Thanks Jim! Happy to drink wines from my favorite region for a great cause.
2015 Francois Chidaine Montlouis Sur Loire Les Bournais Chenin Blanc - On PnP from refrigerator, nose and palate both showed muted apple juice and nothing else. That combined with the light golden color had me concerned this was another semi-oxidized Loire CB. Most every bottle of Loire CB I’ve tried across various producers, whether young or 10-20+ years old, has had a similar semi-oxidized/flat/sour apple juice quality. Not bad, but not delicious, exciting or interesting. After an hour of warming up in glass and a few vigorous swirls, the nose delivered mild sea spray and flint, while white flowers, marzipan, and a touch of acid and sweetness appeared on the palate. Medium bodied with medium finish. Still not terribly interesting or something that strikes my fancy, but much improved over what it showed on PnP.
2012 Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges Cabernet Franc - after 30 minutes in the glass, nose is typical Loire: ash, bell pepper, red fruit, and just a touch of funk/Alfert’s bike shorts. Not intoxicating - this is a lower end bottle in Baudry lineup - but a lovely and familiar melange of scents nonetheless. The palate is smooth and straight forward: earth, sweet red fruit, and copious ash, with tannins noticeable but barely hanging on. Wife said it tastes like rubber! Drops off precipitously once the wine passes the half way point of your tongue. Will chalk that up to the vintage. I did not greatly enjoy the 2012 Loire CFs as I do most every other vintage I’ve tried. Glad this is my last 2012 CF.
A complete miss on the bonus opportunities with the first pull…
2009 Pepiere Clos des Briords Cuvee Vielles Vignes Muscadet
I think this was a “lost bottle” that got buried in a box and resurfaced in the rack over the summer. The color hasn’t changed an iota since release. Still a medium-pale yellow. The palate has melon, floral pear, lemon, and mineral character with a medium finish. This is still very fresh and vibrant and hasn’t really changed a lot with a few years of bottle age. Still doesn’t replace White Burgundy for me, but lovely wine in its own genre.
I am going to introduce two new “bonus donation opportunities” to provide motivation to look beyond the “usual suspects” in the Loire.
Sancerre Rouge. Plenty of Sancerre Blanc drinkers here, but who is willing to open and post on a Sancerre Pinot Noir ? Rose does not qualify for the bonus. Menetou-Salon. Yeah, that’s in the Loire too. Red and white. Any takers?
I will add these to the first post.
Remember you need to have the wine, the TN post, and include a photo of yourself and the wine, to qualify for any bonus. Thanks.
2017 Boulay Sancerre Rosé Sybille
T_his evening we opened this direct press Pinot Noir Rosé from one of our favorite Sancerre Blanc producers. Served it with our “meal” of locally made salsa, guacamole and fish dip served with/on Tostito Multigrain Scoops. This was an unexpectedly seasonally festive color combination._
The wine’s color is an attractive transparent jewel: coral orange, the red side of salmon, light to medium in intensity. The nose is elusive at best, almost mute to be more accurate, but I am deficient in this sense. There is a freshness to it. The first taste at fridge temperature is a disappointment: strawberry soda-pop, almost sweet. This unwelcome disguise is quickly dropped as the wine in the glass becomes less cold. Delicious fruit, strawberries, but more. Not sweet, but dry and fruity. Good amount of acid to keep things lively. Nice tartness to the end palate and aftertaste. Balanced. Very tasty. Great with the food.
Maybe not surprisingly, the taste becomes slightly less energetic, with a flatter taste profile, and the wine is less enjoyable to me as it approaches room temperature (70F).
Thanks for running the week, Jim. Happy to help here, and you got me to open a few Loire wines that I usually pass over as I continue to think these wines should age. In the Baudry Boissee, it can go a long ways and will age. Perhaps it will soften as it sits out tonight. As for the Naudin, what a great bottle of bubbly Chenin. I’m gonna smile every time I pour another few ounces tonight. What a bitchen surprise.
As a closing point, Jim, I appreciate everything others do to serve all of us. I owe a great debt to all of those, whether they do their service here at home or away in foreign places…THANKS to all of you who keep us safe.
2007 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Pétillant Brut Réserve- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray Pétillant (12/12/2019)
I drink a lot of Champagne these days and to have this Chenin Blanc in my glass, this wine holds its own. The tension that expresses itself via a chalky, rocky tone in the palate of the wine could fool me for Verzenay or Ambonnay. Lots of green apple here, some gingery/cinnamon note, too. It does have some of the stone fruit and honey of Chenin Blanc, all buttressed by the citrusy, zesty acid that wraps it all together. Clean, precise and no sign of anything that would suggest age or softening of the wine’s energy. What a pleasant surprise, one of those wines of 2019 that hits me just right. Awesome stuff.
