time I had the Godineau, it was great. But that was a few years ago. I have one bottle of 96 and one 97 left. We had the 89 three weeks ago, and I loved it. Surprisingly elegant and airy compared to the other Moelleux / sweeter wines that day.
Are people still holding those wines. Maybe I have selected exposure, but donât see his wines as much anymoreâŠ
Found this interesting quote from Claude P. while googling for updates: âThe Chenin is made by botrytization. If there isnât any, it always makes hard wine. Even my dry wines are made with about 50% botrytizationâŠâ which is one reason I stopped liking the wines!
I remember back in mid-00s he was going for more approachable ripeness, which is fine, but maybe the character of those 90s/early 00s wines will never return.
From 1997, I have Biseâs couteau du layon-beaulieu. My Bise QdC are from 2002. Hmm, I see I opened one of these for ou, Rahsaan, a little 14 years ago!
Pierre Bise will always hold a particular place in my heart because I worked the harvest for them during the 05 vintage, learning about all their vineyards (at the time, a new acquisition of Roche aux Moines was Claudeâs big achievement). But then for a variety of reasons stopped drinking the wines, and lost touch.
I had this exact bottle yesterday too. There was some of it at Vinopolis in Portland and I grabbed one.
Iâm not too familiar with this wine but if you had told me it was <5 years old Iâd believe you. It tasted so fresh for something over 30 years old.
