According to the enthusiastic young shop attendant in Montlouis, 2006 was a tough vintage in the Touraine, which resulted in strenuous selection and low yields.
This rendition of my fave wine from the appellation of Montlouis has quite an advanced medium intense golden core with a watery rim, where the 2004 hardly has any colour at all.
The nose is medium intense immediately after popping the cork, at which point notes of honeyed pears and peppermint can be separated with some effort. Half an hour of slow oxygenation see the intensity pick up a notch, but the biggest improvements are increased precision and complexity as notes of blanched almonds, candied orange rind and chlorine minerality are added. A slight whiff of diesel reinforces my suspicions of some botrytized grapes.
Medium-plus bodied -13,5% alcohol again reinforces the notion of a late harvest- with some noticable RS, this wine has medium-plus flavour intensity and some serious richness on the mid-palate. A spine of medium-plus acidity maintains impeccable balance and does a “deus ex machina” several times during the evening. My only minor peeve is perhaps a slightly hot/volatile finish, which still does 15-20 balanced seconds and adds some saline minerals beyond that point.
Even if it isn’t up there with the best vintages of this bottling, this still deserves 89 points and presents a satisfying package right now compared to the utterly closed 2005, 2004 and 2002. It might even improve a point within the next three years, but I doubt whether there is much to gain from keeping it for much longer, unless necrophilia is your major malfunction… ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}