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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.2 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 23 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Harley1199 on 6/10/2022: Popped and poured. Ten years on but showing no age excepting this antique gold colour. On the nose showed that typicalbyet delicious aromas of meringue, candied lemons and limestone among many others like dried herbs or citrus curd. In the mouth offered a firm yet oiled texture, mature lime acidity and a decent length with a bitter finish. For a lesser vintage like this, at its best. Better if warmer even.
Descorchado y directamente vertido. Diez años ya pero sin mostrar su edad a excepción de este color del oro antiguo. En nariz se evidenció que los típicos aromas son los deliciosos del merengue, limones confitados y piedra caliza entre muchos otros como hierbas secas o cuajada de cítricos. En boca ofrecía una textura firme pero aceitada, la acidez de una lima madura y una longitud decente para un final amargo. Para una cosecha menor como esta, en su mejor momento. Mejor incluso si se calienta un poquito. (457 views) | | | Tasted by Anna@WineCellar on 9/18/2021 & rated 90 points: Amber, medium(+) intensity. Mature nose, high intensity. Quince, wool, minerality, bitterness. A slight sweetness on the palate, high crescendo acidity, medium body, very good length. Complexity in flavours with accentuated lager beer, pineapple, wool, quince and some bitterness in the finish. Finely textured with nice phenolic grip. Mature yes, but still fresh without oxidation. (555 views) | | | Tasted by UlfH on 7/24/2021 & rated 84 points: Just passed the top and slightly oxidized with a fino-like complexity. Gold colour. Ripe winter apples, autumn leaves, herbs. Energetic, very good acid, long and complex. Probably close to 90p a year ago. (559 views) | | | Tasted by ttstes on 10/11/2020 flawed bottle: Oxidized (721 views) | | | Tasted by beatles on 2/27/2020 & rated 91 points: Great wine with pronounced chalkiness, dry with citrus galore and excellent length. Classic.
#Anarki (1477 views) | | | Tasted by AudunG on 12/21/2019 & rated 87 points: A decent bottle, at last, after three spoiled ones. Rather dark and slightly oxidized, but the fruit is still going strong. Aromatic and rich, with the typical strong Chenin-Blanc acidity. (804 views) | | | Tasted by kevin h on 10/1/2019 & rated 92 points: An exciting wine with real energy and character. Mineral, apple sauce nose. Classic dry Chenin. Intense, deep and very classy. I really like this. (814 views) | | | Tasted by AudunG on 12/21/2018 flawed bottle: Oxidized again, like the two previous bottles. (863 views) | | | Tasted by AudunG on 3/10/2018 & rated 80 points: Dark yellow. A bit oxidized aromas with dried yellow fruits, hay and wax. Has developed negatively. (1014 views) | | | Tasted by Eric Anderson on 3/2/2018 & rated 88 points: Seemed a little sharp and disjointed when first opened, the wine was more about oxidation than fruit. But, 30-45 minutes later it seemed to spring to life. The astringent sharpness disappeared, and the mouthfeel smoothed out measurably. (974 views) | | | Tasted by RomainMV on 1/13/2017 & rated 89 points: Golden color. Lemon and honey. Some slight sign of oxydation. But good balance (high acidiy). Drink now, might be a bit past peak. Good but not overly complex. (1252 views) | | | Tasted by AudunG on 12/2/2016 & rated 84 points: Dark yellow. A bit oxidized aromas with dried yellow fruits, hay and wax. Quite soft in the mouth. Seems to be a late harvest wine. (1164 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 9/26/2016 & rated 89 points: Weekly tasting group #229; A mixed set fully blind tasted. (@ RW): Bouquet with hay, straw, nuts and some polishing wax. On the palate tropical fruits, some sherry impressions, high acidity and also a touch of sweetness. (1637 views) | | | Tasted by ahagen on 8/30/2016 & rated 90 points: Mektig vin (954 views) | | | Tasted by Man in Black on 5/7/2015: The wine is clear and bright with a pale gold colour.
The nose is clean and developing, showing medium intensity aromas of green fruit (yellow apple), herbaceous (fennel), bottle ageing (walnut, honey) and fruit development (hints of dry figs).
The wine is dry in the mouth with a medium(+) acidity. It has low soft tannins and a medium(+) well-integrated alcohol. It has a medium body and pronounced intensity flavours of green fruit (yellow apple), herbaceous (fennel), bottle ageing (walnut, honey) and fruit development (hints of dry figs). The finish is medium(+).
