Great night in NYC. This was a real treat for me, getting to try a selection of Loire wines with long time buddies who have been Loire enthusiasts for ages. Fun to see everyone.
We started with two sparklers
2012 Pierre Peters Les Chétillons BdB
Crisp, biscuit nose, tight and linear but very refined, tart palate of lemon and gooseberries, a little light at first but deepens with air, nice length, dry and gingery. Great potential but I found this austere, coiled and largest inscrutable at this stage. Unless you have lots, I wouldn’t touch these for at least 5 years. NR
1970 Huet Sec Perlant Vouvray Coppery and still, with nearly all the bubbles gone, a cidery wine with red apples and quince. Silky and fun. 91 pts.
Whites:
1989 Robert Denis Touraine Azay-Le-Rideau Sec Served blind and this seemed completely young, dense, tight, chiseled. Floral and white fruited, it got much more interesting with a decant, as more typical chenin notes like wax and lanolin appeared. Very long with a serious spine of firm acids. A treat. 93 pts.
2009 Huet Le Mont Sec
Smells of wet stones, cured lemons, fresh ginger, soy candle wax. Intense attack of big acids like white grapefruit with an off-dry note that together leave a bittersweet impression. Tart, waxy finish, overall in a stricter style than the 09 Clos du Bourg sec. Worked very well with food. 91-92 pts.
2019 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc
This needed some air, but I thought it was compelling with an exotic note of sweet tarts and hard candy. Integrates, bright, very long. 92-93 pts.
2021 Bernardeau Les Ongles VdF
So young but filled with promise. I liked but preferred the Collier as this was a little scattered for me at least this night.
Reds, which we drank youngest to oldest
2009 Baudry La Croix Boissee
Still primary in profile but wide open and engaging, with an extra gear of concentration. Though preferring the 05, this was great and confirms my impression the Croix Boissee is the shizzle. Softer with a gentle herbal note, this is so seamless. Its peak is still probably 10-ish years away but very enjoyable now. 92-93 pts.
2005 Baudry La Croix Boissee
I thought this was smashing. Still somewhat tight with some firm tannins but so well balanced with big fruit for this address. There are fresh herbs and braised greens, dark fruits and so much mineral intensity. Open for business but this should get better and better. 93-94 pts today, revisit in 5 years.
2005 Clos Rougeard Les Poyeux
My first Rougeard and it does not disappoint. Ready to drink but it’s still early days here as you sense the layers of depth left to unfurl. Wonderfully balanced, leather, minerals and dark fruits, so classy with enough structure to kept a claret lover happy. Regal. 95 pts.
Two double blind reds:
2005 Olga Raffault Les Picasses
Terrific bouquet here, sappy and herbal with crush rocks and sweet florals, expressive and already showing nuance. Brett-free for my horse-loving nose. The palate, lighter and leaner with a touch of dilution, couldn’t keep pace with the nose. 95 pts nose, 89-90 pts palate.
2005 L’Evangile
Served double blind and I was in the this-is-Bordeaux-but-WTF? camp. The oak levels were absurd, though I’m sure the lineup didn’t help. Coconut, kirsch, pomegranate creamsicle, and uncured lumber, I was guessing like a very modern St Emilion like Tetre Roteboeuf. The attack was plush and silky and this was clearly higher ABV, but it still had some 05 hardness on the finish. Double decanted like 12 hours before dinner, but it didn’t seem to help. Two attendees separately guessed this was a young La Rioja Alta, it was that oaky. Is this what l’Evangile has been these last 20 years? Yikes. Glad I don’t own any.
1995 Sociando-Mallet
I added this double blind for the group as Ramon and I had just talked about this vintage of S-M and WB’s own Robert Alfert has oft mentioned that this would be a great dark horse to add to a Loire lineup. Overall, the group zeroed in on Bordeaux quite quickly but the guesses were diverse from there, with most suggesting a classified growth. I thought it showed well, with some classic purple-lavender notes I often get at this address to go with cassis and cedar (and very little of the signature pyrazine/bell pepper left at this stage). Only moderate depth and length, but classy in a rustic laid-back vein. Definitely resolved and ready to drink. 92 pts.
1989 Chanteleuserie Cuvee Beauvais Bourgueil
This didn’t do much for me, with some diffuse flavors and a slightly dank note, but certainly serviceable with acids and mushrooms, quite tertiary. 87 pts.
1989 Couly-Dutheil Clos de l’Olive
This was popped and poured, which was a mistake. Seriously minty to start, almost toothpaste levels of menthol. Okay but it didn’t show much. 88 pts.
Day 2: Smoke, pine, tobacco, and most of all poblano, still some mint but a nuance now, complex. really classic and engaging. Smooth and lingering. 93 pts.
And one dessert wine
1996 Huet Le Mont Moelleux Premiere Trie
Stunning and high toned with searing levels of crunchy acids. The bouquet is still a little coiled but nevertheless redolent of white tea, honeyed limes, pickled ginger, and waxy white currants. Sweet but also demur, like rainwater infused with nasturtiums and lychee, magically transparent for a dessert wine. Mesmerizing. 94 pts.
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