Vacation Wines (Loire, Rhône, Jura)

My friend M. had gathered some vacation wines, bought en route to Southern France in various years, mostly at the producers themselves, but also some in shops. They were all served blind, except for the Champagne. We only uncovered at the end. This was more about eating, drinking some wine and discussing politics than about concentrated tasting, so the notes may be a little sketchy.

• NV Froment-Griffon Champagne Brut Sélection 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Blanc de Noir blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Very light yellow, fine bubbles. In the nose silvery, pineapple, quince and nuts. Very linear, fresh. On the palate, it's dry, lemony, again with fine bubbles, quite nutty, green and white fruit in the finish (gooseberry, white currant). Really quite good.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 M. Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Les Meysonniers 81 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  Pale yellow. In the nose, this is a bit flashy with exotic notes, something bitter, lots of wax and some elderflower sirup. It smells a little generic of "white wine". On the palate, it's very dry, quite bitter, there are lots of white flowers, but no perceivable acidity. Slightly watery, very simple. Dumb phase or not much there?

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Les Cailloux du Paradis Quartz 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Vin de Pays du Loir-et-Cher

  Pale light yellow. In the nose, this is very vin naturel. There are oxidative notes, but they blow away or I get used to them. There's also some apple must, slightly green notes (gooseberry), sweet honey melon, something lactic and nutty notes. On the palate, it's got a very prominent acidity, it's quite expressive and persistent. Apple must again. Quite fresh, good length, very direct. You gotta like vin naturel type wines to like this, but I think it's very well done and a good expression of Sauvignon Blanc (we guessed the grape blind).

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Château Husson Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Clear yellow with green notes. In the nose, there's lots of oak, lots of oak. It's hard to smell something underneath, but with some air, it gets better. It then displays some pear, white peach and quince. Quite expressive actually. On the palate, this has a really good structure, lots of extract, very mild acidity, lots of fruit in the finish. No alcohol showing through (it's 13.5 % Vol.). I like it.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Medium yellow. The nose is terrible. There are typical notes of candied ginger, ripe apricot, honey and quince. But there's an overriding pungent smell of chicken broth, asparagus water and cheese rind that makes the nose seriously hard to bear. Don't know what the problem is, but there is something wrong with the nose. On the palate, the wine is truly fantastic with a beautiful interplay of fruity sweetness and acidity, exotic notes (passion fruit) and great minerality. Really long finish.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2007 Domaine Désiré Petit Savagnin Arbois Pupillin 85 Points

  France, Jura, Arbois Pupillin

  Light yellow. In the nose, it's very "classic" non-ouillé Savagnin, but without much finesse. Nuts, curry and other yellow spices. Hints of elegance, but not much complexity. On the palate, it's slightly yeasty, very spicy, it's got some tannins, chalky acidity. Breaks down quickly in the finish. Not bad, but not great either.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2007 André Perret St. Joseph Les Grisières 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  Shining dark crimson colour. The first glass was absolutely terrible, nothing but cold and hard wood, cold ash and cigarette smoke, hints of vanilla and cherry, very grainy. On the palate, thin fruit, some petrol, terrible bitterness in the finish. The wine had been opened the morning of the night we drank it. It should have been decanted. The second glass an hour later was way better and really wonderful, the oak having gone from cold to spicy, the fruit shining through, ripe red currant and black cherry as well as blackberry. Very elegant. On the palate, it also got way better with black pepper, lots of spice, small black and red berries, a fairly edgy structure and ripe, but gripping tannins. Then, the bottle was empty. If I still had some of this, I'd let it sit for way longer and decant for a half hour or so.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2010 Domaine de La Pigeade Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise 87 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

  Very light yellow. In the nose, this was instantly recognizable as Muscat, I had guessed Muscat from Languedoc. There's pear, grapey notes, white flowers, honey and apricot. On the palate, it's very grapey again, rather sweet, slightly oily, happy and forthcoming, but also a bit simple and slightly alcoholic in the finish.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

We guessed most wines into the right direction, but the only wine that was identified blind correctly (except for the vineyard and the year) was the Huet Demi-Sec. The Huet was also the most controversial wine, while about two thirds of the round found the nose to be absolutely terrible, the last third did not smell the rather unpleasant notes of chicken broth, asparagus water and cheese rind. It wasn't as strong in some moments, but always came back. I had this smell at another Huet (a 1946 Le Mont Demi-Sec according to Noel Pinguet, which was labeled as a 1945 Le Haut Lieu Moelleux), but I still don't grasp it, especially because the wine was so great on the palate with the unpleasant notes not coming through.

It was a pity that we hadn't decanted the Perret St. Joseph as it was just too heavily marked by oak in the first glass. This may have been wine of the night if we would have given it enough time to breathe. The second most controversial wine was the Claude Courtois Quartz Sauvignon Blanc, a rather obscure vin naturel from the region south of Cheverny. It was very vin naturel in character, but I think it not only transported the better characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc, but also tasted really good.