NYC Rookies Loire Tasting (Raffault, Breton, Huet, Cazin, etc.)

Some of our usual group got together at Brasserie 8 1/2 to drink some Loire wines. We had far too much wine, with about 20 bottles between 11 or 12 people. First world problems I suppose.

Purely by coincidence, almost all the wines were Chenin Blanc and Cab Franc (with two Romorantin’s and one Melon de Bourgogne). I was surprised that no one brought a Sav Blanc, Gamay, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’aunis, etc. Never the less, it was very interesting to check in on a lot of wines that I buy regularly and to try some that are new to me.

On to the wines -


2006 Luneau Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Vieilles Vignes Sur Lie Clos des Allées

Very nice, if a little simple, starter. The age seems to have toned down some the searing acidity I generally expect from Muscadet. With that said, it was still very energetic and showing that great crushed seashell character that I love in Muscadet.

2013 Richard Leroy Chenin Les Noëls de Montbenault

The nose on this wine was wildly intense. This is one of the more unique Chenin Blancs I’ve ever had. Absolutely explosive aromatics of ripe fruit, rocks, and honey. Apparently, this is zero sulfur and aged in neutral oak, however I got huge amounts of sulfur-esque notes and oak on the nose. It honestly smelled super reduced to me, so I’m not sure what the deal with that is (I know others agreed). This wine was either loved or hated by everyone at the table, not much grey area.

2012 Sandlands Chenin Blanc

The one ringer of the night. Holy tropical fruit. This thing smelled and tasted like pineapple, coconut and sunscreen. Possibly I could drink it over ice with a pineapple wedge while sitting at the pool? This is indicative of just about everything I don’t like about California Chenin Blanc. Even if served blind, I doubt just about anyone would have a hard time picking out this ringer. Not my jam.

2006 Domaine du Closel Savennières Clos du Papillon

I drink a fair amount of the La Jalousie, but not much of the Papillon. This was good, but I thought the alcohol was sticking out a bit. Others seemed to like it a lot.

1993 Olga Raffault Chinon Le Champ-Chenin

Whoa this is funky. This wine is definitely not for the faint of heart due to its intense, funky, wet wool characteristics. Polarizing for sure, but I loved it.

2006 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos du Breuil

Love Chidaine. This was very nice. Possibly missing just a touch of acidity, but had a very long demi-sec finish.

2008 and 2000: François Cazin Cour-Cheverny Vendanges Manuelles Cuvée Renaissance

Drank the 2008 and 2000 side by side. Made from the Romorantin grape which until tonight I had never heard of. These two wine were spectacular. Pretty sure these were some of the WOTN for a lot of people including me. The two vintages were quite different. The 08 was extremely bright and lively, with a lot bright fruit, spice, and flowers, while the 00 was much more resolved and seductive. Almost diffucult to compare them as they were quite different, but I think I prefered the honeyed aged quality of the 00.

2011 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Clos du Bourg

Stunner. Really, really enjoyed this wine. Perfect balance of fruit (pear, apple), acid, honey, and floral overtones. Had a second pour later in the evening, and it was just absolutely singing. Loved it.

2012 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont

I am interested to hear other people’s opinion on this wine. It was a considerably darker shade of gold compared to the '11 Clos du Bourg served beside it. Had a very distinct caramel aroma and taste to me. I don’t want to be the first to say it and throw everyone in a tizzy, but I think you see where I’m going here…

Raffault Chinon Les Picasses Flights - 1990, 2002, 2009, and 2010

Raffault is one of the few wines that I buy in relative quantity sight unseen every year. Very much my style of wine.

The 90, my contribution, is a personal favorite of mine. Really demonstrates what aged Cab Franc is capable of. Takes on a a very silky, almost Burgundian, texture. The nose smells of antique furniture and soil, however there is still plenty of fruit. I have never had a dissapointed bottle of this. Its availability and ultra reasonable price is astounding to me.

The 02, served next to the 90, showed extremely young despite being 14 years old.

09 and 10 were an interesting comparison. The 10 was open for business, showing huge fruit (relative to Raffault), while the 09 was much more closed and subdued.

2009 Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Franc de Pied

Another favorite of mine, and this did not dissapoint. Breton’s Franc de Pieds are always so transparent and energetic. Especially after the Raffaults, this showed stunning clarity. Tons of bright cranberry backed by tobacco. I could drink this all night.

2009 Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Clos Sénéchal

I thought there was something off about this bottle. It was slightly spritzy, possibly suggesting some unintended secondary fermentation. This also did not blow off as the night went on.

2011 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Les Motelles

I’m not sure if its that my palate was beginning to fade at this point, but I did not get a lot out of this. It was extremely tight and unyielding. Seemed to have good stuffing, just needs a ton of time.