It is a very good quaity wine. It has a lingering finish and very concentrated flavours. The alcohol and the acidity are in balance, however a better example of this style would show more complexity.
Drink now, but it has enough acidity and fruit concentration to develop some more complex tertiary aromas over the next 1-2 years. (1456 views) | | | Tasted by ttuominen on 1/18/2015 & rated 88 points: C: Bright yellow, quite a deep colour
N: Yellowing apples, jasmine tea, floral, honeysuckle
P: Yellow fruit, apples, citrus through the mid-palate, high acidity. Very nicely balanced. Long finish.
O: Slightly simple, but certainly well balanced and a good wine. (1350 views) |
| Domaine aux Moines Producer web site
ABOUT DOMAINE AUX MOINES:
Domaine Aux Moines is run by Monique and Tessa Laroche, who, as a mother and daughter team, are a bit of an unusual configuration, especially when it comes to owning and running an old respected wine estate. Of course many of us suspect that for many more Chateaux, it's the women who really are running things, in the case of Domaine Aux Moines there is no question. The Laroches are fond of saying "Wine is a feminine word. And in our case, it's also plural."
Mmes. Laroche preside over an estate that is unusual for more reasons than its femininity. For starters, they occupy one of the lesser known sub-appellations of the Savennieres known as Roche Aux Moines. Savennieres is not a large appellation to begin with, occupying about 350 acres in total, and the Roche Aux Moines sub-appellation is a mere eighty or so acres of that. Of those eighty acres, the Laroches own and work nearly twenty of them. The estate property is on some of the highest ground of this appellation, with soils rich in schist that make for extremely good drainage, and in my experience, a high degree of minerality in the wine.
The majority of Aux Moines' production is a single wine of 100% Chenin Blanc, and properly so, for it is here in Savennieres that Chenin Blanc shines like nowhere else in the world.
Chenin Blanc, or Pineau de la Loire as it is also referred to at times, is synonymous with the Loire valley, there is not much Chenin Blanc planted there -- far more is grown in South Africa. Chenin is an oft forgotten member of the great white varietals of the world. It is overshadowed by Riesling, Chardonnay, Semillon, and even its neighbor and direct descendant, Sauvignon Blanc in popular wine culture. Yet Chenin is one of the most versatile and profound white grapes in my humble opinion -- capable of making wines of great depth and complexity whether they be the molleux dessert wines of Vouvray or crisp, low-alcohol whites like this bottle. Chenin, in particular, is famous for its ability to age for decades, gaining in complexity, aroma, and deepening in golden hue.
Domaine Aux Moines produces very little wine. So little that I scratch my head at the numbers of acres they have under cultivation -- 2500 cases a year seems like an awful small number of bottles to be produced on twenty acres. It is possible that (in addition to practicing low-yield viticulture) the Laroches sell much of their crop to others and choose to produce only what they can completely control in terms of quality.
Apart from their small production of red wine, and in certain years, a late harvest dessert wine, Aux Moines make only this single white wine from their 50+ year-old vines. It is fermented in steel and only small amounts are aged in oak to be blended back into the main wine. In keeping with the properties of the grape, and perhaps with their predilection for doing things their own way, Aux Moines regularly holds wine back for much later commercial release. To wit, this 1994 vintage is a current release, as are vintages stretching back to 1991 and forward to 2001. How a tiny producer like this can afford to not sell all 2500 cases of their production after bottling is a mystery that will not be unraveled here.
Chenin Blanc Varietal character (Appellation America)France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comLoire Valley Vins du Val de Loire (Interprofession des Vins du Val de Loire)
Jancis Robinson vintage reports
Wine Spectator vintage reports
Wine Scholar Guild vintage reports
2016 vintage:
"Quality and concentration is good, with Chenin Blanc being particularly noteworthy in 2016 while Sancerre is thought to be the best of the Sauvignon Blanc appellations. Cabernet Franc is 'delicious, ripe and fruity' according to Loire courtier Chris Hardy." - Jancis Roninson
2017 vintage reports:
Jancis Robinson
Vinfolio
"2018 wines will not be typical of the Loire rather they will have the characteristics of wines from much further south" - Philippe Gilbert
2019 vintage:
Academie du Vin report
"the warm 2019 vintage is characterised by a surprising freshness" - Jim Budd
Vineyards on weinagen-infoAnjou-SaumurSee an excellent article on Vinography.Savennières Roche aux Moines on weinlagen.info |
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