TN: Texier CdR Brezeme Blanc '01...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

Tried this last night at our wine group’s ChristmasParty:

  1. EricTexier Cotes du Rhone Brezeme Blanc (100% Roussanne; Non-filtre; 13%) 2001: Light gold color w/ slight cloudiness; very interesting gunflint/Mosel valve oil/waxy light R-like/floral some honeysuckle/Roussanne very perfumed complex nose; fairly tart rather mineraly/gunflint/valve oil fairly rich/lush waxy/floral/honeysuckle/Roussanne slight honeyed flavor; very long flinty/mineral light floral/honeysuckle/Roussanne/waxy quite perfumed complex finish; amazingly youthful. $24.00

A wee BP:

  1. EricTexier’s Rhone wines are consistently some of my favorites. Alas, don’t see them much anymore here in NM. They tend to be quite different from many other Rhones, particularly because of their high acidity levels. I was particularly struck by the youthfullness of this Roussaanne; it showed none of the slightly oxidized/toasted hazelnutty character that most 9-yr old Calif Roussannes would show. I wouldn’t be at all surprised that this wine is still very much alive 5-10 yrs down the road. Another terrific Texier wine.
    Tom
2

Tom,

Thanks for your note on this wine - and all of your observations on everything Rhone. Very much appreciated!

Quick question - do you find that ‘Mosel Valve Oil’ component common in all aged Roussannes? How about Marsannes? How about CdP whites in general?

Just curious to hear your thoughts on this - and whether or not you or others find this a ‘fault’ or not.

Cheers!

3

Larry,
What I call the “Mosel valve oil” component in the nose is also called “gout de petrol” in Alsatian Rieslings. I very seldom find
it in Rhone varietals or whites from the Rhone. Those, to me, tend to have a stoney/mineral/earthy component. In aged Roussannes
(Rhone or Calif), I find a slightly oxidized/hazelnutty/toasted hazelnuts component. In Marsannes as well. This was absent in this Texier.
But I was struck by the almost R-like character the wine showed. Not your run-of-the-mill Rhone Roussanne.
One btls left.
Tom

4

Thanks, Tom. I’m just curious because I tend to find this component oftentimes in Grenache Blancs (and no, not just my own) and it tends to amplify with more bottle time. Makes me wonder if that variety in particular contains TDN, the chemical most responsible for those aromatics . . .

Cheers!

5

Yup, Larry. I would agree I tend to find it more in GrenacheBlancs. Something you seldom see from the Rhone
(except for Rayas…which I don’t drink often…$$$'s)
Tom