Real Wine Assault
K&L Wines, San Francisco, Cal.
Tasted Saturday, March 25, 2006 by WNissen with 1,093 views
Introduction
The tasting tent at K&L was absolutely packed, to my surprise. I couldn't believe how many folks I didn't know, although I recognized quite a few from Dee Vine, as well as Mike Filigenzi!
Flight 1 (27 Notes)
Closing
None of the remaining wines were really worth mentioning, and I was getting tired after hours of tasting. Thankfully, the crowd really thinned out, and I was able to enjoy some of the "greatest hits" and chat with the assembled geeks.
Walt
2004 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie Cuvée Eden
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie
$14, Piny, salty, and lemony, in addition to being stony, crisp, and nice. Here's hoping that wasn't the magnum talking because I bought two single bottles. Very Good.
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2004 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie
$11. Stony, crisp, nice. Good+.
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1999 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie Vieilles Vignes Clos des Briords
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie
$16. Flatter, longer in the finish but less interesting. Good+.
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2004 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir L'Effraie
France, Loire Valley, Coteaux du Loir
$23. 100% chenin blanc. Pine, cat pee, crisp. Good+
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2004 Domaine de Bellivière Jasnières Les Rosiers
France, Loire Valley, Jasnières
$29. Off-dry, sugar seems to cover up modest pine and grass. Good.
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2004 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir Le Rouge-Gorge
France, Loire Valley, Coteaux du Loir
$23. Striking herbality, pine, and if not for a smoky note, has quite a similar nose to the previous two wines. Good+.
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2004 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir Hommage à Louis Derré
France, Loire Valley, Coteaux du Loir
$33. More depth, still not that compelling. Good+.
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2004 Domaine du Closel-Château des Vaults Savennières La Jalousie
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
$20. With this wine, I learned that Jalousie is pronounced as if it has a 'z' in it. Served too warm? Grass but little else. Good.
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2004 Domaine du Closel-Château des Vaults Savennières Clos du Papillon
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
$26. Just off-dry, floral, pretty, Very Good.
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2003 Domaine du Closel-Château des Vaults Savennières Moelleux Clos du Papillon
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières
Hot, flabby, and not that interesting. Good.
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2004 François Pinon Vouvray Cuvée Tradition
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
$16. Crisp, well-developed Sweet Tart aroma and flavor, Very Good.
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1992 François Pinon Vouvray Cuvée Tradition
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Sulphurous, which blows off to reveal a wine not all that different from its 2004 sister, though it's just starting to turn to maturity and has a longer finish. Very Good.
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1988 François Pinon Vouvray Cuvée Tradition
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Price N/A. Now we're talking. I get perhaps 1 mL in my glass, but that's enough to enjoy vivid quince, rubber, and an array of interesting aromas. A real eye-opener, rated Excellent.
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1976 François Pinon Vouvray Cuvée Tradition
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Price N/A. While not as intense, this is the only one I would call mature. Green onion, road tar, Indian spices, kumquat, a hint of VA, all these and more make an appearance, even after the glass is empty! Also Excellent.
Still, it brings up a point: Who is going to wait for these wines? I'm twenty-eight, and I can't fathom putting away a case and waiting 30 years for it to mature. This is wine to put away for your kids. Actually, that's a good idea. It would just be getting good when they'd be ready to enjoy it. Speaking of aging this wine, the cork was covered in ugly black mold, and not only was it not soaked through, it was so sound I was unable to break it with my fingers. Clearly, the storage at the domaine is impeccable, which should be figured into any aging curve.
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2003 François Pinon Vouvray Cuvée de Novembre
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
$19, Balanced for a 2003, good nose.
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2004 Clos Roche Blanche Sauvignon Touraine
France, Loire Valley, Touraine
$13. Super grassy, but I didn't find it interesting. Good+.
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2004 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Cuvée Gamay
France, Loire Valley, Touraine
$13. Stony, herbal, but the fruit is complex, like plum jam made with a gentle hand. Very Good.
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2004 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Cuvée Pif
France, Loire Valley, Touraine
$15. Well-balanced, but is it closed? Not much here. Good.
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2004 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Cuvée Côt
France, Loire Valley, Touraine
$17. Similar to the Pif, I'm swirling and smelling but just not getting any. Good.
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2004 Famille Peillot Roussette du Bugey Altesse de Montagnieu
France, Savoie, Roussette du Bugey
Fun nose of bubble gum, strawberries, off-dry. Aromas not quite carried onto the palate, but it's charming. Very Good.
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2002 Famille Peillot Mondeuse Vin du Bugey-Montagnieu
France, Savoie, Vin du Bugey-Montagnieu
Price N/A. Violet aromas, exotic spices, Good+.
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2004 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Beaujolais Blanc
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais
$15. Minerals, full-bodied relative to the other wines, good arc in the mouth. However, it isn't quite as good with oysters as the Muscadets. Very Good+.
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2004 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
$19. Burgundian, earthy and herbal, a little frisson in the mouth, Very Good.
The K&L guy (a French Canadian) thinks this will be ready in 2-3 years. I'll see what happens to the two bottles I bought. Three years, that long I don't mind waiting.
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1999 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Price N/A. Perfume! So, so different (though also from a better year), elegant and long, this almost seems like mature Burgundy. Very Good+.
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2004 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Beaujolais Cuvée l'Ancien Vieilles Vignes
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais
$15. Pine, celery, some fruit, well-balanced, Good+.
I've also had the 2002, and I just don't know what people see in this wine. From the descriptions I read, I would love it, but like the Clos Roche Blanche wines, there doesn't seem to be much there there.
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2004 Château d'Oupia Vin de Pays de l'Hérault Les Hérétiques
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
$10. 100% carignan. Nice, also slightly vibraty, but too simple in flavor. I had this earlier in the year and found it essentially the same. I've not yet had a carignan that was interesting on its own, and this doesn't break the streak. Good+.
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2004 Château d'Oupia Minervois
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Minervois
$11, %60 syrah. Smells like syrah but again I'm missing aromatic complexity. This was another one I really wanted to like but couldn't seem to find anything in. Good.
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