A Loire Extravaganza

• 1999 Domaine François Cotat Sancerre La Grande Côte

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Pale color for an 8 year old Sancerre. Distinctive aroma of caraway seeds. Very fresh with subdued Sauvignon character, and terrific richness and mouthfeel without being over the top since it is all held together by good acidity. A revelation for this vintage. Cotat wines can have incredible staying power, even when they come from less heralded vintages.

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• 1997 Domaine Luneau-Papin Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie "L" d’Or

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

  Amazingly pale and limpid--could have been the 2005 visually. Wonderful sea breeze quality to the nose. Mouthwatering freshness and acidity which begged for oysters! Impressive focus and youthful vivacity for a 10 year old wine.

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• 1997 Domaine des Baumard Savennières Clos du Papillon

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières

  Light, bright yellow. Faint honey and tropical fruit on the nose. Round, long, fresh, and balanced with good remaining acidity. Not as earthy as Savennieres can sometimes be. Excellent.

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• 1995 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  Medium light red color, looked sound. Talk about vegetal, though. The greenest wine I have ever smelled, like essence of asparagus with some dill thrown in. This was slightly better on the palate, which is not saying much. The worst wine I have ever had from the normally reliable Joguet, and the type of wine that could make people reasonably ask "Why bother to make red wines from this part of the world anyway?". Fortunately, other examples this evening provided a rejoinder to that question.

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• 1996 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  Not terribly different in color than the '95, but a world apart in aroma and flavor. Here the greenness is under control, and some stoniness and dark fruit are found in the nose. Nice round wine with some pencil shavings. Not overly acidic like some wines from this vintage. I liked this and it seemed to have some time in hand.

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• 1988 Couly-Dutheil Chinon Clos de l'Echo

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  Out of magnum. Medium garnet color with no browning. Laid back aromas which developed appealing graphite and crushed oregano and other herbs over time. In the mouth, elegant weight, poised and good length with crisp fruit and acidity. Just the smallest hint of green, adding complexity. Surprisingly youthful. A perfect example of mature Loire Cab Franc from the "pre-global warming" era. I have to think that as good as 2005s are, they will turn out to be heavier than this.

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• 1983 Domaine Beaujeau Coteaux du Layon

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

  Relatively light yellow for its age. A lighter style of dessert Chenin with nice pear and quince flavors. Not overly complex nor overly sweet. Good.

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• 1979 Domaine Beaujeau Coteaux du Layon

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

  Much deeper amber color than the 1983. Also much more heavily and obviously botrytized and sweet, so the honey dominates rather than the more delicate fruit of the younger vintage. Enough acidity to keep it from being flabby. Good but does not scale the heights reached by other producers.

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Once again, we were all amazed at the longevity of the white wines from this region. Perhaps this is not so surprising for the late harvest Chenins, but it was inspirational to taste such satisfying older examples of Muscadet and Sancerre. The reds are more of a mixed bag, being so dependent upon adequate ripening conditions. When they are right, they can be absolutely lovely examples of Cabernet Franc, but in less than stellar vintages, let the buyer beware.