Year 2 - Super Tasting 5 of 5 - Greg does the Loire

Served with Herring on Endive

• NV François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Méthode Traditionelle Brut 90 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire

  Pours a fairly rich shade of golden yellow. Nose has a flinty/rocky component with the classic mushroom/undergrowth note of Chenin Blanc present as well. Also on the nose: peaches, pine needles and pear. The palate is high acid with low perceived dosage, but I suspect it isn't quite zero. Medium finish in length. Quite impressed with this. Certainly the best Loire bubbly I've ever had and an excellent value at $25.

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• 2010 Domaine de l'Ecu Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Taurus 91 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine

  Pours a shade darker than your typical muscadet. Nose is complex and unusual of candle wax, melon, smoke, waxed lemon, white flowers, ocean beach and sea water. The palate has a nice fatness/viscosity about it, repeating the wax and lemon notes. Finishes medium in length. A touch of oak comes across, though certainly not excessive.

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Served with Charcuterie

• 1975 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon

  This wine pours a deep, rich shade of copper. The nose is of burnt caramel, raspberry/strawberry candy, honey, burnt orange, raspberry bush, candied lemon peel, salted toffee, mineral and hints of maple syrup. Very complex. The palate is so fresh and light with only moderate viscosity and elevated acid. The sugar has certainly receded as this has aged. The finish lingers with excellent acid. A wonderful intellectually pleasing wine.

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• 1997 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon

  So much younger and more exuberant than the 1975 poured previously. The colour is a medium yellow gold. The nose is so complex of marmalade, pool toy note, mushroom, pine needles and mixed citrus. The palate is viscus and lovely with the residual sugar coming across as perceived between 100 - 150 g/l. The palate has beautiful marmalade and chamomile tea notes with a mineral finish. Pretty decent acid to boot. Some saw it as acid deficient, but compared to other late harvest styles I found it quite nice. This is in a really nice spot if you value freshness and bright citrus fruit.

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Served with Watercress Soup

• 2011 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  (Tasted Blind, Sancere #1) This was very good. The roundest of the flight. Not the typical high toned grassy note, but more melon driven. Also on the nose: smoke, light dry soil, white currant, ripe kiwi, vanilla custard, a hint of tobacco and a nice buttery element. Quite leesy. The palate has a richness about it with good acid and a round, almost light roast coffee element. Very nice. We were all quite taken with this and found a striking resemblance to Sancere #3 which turned out to be the same producer.

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• 2011 Vincent Pinard Sancerre Chêne Marchand 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  (Tasted Bind, Sancere #2). This was bringing the more classical Sauvignon Blanc/Sancere pungent grass, gooseberry and cat pee on the nose. The palate feels lean and linear with high acid. I personally don't find much pleasure in this style, but this is a quality example. To me it's just a bit simple, though the wine making style is probably not very interventionist. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of oak, lees stirring or malolactic to alter the profile.

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• 2011 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Génération XIX 91 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  (Taste Blind, Sancere #3). As noted, this was remarkably similar to #1. Turned out it was the same producer. We went back and forth about which wine we preferred. The group preferred #1 by a hair, but they were neck and neck. The nose is of wet wool, melon, pear, green leaves, kiwi, smoke, dry soil and custard. The palate is also a bit more round, similar to #1 with a slight brown spice and custard note on the finish. Very pretty wine.

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• 2011 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Les Romains 90 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  (Tasted Blind, Sancere #4) This was tough to get a read on as I found the nose to be the most mute of the flight. Hints of grass, honeydew melon, chalk and gooseberry poke through. The palate features prominent, quite puckering high levels of sour acid and a moderate grassy finish. Well done but not particularly engaging.

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• 2011 Didier Dagueneau Silex 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé

  (Tasted Blind, #5, Ringer in Sancerre Flight) Initially when opened this wine showed a touch of sulfur, but it blew off. Nose of weedy green notes: asparagus, broccoli, herbs, brown spice, citrus fruit and some tropical fruit notes of pineapple and mango as well. The palate is in the more linear, high acid vein with a moderate length citric acid finish. I was a bit surprised to see this was Didier Dagueneau Silex as people speak very highly of this producer and although it showed well I'm not sure it stood out or would justify the far higher price tag than the others in the flight.

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• 2011 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Guigne-Chèvres 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  (Tasted Blind, Sancere #6) This wine both fascinated and excited us. Perhaps lacking somewhat in typicity, but so wonderfully complex and pleasurable, who cares? The nose is oddly quite like a mature champagne and I totally dig it. Nose of salted toffee, toasted bread, biscuits, brown spice and rich candied citrus notes. The palate has remarkably high, searing acid, even compared to the others in the flight. The finish is perhaps only medium minus in length which is one of the only things holding this wine back.

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Branzino with Fennel and Lardons

• 2009 Nicolas Joly Savennières Les Clos Sacrés (Les Vieux Clos) 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières

  I really thoroughly enjoyed this style. It pours darkest of this flight. The nose is of bruised apple, apple cider, hairspray, salted nuts, dried lemon peel, apple strudel and smoke. Evidently a fair bit of oxidation but totally in balance for me. A pinch of sugar on the palate balances things out with good acid and a long minerally finish. I really loved this wine. A conservative 93 point score.

