Browse Tag

loire

Trinch your cheeks

C&P Breton 2005 Bourgueil “trinch!” (Loire) – For about a half-hour, there’s an is-this-corked? mustiness and ungenerosity to the nose that I’ve found is more than occasionally the aromatic signature of ultra-natural wines. But it can’t be corked under this particular closure, and so there’s nothing to do but wait it out. Eventually, the mist and shroud turns to something earthier, though it never quite stops obscuring the rest of the aromatics. OK, then, how about the palate? Well, it’s full of black dirt and freshly-plowed anger, slashed with fine acidity and shreddings of tobacco. I suppose it’s hard to tell from this note, but other than the difficult nose I quite like the wine, and it’s absolutely enticing with food. But I’d choose my drinking companions with some care. (12/08)

VV CV

Ollivier 2002 Muscadet Sèvre & Maine “Sue Lie” Clos des Briords “Cuvée Vieilles Vignes” (Loire) – Tastes of paper, bones, and erosion…first whitewashed, then turning completely transparent with time in the glass. These ends the wine pursues with unwavering focus, and various attempts to dislodge it from its position with food achieve nothing. The finish is a bit of a white dwarf at the moment, but I expect broadening down the road. Well down the road. (12/08)

Buster bar

Thomas-Labaille 2005 Sancerre Les Monts Damnés “Cuvée Buster” (Loire) – Creamy and, dare I say it about a Sancerre?, thick, but in its mode there’s a fair bit of balance. It tastes more spherical than of any particular mineral or growing thing, and for about an hour or so there’s absolutely nothing about it that tastes anything like its appellation or its grape. Eventually, with a lot of air (and gentle movement towards room temperature), the barest hint of grass and gooseberry emerges, peeking out from some tiny room within the sphere. Given all this, plus a very long finish, either this needs an epic decant or, more reasonably, a good long lie-down in the cellar. (10/08)

Émile Zola

Chaussard (Briseau) “Nana, vins et cie” Vin de Table “You are so nice” (Loire) – 2006 bottling. Plays at fun, but the structure’s a bit on the scowly side, with an angry slash of tannin and acidity cutting diagonally through the wine, reducing the appeal of the fruit. Is that some granite in the background? This might just need the right food to tame the angrier elements. (10/08)

Jessey’s girl

Jessey “Domaine du Closel” 1997 Savennières Moelleux “Cuvée Isa” (Loire) – Quite literally smells like garbage. The palate is chalky and rough, with a mineralistic aspect, and while the wine comes off as dry there’s a thickness that can only come from the sugar. However, the wine is so utterly aromatically repellent that only the nasally-challenged could even contemplate actually putting it in their mouth. (6/08)

Goonies are Godineau

Godineau “Domaine des Petits Quarts” 1996 Bonnezeaux “La Malabé” (Loire) – Creamy aspirin, dried fall leaves still rich with autumnal color, and a bit of tannin for balance. Long and poised. Delicious, but not at the absolute top; a bit more complexity would be needed for that. (6/08)

Beaulieu, no V

Papin “Château Pierre-Bise” 1997 Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu Les Rouannières (Loire) – Structured but fruity, with metal-jacketed apple, sweet apricot, and a tangible sense of size dominated by a very intense sweetness. Very long, but wow is it sweet. Still, there’s enough structure for me to bet on its future, though not with 100% confidence. (9/08)

Mountain fortress

Château du Montfort 2005 Vouvray (Loire) – Chalky powdered sugar, yet not particularly sweet; it’s more a textural lilt than it is a palate-changing element. There’s actually not much else to the wine, though. It’s long-ish, but the sustain is mostly monotonal. It’s pleasant to drink. (8/08)

Hey hey, Nana, drink it goodbye

Chaussard (Briseau) “Nana, vins et cie” 2006 Coteaux du Loir “You are so beautiful” (Loire) – Tense. Pretty, but nervous, with lovely red fruit and the numb snap of Sichuan peppercorn, done up in edgy colors and quavering textures. This is really very appealing, and seems to bend and twist to conform to a rather wide range of culinary partners, but it’s bracingly drinkable by itself, too. The label “real wine” is sometimes applied to wines like this, and here there’s good reason: it’s a very…winy wine, if that makes any sense. (8/08)