Some Loire and Rhone for a Rainy Winter Day

Northern California's particular brand of winter finally arrived over the past few days, so what better indoor weekend activity than to attend several store tastings?

• 2006 Roger Neveu & Fils Sancerre Clos des Bouffants

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Pale with pungent grapefruit notes. Excellent acidity, texture, and density (i.e., medium weight). This could be an '05.

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

• 2006 Georges Roblin et Fils Sancerre Château de Maimbray

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Slightly darker color than the Neveu tasted before it. Less exuberant nose with orange zest rather than grapefruit. Light with good acidity. Average wine and not impressive at this price.

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

• 2006 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Light yellow. Closed on the nose. Very dry with searing acidity but nice layered mouthfeel to balance the structure. Not showing much fruit at present. This is a classic Sec with fruit that is not as strong as in '05, but good material nonetheless and better acidity than the previous vintage. It has much more flesh than the '04 Sec wines from Huet. Bury this one for at least 8 years.

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

• 2006 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  Clear medium red. Typical aromas of dill and fresh cut dark flowers. Very bright raspberry fruit and crisp acidity. Light to medium body and persistent finish. This is lovely and much finer and less dense than many '05 Loire wines. I will drink this on the early side to enjoy the fruit before it fades and the herbaceousness becomes more prominent. Great value.

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

• 2005 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru

  Medium yellow. Remarkable aromatics of roasted fig and more persimmon than I've ever smelled in a wine-truly distinctive. Very sweet, positively unctuous and long, but I get very little acidity here. Won't buy since I'm unconvinced by the balance and fear it would be tiresome to actually drink more than a pour.

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

• 2006 Château de Vaudieu Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc

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

  Pale. Some matchstick sulfur but tropical notes emerge. Viscous, adequate acidity but still comes across as slightly sweet. Not for me.

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

• 2004 Domaine Duseigneur Côtes du Rhône Villages Laudun

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Laudun

  Medium red with pale rim. Pretty, spicy nose. Some tannin but sappy and drinking well. Good value.

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

• 2005 Château de Montfaucon Côtes du Rhône Baron Louis

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  Moderately dark ruby. Savory tree bark aroma with dark berry. Lush, deep fruit, very serious and tannic. Impressive Cotes du Rhone with uncommon depth and complexity. Excellent value.

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

• 2004 Château de Vaudieu Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  Medium ruby with some browning at the edge. Complex nose with bark, violets, and tobacco-this is not a Grenache-dominated Chateauneuf! Medium body, soft tannins. This is very good and ready to drink.

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

• 2003 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  Pale with brown edges-definitely looks advanced for its age. High toned aromatics with some dried tobacco. Surprisingly elegant for the vintage, but tannic and a bit lacking in fruit. Good despite its imperfections. Drink now.

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

• 2005 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  Dark ruby. Closed but a whiff of black cherry and smoke emerge with vigorous shaking. This is so young and stern in the mouth that there is much more of a tactile impression than actual flavor, but it is impressive-round, powerful, and you can sense the great acid/tannin structure balanced by tremendous underlying fruit. None of the funk that often appears in young Beaucastel. It would be a shame to open one of these before its 10th or 15th birthday. I am not generally a Beaucastel fan, but this was one of the cleanest, best balanced, and most promising young vintages I've ever tasted (with experience extending back to the 1981). Great potential.

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

• 2005 Domaine Louis Cheze St. Joseph Cuvée Ro-Rée

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph

  Dark (but not much darker than the Beaucastel). Herbs, some weediness, animal elements, and cassis fruit on the nose. Tannic and tight. Reminiscent of a Cornas for its structure and early rigidity.

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

• 2005 Bernard Burgaud Côte-Rôtie

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Almost impenetrably dark. Of all the wines tasted today, this is the most marked by oak on the nose and the palate. Between the upfront acidity and tannins, and a slight astringency imparted by the wood, not very pleasing. Hard to believe this will ever develop the elegance or aromatic dimensions of great Cote Rotie.

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

A satisfying afternoon of "work", with some nice surprises in terms of value, and also pointing out that there will be much of interest from the Loire in 2006 following the universal acclaim (and hype) of 2005.