[/url]2014 Gérard Boulay Sancerre Clos de Beaujeu
Pale yellow. Crisp citrus, dry mineral extract, brisk
acidity. Lacking the slightly honeyed richness of
previous vintages that I’ve tried, with a somewhat clipped
finish, but it paired well with scallops and asparagus, all tied together with a beurre blanc. Youthful acidity suggests potential for further development.
A couple from the weekend…one I think qualifies for a kicker.
2017 Huet Vouvray Le Mont Demi-Sec
I really like the demi-sec from Huet for spicy food. This was shy on the first night. Medium gold color. Aromas of honey, lanolin, some floral elements, and a bit of mango. Palate has slight bitter notes (think mango) with quince, honey, lemon, and honeysuckle. Finish is medium. After a few days of air, this is more open with a bit of bitter almond starting to emerge due to the extended air time. A good bottle.
2014 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Rouge “Belle Dame”
Pale cranberry color and full transparency. This has lightened substantially since my first taste a couple of years ago. Aromas of rose, cranberry, smoke, and allspice. Palate has tart cherry, cranberry, some raspberry, light spice notes and some barrel structure framing it all. I expect this to plump up and flesh out with more time in the bottle, but it is showing well enough now to have a look. Definitely comes across as cool climate Pinot Noir to me.
Cheers,
fred
Cha-ching! Good to see that Sancerre Rouge, Fred. And good to see you too. Two good wines!
The Homie bonus ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Clau de Nell 2013 Cabernet Franc. Sweet tobacco nose with some spice and olive notes. Thin body mostly tobacco and smoke with slight red fruits. Easy drinking, don’t think I would purchase again. We are not big fans of Loire reds, usually finding them too green, This wasn’t green , but also wasn’t much.
Was best on night three. Like drink savory red juice through a wet riverbed sieve. Just needs 10+ years. I would not recommend popping one. Excellent potential.
That is how to play the game, Bob! Good to see another Homie! -Jim
You are quite in the zone on the TNs, Robert A. Some kind of metaphorical magic going on! I’ll have to start paying more attention to your posts.
If you still have the bottle (go dig it out of the recycling if you have to), post a pic of yourself with it and claim the “Winter Homie” bonus.
-Jim
TN: 1999 René Renou Bonnezeaux Cuvée Zenith; In a 500 ml, purchased from Envoyer by my nephew recently. My first time with this winery. A nice “little” wine, but nothing special, decent nose, balanced, but without the depth or acidity I sometime find in older Loires. This may be past its peak, but is still nice and drinkable. At its price, I would not buy it.
Good to see you, David. And with a Bonnezeaux. Nice! I appreciate the “bonus” effort.
Lee, Dig out that bottle and post a photo of yourself and the wine for the bonus “cha-ching”! Thanks
Went to a cassoulet and cookie decorating dinner last night, and brought a couple Loire whites (in addition to a 01 la Tour Blanche)
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2011 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (12/15/2019)
Pale gold, with honeysuckle, stone fruit and a bit of beeswax on the nose. In the mount, it’s very pleasingly balanced, with excellent acid, lifted fruit in the form of green apples and dried stone fruit, honeycomb, wet rocks, and a moderate amount of wax and wool. Just a whiff of oxidative nuttiness creeping in on the finish. There’s a bit of hollowness on the mid-palate as compared to the 2010. Paired beautifully with cassoulet.(91 pts.) -
2018 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 (12/15/2019)
New batch of Briords. Initially it reminds me of '16, which is halfway between the more generous and fruity '15, and the laser-cut diamond of '14. Seaspray, lime zest, pith, and slate up front, fanning out to subtle tropical fruit and barely ripe apricots on the back. Marvelous texture and tightly coiled like a snake waiting to pounce. Still a bit angular but this has just hit the shelves and probably needs a few months to calm down. (90 pts.)
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Separately, I was reading John Lanchester’s novel The Debt to Pleasure, and at one point the narrator drinks a half-bottle of Menetou-Salon to accompany his lemon sole. One of those uncanny coincidences where something relatively rare comes up in multiple contexts.
2005 François Pinon Vouvray Cuvée Botrytis
Unfortunately this was brutally corked.
Bummer, David. That should have been a great wine.
I hope to find out. I have two more.
Cassoulet AND cookie decorating? Why not!
Two nice TNs, Vince. I am amazed at wine drinkers like yourself who can retain taste memories of other related wines and bring them out for comparison. I struggle with that aspect of wine tasting.
Good to see you.
The “wine gods” owe you that!
OK, it’s getting late in the game, but I have enough left to “throw” two more bonus donation opportunities. Odds are extremely low of connecting, but let’s go for it.
The “Hail Mary” . This is for WBs based in FRANCE. Maybe those closer to the Loire can show us something different. Est-ce que quelqu’un veut jouer ?
The “Go deep, Monk”. For Neal Mollen. I know you are not a fan of the red wine that is greener in the other fellow’s cellar, but how about a Loire white?
I will update the first post to include these two. Remember, a photo of you with the wine is needed to earn the bonus.
2014 Gérard Boulay Sancerre Monts Damnés (drank on Sat, 12/14 and Sun, 12/15) - herbal, citrusy nose that carries over to the palate. Solid acid with mineral elements, but despite drinking over the course of two days the wine felt reticent and never opened up in the way I expected based on bottles of prior vintages. Feels like there is another gear for this wine given more time. Solid now, but will hold other bottles for a few years.
I have had engagements every night and have not had any of my own wine for over a week. I will do my best to open the Breton tomorrow and post.
Thanks, Jay. That would be one of the highlights of this thread!