Dom.Hauvette Jaspe IGP: Alpilles (Roussanne; 15 yr old vines; 13.5%; MeBaD) St.Reme de Provence 2012: Med.gold color; rather appley/earthy/stoney light floral/honeyed/graham cracker/carnations pleasant nose; quite tart/grapefruity/lemony/stony/appley bit earthy/stony tangy/metallic flavor; med. tangy/grapefruity/melony/metallic rather appley/earthy pleasant finish; a rather lean/eviscerated white that speaks of Roussanne w/ a whisper; a typical overpriced K-L wine.
$36.00 (AV)
Dom.Hauvette Amethyste AC: LesBaux de Provence (60% Cinsault/30% Carignane/10% Grenache; 40 yr old vines; 13.5%; MeBaD) 2011: Med.light color; quite earthy/loamy/dusty/OV slight cherry/plummy very rustic/coarse light smokey some bretty/unclean nose; soft very earthy/loamy/dusty very unclean/bretty/barnyardy/horsecollar/sweaty leather slight black cherry/plummy very coarse/rustic terrible flavor w/ light rough/coarse tannins; long very earthy/loamy quite unclean/bretty/barnyardy/goat pen slight cherry dreadful finish w/ light coarse/rough/astringent tannins; dreadfully unclean & undrinkable; one of the worst wines I’ve had this yr; a grossly overpriced K-L wine. $55.00 (AV)
A wee BloodyPulpit:
These two, plus a Grenache, showed up at a local wine shop, so decided to give them a try. The Roussanne was pleasant enough in a lean/tight way. The Rouge was more than I could choke down a few sips. Just as bad, maybe worse, the next morning w/ my breakfast CocoaPuffs.
Tom
Well…I find out that the Hauvette wines are made NonFiltre and SansSoufre. So I got exactly
the kind of wine I was supposed to get. SweetAlice would like this wine so I guess it gets a 96!!!
Tom
Tom, I found the 2006 Hauvette Roucas to be pretty good at a Dressner/Chambers tasting back in 2010. Bought a bottle that was consumed a few years later and it was enjoyable, if not noteworthy enough to put on my “buy more” list. Had the Rose a few year ago at a restaurant in Portland, OR…quite decent. The price point on the Roucas was $30-ish IIRC.
Considering your description (“dreadfully unclean & undrinkable; one of the worst wines I’ve had this yr”), it sounds like you did NOT get the wine you were supposed to.
I’m no Alice lover. Nevertheless, not all of her favored producers are evil. Based on experience, I’d be willing to try Hauvette wines again. Hopefully ITBers in the supply chain, who happily sell these wines prone to “spoilage”, are willing to make good when it inevitably happens!
Absolutely totally agree, Richard. I’ve had plenty of “natural” wines over which she fawns that I thought were excellent. But when you send out wines that are NonFiltre and SansSoufre,
you’re going to have to expect results like this. I suggested to my wine purveyor that he taste another btl of this wine to see if it’s the same. If it is, he should not be selling this
wine to unsuspecting customers…even though SweetAlice might love it.
Tom
Tom, I don’t agree with your general assessment of K-L wines, but I agree with your assessment of the price of these. I got and tasted a sample of the red and told my local K-L rep that the wines were way over-priced. Maybe a $20 wine, but definitely not $50 (or more).