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• 2005 Domaine des Baumard Savennières Clos du Papillon 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières

  This pours a much lighter shade of straw yellow. The nose is of warm yogurt, honey, white flowers and iron. Some combination of lees or malolactic seems to have given this and the next wine some heavy lactic/custard notes. The palate gives the impression of honey lemon yogurt being a pinch off dry repeating custard and lactic notes on a medium finish. Very good wine, but for me my preference was for the Joly. This is fresh and seems to be aging slowly, especially under screwtop.

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• 2008 Domaine des Baumard Savennières Clos du Papillon 91 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières

  Again pours on the lighter side with similar lactic/custard notes, though slightly less so than the previous wine. The nose features white flowers, lavendar, smoke, lemon peel, caramelized apple, a touch of milk and hints of wet wool. The palate again is a touch off dry with zingy lemon acid and a medium plus length finish.

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Hot Goat Cheese Salad with Honey and Walnuts

• 2005 Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  This is such a big, powerful, already developed wine. I'm not sure I see the benefit in further age. It is stunning today. This pours a dark golden brown like the colour of creme brulee crust. The nose bears a resemblance to some styles vin santo or vin de paille, via some volatile acid suggesting the grapes were heavily raisined. The nose is of sultana raisins, figs, caramelized sugar, dried apples, dates and hints of mushroom. The palate is quite sweet, feeling like it is nearing 200 g/l but the acid does serve to balance things nicely. The finish is medium plus in length carried predominantly on sultana raisins.

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Smoked Duck Breast on Parsnip Puree

• 2011 Vincent Pinard Sancerre Rouge Charlouise 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge

  (Tasted Blind, Sancerre Rouge #1) This is a pleasant, light, red fruited Pinot Noir with a good whack of oak via vanilla and also a cigarette ash component to the aromatic profile. The fruit is in the cherry and candied strawberry spectrum with green leafy character in the background. The palate has quite a lot of oak tannin and the finish sadly stops a bit short. Pleasant enough wine but I would not seek this out.

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• 2010 Gerard & Pierre Morin Sancerre Rouge Bellechaume 87 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge

  (Tasted Blind, Sancerre Rouge #2) The nose on this wine initially features a fair bit of rubberry reduction. Also aromatics of sweaty gym shoes, dirty wet soil, fruit punch and kool aid. The palate is a tad more tannic than I would like it to be, and the finish is quite short and simple. Overall the mouthfeel is a bit bitter and austere. Tough showing.

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• 2009 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Rouge En Grands Champs 91 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge

  (Tasted Blind, Sancerre Rouge #3) Easily the favourite of the flight, but still a tough value proposition in the scheme of the worldwide Pinot Noir market. Wonderful aromatic complexity with notes of ginger, star anise, raspberry, cranberry, a touch of sawdust and pine. The palate is still just bit hollow and thin for my liking featuring tart red fruit and elevated tough tannins. Medium minus finish in length. The nose is quite pretty but I found the palate a bit difficult.

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• 2010 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux 91 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  (Tasted Blind, Cabernet Franc #1) From the first pour it's evident this is a very pretty wine. Pours inky dark in colour. The nose is of blackberry, cassis, caramel, beef stock, herbs and dark cherries in syrup. The palate is better than the nose with moderate almost silky tannin masked by plenty of dark sweet fruit and beefy notes in reserve. Definitely a wine built for the long haul only showing the early potential now. Optimal drinking is years away. A lovely wine. 91 is noted as a conservative score and it should easily merit a few more points in time. Happy to have a few of these in the cellar.

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• 2010 Philippe Alliet Chinon l'Huisserie 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  (Tasted Blind, Cabernet Franc #2) This seems a bit lighter in style with very evident stalky green plant components. Also on the nose: black raspberry, dried wood, red dried cherries, red plum and chalky soil. The palate is predominantly red fruited with quite drying tannin. I'm not familiar with this producer, however I'm not convinced it's worth the premium over Baudry. Yes it is elegant, but ultimately for me it's more simple in this case. Still an excellent wine!

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• 2010 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  (Tasted Blind, Cabernet Franc #3) This is the clear winner of the flight. Similar style to the Baudry earlier in the flight but with a bit more overall complexity and just a bit more oak (in an appealing way for me). The nose shows a fair whack of seemingly oak derived brown sugar, also: blackberry, black cherry, raw meat, soil, charred green pepper, herbs, tobacco, smoke and ash. Really top shelf stuff here. The palate shows a round mouthfilling palate with great dark fruit, tar, ash and smoke. Finish is long. Beautiful and generally traditional. Could certainly pick up a point or two as it ages. Awesome wine.

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• 2010 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Rouge Les Motelles 90 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur

  (Tasted Blind, Cabernet Franc #4) The nose on this wine was dark as well of fresh cut wood, blackberry, dark plum, mixed fresh herbal notes and a slight plastic note which was a detracting factor for me. The palate is predictably dark fruited and herbal with with a very structured finish (high tannins and acid). Very solidly constructed wine.

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