1990 Domaine Pichot Vouvray Moelleux Domaine Le Peu de la Moriette

Obviously a perfectly stored bottle. Not at all cloying. I can’t remember much besides the fact that it was delicious and I drank my glass way too quickly.


All in all, a fantastic evening. Thanks to all who attended. Looking forward to the next one.

just had this at a tasting dinner at Aquavit, surprisingly amount of acidity and fruit is still left after 23 years, funkiness started after decanting during mid bottle, matched well with the celery root oxtail dish with apples.

Great notes Sean. And pretty spot on with the vast majority of the wines.

Great point. I should have included it in my note, but we were all discussing how vibrant it was for the age.

Ditto on the notes and appreciated. A lot of wine. Palate and mind got tired of note taking towards end for me.

Wines I loved:

the 93’ Raffault Chinon le Champ - beautifully balancedexample of aged chenin. While funky, it still had the acidity and fruit to keep it all in check. Really wonderful.
the 90’ Pichot Vouvray Moelleux - perfect storage helps!. A nice example of fading fruit giving way to a lovely, balanced sticky that wasn’t so sticky. Very nice!
the 00’ Francois Zavin, Cour-Cheverny “Renaissance” - damn this was tasty. A lovely balance of sweet and minerals. Reminded my of an aged Riesling at times. Loved it.

Thanks for the notes on a good mix of wines.

I’ve always liked the 2008 Cazin Cour-Cheverny Manuelles (and I always remember preferring his Romorantin wines to his Sauvignon Blanc-based ones, which are also not bad). If only I had the foresight, then, to store away a few bottles, just as your 2000 version showed with its performance.

Wonderful notes. I assume from where you reside, and what you guys consumed, that you and I shop at the same two NYC wine stores! Love most of these wines. I did a big Chinon night about 1-2 mos ago with some of the same bottles, including the 1993 Champ Chenin, the 1990 Raffault and some other more mature Chinons plus Rougeard. These wines are special, and deliver great quality at a reasonable price (Rougeard is pricey, yes). Like you, I also love the Bretons, especially the Franc de Pied. The Guiberteau has not worked for me.

Thanks for sharing.

Great notes. Thanks for posting them. Just getting into this area myself.

Cheers,
Doug

Great notes Sean. My thoughts on most wines were very similar. I thought the vast majority of the white wines showed well and considering most of them were made from the same grape, the expressions were quite different.

My favorite white wines were the Cazin duo, the Clos du Bourg and the Chidaine but also really enjoyed the 93 Le Champ, the Richard Leroy and the Savennières just for being really different and interesting wines. Funky? Yes. But still enjoyable for my palate. Almost all of the white wines showed tremendous aromatics that allowed the taster to pick up on numerous different scents and aromas. I dig that.

Outside of the 90 Les Picasses, the reds were sort of just ok for me. The wines were not offensive or dump worthy by any means, just not that exciting when compared to the white wines. I will say that the incredible amount of salt in the cassoulet that was being consumed while the reds were being drank could have impacted how these wines showed on the palate but I do not know for sure.

Either way, a fantastic night of really interesting wines from an area I absolutely need to explore more of.

Thanks for setting this up Tony! [cheers.gif]

Fun tasting, echo a lot of the notes above.

The 93 Raffault white had a smell that seemed to vary even over the course of a glass from extremely offputting to not entirely unpleasantly interesting.

Loved the Cazins and fun to taste them together.

I liked the Papillon a lot, though it seemed still quite young and not very open.

The reds provided very interesting contrasts. Rather enjoyed all the Raffault, the 10 still remains surprisingly open. The Bretons I found a bit less interesting but more pleasurable. The Giuberteau did nothing for me, sort of a weird combination of full bodied/modern but also very closed.

Great tasting. So much fun to concentrate on a just a few types of grapes.

I knew the Leroy was a polarizing wine, which is why I brought it. I still not sure if I even “like it”, but I’d quickly buy another bottle to drink just to try and figure out what is going on.

Here is the article I found discussing his SO2 use. Not sure that it applied to the 13 vintage, but an interesting read about his philosophy/vineyards regardless.

My favorite of the night was the 11 Huet. Just a lip smacking delicious wine.

Excellent notes, thanks for posting. I need a “green with envy” emoji. What a great line up.

This thread inspired me to open the '08 Cazin. Fantastic on this 80° night in Dallas. Thanks for the motivation.

Great notes. Was wondering if others had similar experiences to yours and Alperts about not loving Guiberteau. Have only had two bottles of red, but neither were thrilling to me in the way that Maulevrier Ante Phylloxera or Raffault Picasses have been. Only had Rougeard once and don’t remember it unfortunately, or fortunately because it’s too expensive to bother buying the stuff when everything else in the Loire is a quarter of the price…

Cazin’s Renaissance is an awesome wine. Wait until you try the '96.