On very short notice a reduced number of the No Money Poor Taste DC Doods Club gathered at Paradise Garden at the foot of Adams Morgan. The theme was Loire grapes to allow for a mix of white and red.
No George Santos sourcing of the dog at this one, but far more leg humping than anyone was really seeking out. This was a similar format, seven wines all in, four chenin blancs and three cab francs. Quite interesting to have the sandlands and huet blind and that both were called out as textbook chenin character. This has been my impression but I’ve never done it double blind.
The value play here is really strong to me. Huet prices have creeped up but are still reasonable, and the Sandlands Chenin is around $30 all in. The steal of the night to me was the Plouzeau Rive Gauche. It’s not the most concentrated or serious wine out there, but it’s consistently good and about $17. We split on favorite cab franc with 3 choosing the domestic and 2 giving Loire the win. Huet was likely the winner in whites but I’m not totally sure.
2018 Sandlands Chenin Blanc Amador County - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Pale straw. Intense wool and ripe yellow apple nose. Fresh apples and stone fruit, touch of honey and floral, long finish with mineral cut and class. Drinking beautifully, my #2. (93 points)
2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Pale straw. Really juicy fruit ripe, sweet, tangy apple bursting out on the nose. The palate has ripe apricot and peach, almost some red berry and tropical fruit. Exotic and long, finished with lip smacking acid in great balance. (94 points)
2017 Sandlands Chenin Blanc Amador County - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Pale straw. Started out muted but eventually shows wet wool and cream aromas. Palate has orchard fruit and repeats the soft creaminess, capped off by zing of green apple. (91 points)
2021 Château de la Bonneliere Chinon Rive Gauche - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
Reddish purple. Tangy purple fruit and some cracked pepper aromas. Red fruit, loads of mineral, some mild bell pepper. Very fresh and tangy, delightful for the price. (91 points)
2013 Two Mountain Winery Cabernet Franc Brothers Reserve Copeland Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Rattlesnake Hills
Opaque purple. Starts off with cool black and dark red fruit with a tinge of barely green woodsy nose, but later on picked up some barrel notes of sweet vanilla. Palate is more lush but similar to the Chinons in character. A bit of toasty note here too but we’ll integrated and not a distraction at all. In the end I prefer the Loire versions, but this is my favorite domestic cab franc hat I recall. (91 points)
2019 Un Saumon dans la Loire Montlouis-sur-Loire Le Chapitre - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire
Pale straw. Tangy green apple and some lemon on the nose. Fair amount of spritz that eventually dissipated and the palate follows the nose. Juicy tart green apple, very fresh and fun. Would be happy to drink any day, but preferred the other three chenins in comparison. (90 points)
Adding my notes - Good mix of US and Loire and a really great showing across the board. Most impressed with the Two Mountain which I bought from the winery a few years ago and still drinking incredibly well, and by the Frantz Saumon which was a really fun interesting wine.
2018 Sandlands Chenin Blanc Amador County - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Pale gold. Apples and fresh cut grass on the nose. On the palate high acidity, apples and pears. Low alcohol, very light and restrained. (89 points)
2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Very mild floral and citrus on the nose. On the palate high acidity, a bit of residual sugar which puts it slightly out of balance, long finish. Calls for Seafood. Very good. (91 points)
2017 Sandlands Chenin Blanc Amador County - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Medium gold. Petrol and pear on the nose. On the palate some age, high acidity, medium alcohol honeysuckle and wet stones, minerality. Medium finish. My #1 chenin of the night. (92 points)
2019 Un Saumon dans la Loire Montlouis-sur-Loire Le Chapitre - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire
Medium gold. Almonds and apricots on the nose. On the palate sour pears, apricots, sour patch kids. Medium finish. Fun wine, the most memorable chenin of the night, not a typical chenin but really enjoyed it. (92 points)
2013 Two Mountain Winery Cabernet Franc Brothers Reserve Copeland Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Rattlesnake Hills
Pronounced nose of leather and cherries. On the palate really elegant medium acidity medium body, medium alcohol, sour cherries , cedar, pencil shavings. Long finish. Still vibrant. (94 points)
2021 Château de la Bonneliere Chinon Rive Gauche - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
Medium ruby. Really nice pronounced nose of cherries and some funky notes. On the palate high acidity, cherries, pencil shavings, some forest floor and green notes on the finish, lingering aftertaste bumps it down a notch. (88 points)
Throwing my notes in for good measure. The Saumon was my favorite, but it was also apart from the rest of the chenins in style, where the other three seemed more closely related to one another. Really enjoyed tasting the back to back vintages of the sandlands as the two seemed quite different on first tasting, but in retrospect it’s easier to see how they might be related.
Theme was chenin and cab franc, not confined to the loire
Chenin
2018 Sandlands Chenin Blanc Amador County - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Textbook chenin. Classic apple, lemon, and wool on the nose, one of the few grapes I would be able to call if I was blindfolded. Palate followed the nose, med acid and really well balanced.
2019 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Higher acid than the 2 sandlands, and greener fruit, but welcomed. Tangy apple and zesty lemon that resolved into a richer fuller bruised apple on the finish. Sweetness started to come out a bit as I caught a hint of honeycomb, but this was great. First experience with Huet.
2017 Sandlands Chenin Blanc Amador County - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Texturally different from the 18 earlier in the lineup, more bruised apple and a little less overt citrus, got a little pith. Bigger body and same integrated acid. Retasting over the course of the evening, riper apple started to come out.
2019 Un Saumon dans la Loire Montlouis-sur-Loire Le Chapitre - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire
Very aromatic and all the smells of an orchard, with plenty of fruit and blossoms to balance things out. Spritzy acidity on the palate, little bit of dissolved co2 that blew off quickly. Less wool and a little flinty almost smokey in a good way, helped round out the ripe apple and pear. Could probably do with a little more time to integrate the acid, but it's fun now.
Cab Franc
2021 Château de la Bonneliere Chinon Rive Gauche - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
Really ripe red fruit, lots of black cherry and a hint of strawberry. Greenest of the cab francs with some light black tea tannins to round things out. Light to medium body, despite the darker color.
2013 Two Mountain Winery Cabernet Franc Brothers Reserve Copeland Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Rattlesnake Hills
This was all the best qualities of fruit you get from cab franc, cherry, raspberry, and hint of strawberry, with a touch of greenness to keep them sharp. Tannins were great and really well integrated, this was a joy to drink.
A little less one note than the carignan tasting, I would have been happy to open any of these any other night. Really great showing.