2012 Texier - Domaine de Pergaud - St.-Julien en St.-Alban - Vieilles Serines ($32): I was meandering up and down the aisles at Chambers Street last evening in search of a bottle to take to a friends when David Zylberberg walked in. After chatting with him, my choice seemed obvious: a Texier.
This was a hit with the wine lovers at dinner when served it blindly, but I found it lacked grip. It’s quite forward and fruity, with very soft tannins and not a lot of acid (very un-Texier-ish). Some syrah character, with a slight stem note (fine by me), but I’m not sure I would have guessed Northern Rhone if I’d been served this blind. (Two people did guess syrah.) At $20-$25, I’d buy more, but at $32 I want a little more structure. I recall liking the 09 and 10 better at this stage. ~86 points for me.
I opened a bottle of this wine recently and found that it really firmed up nicely on day 2. I was not thrilled with it on day 1 either, but had the pleasure of drinking the majority of the bottle on day 2, when I found it to be quite good and not as soft.
Just popped one tonight. Juicy and bright with svelte richness. Great balance of subtle floral notes, rock dust, herbs and ripe…not overripe red plummy fruit. Plenty of structure and powdery tannins. Good length. This needs 2 - 3+ years to unwind and will certainly go much longer. Happy to have more.