2011 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (12/12/2019)
5 years since my last bottle, it’s a good time to check in on the wine. Opened 30 mins ago. Distinctly CF aromatic of tobacco leaf, cedar and spice box. There continues to be good structure here, framed by red fruit, along with bright acidity that gives the wine some nice crunch. The weight here is squarely medium, which helps create a delicious glass of red wine, kind of Pinot Noir in texture and elegance. The core of the wine is bright and alive, and with the fresh tannin that continues to live in the finish of the wine, I am glad to have one more bottle, which should age well for sure.
Two nice wines and notes, Frank. Especially nice to see the sparkling chenin, which is definitely off the well trodden path. It sounds EXCELLENT. I have never had a chenin sparkler. Is the word “Petillant” an accurate descriptor of the bubbles in the wine?
Thank you for joining in this week. -Jim
2007 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Pétillant Brut Réserve- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray Pétillant (12/13/2019)
Blind: heck, I don’t know… maybe a pinot muenier? it’s has a little more weight than I’d expect from a PN. Wrong, this is really good stuff and a great price. Had no idea they did a sparkler from Chenin. The nose had a beef broth aroma, earthy but the palate was clean as can be with lovely yellow fruit, cool stuff.
2011 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissée- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (12/13/2019)
The wine hits all the classic markers for Cabernet franc, I wish I had tasted blind to see if I could have figured it out. The nose is earth/brush. Palate has a solid cherry core right in the middle after the attack of herbs and spices. There’s almost a red-hot, green jalapenos note which could easily be interpreted bell pepper.
2016 Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Vieilles Vignes Clos des Briords- France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine (12/13/2019)
It’s a bit silly that a wine like this comes across the ocean and to my cellar and it cost $18. That’s crazy. Medium gold color, something flinty/salty nose. Wasn’t really getting sea spray. Good acidity matched up with apple and tropical fruit. Really nice wine.
Frank and Brig,
You guys are on the same wavelength, and probably at the same table, and you know how to play the Charity tasting game pretty, pretty good.
Tip of the hat,
-Jim
I really would not recommend opening one of these, but since I accidentally triple ordered it and ended up with a case, why not.
Pretty classic vin de garde La Croix Boissee. Big and structured for a Loire Cab Franc. Broad range or red to darks. Some dank wet earth. Killer salinity. Crisp acids, chewy.
My better half and I decided to dine at a local sushi place tonight, and I paired that up with the 2017 Boulay La Cote Sancerre and the 2010 Boulay Mont Damnes Sancerre. For tonight, the La Cote is definitely the better drinking wine - more welcoming, but still displaying good acidity and nice persistence.
The 2010 Mont Damnes - what can I say about this wine. I’m sure we have all purchased wines in the past where we are still waiting for full maturity, with the wine displaying all it’s glories - the Leoville Las Cases and Gruaud Larose from the 1986 vintage immediately come to mind, but I have to admit that I have seldom had a more ungiving white wine. We bought a case of this wine on release, and I have yet to drink a bottle that is fully mature, and I am now near the end of that case. I love the potential here, but the wine remains dominated by it’s structure. So unfortunately I may never have the opportunity to try a fully mature example, but if you still have some in your cellar, my recommendation is to continue holding the wine.
Opened for a group Sunday (this note is from Wednesday), I saved a small amount so I could write a note without cheating. It’s an interesting and unique wine. One of my friends posted a note in Cellar Tracker finding mustiness and possible oxidation; I did not notice that, but it may not have been the bottle although I bought it on release. On Sunday, very full, very rich, very big, but very balanced with the acidity numbing the sweetness. 72 Hours later, it’s holding well, although the acidity is more prominent. I think I’ve enjoyed the 1989 Premier Tries from Le Haut Lieu and Le Mont more, but this is far more unique. I have three more bottles and plan to have the next one in on its 40th birthday. The last two will probably go to my heirs. After this was opened, the host opened a half bottle of 1999 d’Yquem which was more enjoyable to most of the people at this dinner.
Very earthy with tobacco, thyme and other herbal notes. There are plums and other fruits, but this wine is overwhelmed by the savory elements. It really comes alive with flank steak, and probably with any other piece of red meat you can throw at it. When I opened it, I’m reminded of the following clip:
TN: 2009 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot.
My last bottle of 3. Very good cork, 13% alc, decanted and served slightly chilled.
Light purple rim, hint of bricking. Wonderful nose with olive, green pepper, cherry and “maybe raspberry” from across the table. Nose held up overnight.
Initial entry thought was dry, soft tannins, still savoury , medium bodied and fair acidity. My storage has produced a winner, no doubt about that. Bell pepper, red fruits, raspberry for sure. Some ripe fruit day 2 on mid-palate blackcurrant. Balance here remains spot on as per previous bottles.
Food was perogy and farmers sausage.
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