France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Of the 2015s, this was probably my favourite wine. The lightest and obviously the most ready to go now, this shows some lovely red cherry fruit on the nose and just a mild hint of pyrazines. What strikes me here is the overall elegance of this wine. There's a silky texture as well that is absolutely lovely. Not too many tannins for a wine this young, and especially compared to the Poyeux.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
My least favourite of the three 2015s. This had a pronounced earthy note on the nose as well as the palate, and for me, this was the most ornery and stern of the three wines. To be honest, it might've felt even a bit blocky, especially next to the silky Clos. The tannins here are also the most prominent, and there's a leathery texture here. It would be interesting to see this with more time, but somehow I don't feel like this will hit the heights of the 2009 (magnum) we had tonight.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
I found this less immediately appealing than the Clos, but certainly more approachable and silky than the backwards Poyeux. The fruit profile here is darker and less exuberant, but there's also more overall depth (as one would hope). The palate is more shut down than the Clos, but doesn't show the rusticity of the Poyeux. Plenty of ripe fruit, but overall lacking a bit of the concentration in comparison to the 2006 alongside it. A good bottle of wine, to be sure, but certainly not worth the going tariff.
No signs of reduction here (take that Guiberteau) on the nose, but a pronounced aroma of lemon that seems to dominate everything else. The palate, too, is quite lemon-heavy in its profile. But there's still a good breadth to this; it's not overly acidic and unbalanced at all. A lovely honey/floral element complements everything.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Seems like I've liked this bottle in the past, but in context with the rest of the wines tonight, this felt emaciated and weak. There's some smokiness on the nose here, as well as a bit of a cigarette ash note that I definitely do not enjoy. The palate is thin and light and definitely feels weak in comparison to the other wines; maybe it's a function of the vintage? High acidity and red fruits that are clearly on the underripe side.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
This was very similar to the 2013; a bit more of a lean style with a lot of green bell pepper elements (in fact, this bottle's pyrazines were the strongest out of all the wines tonight). A good amount of fruit here helps balance things out -- a mix of red and black -- but it's really the herbaceous elements that dominate this bottle. Relatively light and high acid, but mature and quite elegant. I've noticed my tolerance for pyrazines decreasing over time, so I suspect I would have liked this much more ten years ago.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
From magnum (yep). A slightly herbal nose and a faint hint of pyrazines, but it is not distracting at all. Very ripe, and perhaps somewhat atypical in that sense, for a Loire red, but I quite enjoy the generous mix of red and black fruit here. It's no wallflower of a Rougeard. The palate shows lots of breadth, again likely due to the ripe vintage. The tannins feel almost resolved at this point; this is surprisingly ready to go. A close second to the 2006 Bourg tonight.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
My receipt for this says $100. Ah, those were the days. A fantastic bottle of cabernet franc that would answer the question of what would cabernet franc taste like if Thierry Allemand made it? There is a generous smoky tone on the nose, as well as plenty of fruit that is still very fresh. The green pepper emerges more as a green herb tone than like biting into an actual bell pepper. The palate's texture is what gets me though -- it's just so silky and luxurious. Then there's all the light (but potent) fruit, earth, and herbal notes, with a sweetness from the fruit that gives this a very pleasing roundness as well. Absolutely lovely. My favourite wine tonight, followed by the 09 Poyeux.
Chardonnay from a massal selection - 1.36 acres, vineyard planted in 1947 - topsoil from Lias clay, Bathonian limestone based - barrel's breeding 29 months - bottling 05-04-21. Extremely reduced, though not in the sulphurous way, this definitely is a product of very reductive winemaking. The palate is clearly quite fat and ripe, and evocative of the vintage. Not my favourite bottle Labet white; this just doesn't seem that well put-together right now. This did turn a little natty with a few hours of air, so while I would have loved to give this the air to get rid of the reduction, I'm not sure it'd hold up.
massal selection - 0.62 acres vine - 1983 plantation - red clay on top of Bajocian limestone base - matured 7 mos 228L. barrels - bottling 30/04/21 - pH 3.54 - SO2 libre <6 mg/L - total <20 mg/L. No one was surprised when I said this wasn't my style of wine. This is way carbonic. I can see and understand why others might love the style, this bottle just doesn't work for me at all. It's got a candied/confected hard cherry candy note on the nose that is unmistakable, but thankfully this wine isn't cloying like that because there's so much acidity. Definitely a wine of style. (I'm told this shed the confectionary elements a few hours later.)
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon
#2073. From half-liter. This is just as I remember it being. A huge botrytis bomb, but with so much acidity that according to one professional at the table that they "popped a salivary gland just smelling it". Yes, this is over-the-top intense and insane, but man is it good. Incredibly sweet (see previous notes for a discussion) but plenty of brown spice and apricot notes as well. Ample acidity, but it's eclipsed by the insane amount of sugar here.
2015 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Of the 2015s, this was probably my favourite wine. The lightest and obviously the most ready to go now, this shows some lovely red cherry fruit on the nose and just a mild hint of pyrazines. What strikes me here is the overall elegance of this wine. There's a silky texture as well that is absolutely lovely. Not too many tannins for a wine this young, and especially compared to the Poyeux.
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2015 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
My least favourite of the three 2015s. This had a pronounced earthy note on the nose as well as the palate, and for me, this was the most ornery and stern of the three wines. To be honest, it might've felt even a bit blocky, especially next to the silky Clos. The tannins here are also the most prominent, and there's a leathery texture here. It would be interesting to see this with more time, but somehow I don't feel like this will hit the heights of the 2009 (magnum) we had tonight.
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2015 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
I found this less immediately appealing than the Clos, but certainly more approachable and silky than the backwards Poyeux. The fruit profile here is darker and less exuberant, but there's also more overall depth (as one would hope). The palate is more shut down than the Clos, but doesn't show the rusticity of the Poyeux. Plenty of ripe fruit, but overall lacking a bit of the concentration in comparison to the 2006 alongside it. A good bottle of wine, to be sure, but certainly not worth the going tariff.
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2014 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur Blanc Brézé 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur
No signs of reduction here (take that Guiberteau) on the nose, but a pronounced aroma of lemon that seems to dominate everything else. The palate, too, is quite lemon-heavy in its profile. But there's still a good breadth to this; it's not overly acidic and unbalanced at all. A lovely honey/floral element complements everything.
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2013 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny 88 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Seems like I've liked this bottle in the past, but in context with the rest of the wines tonight, this felt emaciated and weak. There's some smokiness on the nose here, as well as a bit of a cigarette ash note that I definitely do not enjoy. The palate is thin and light and definitely feels weak in comparison to the other wines; maybe it's a function of the vintage? High acidity and red fruits that are clearly on the underripe side.
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2007 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
This was very similar to the 2013; a bit more of a lean style with a lot of green bell pepper elements (in fact, this bottle's pyrazines were the strongest out of all the wines tonight). A good amount of fruit here helps balance things out -- a mix of red and black -- but it's really the herbaceous elements that dominate this bottle. Relatively light and high acid, but mature and quite elegant. I've noticed my tolerance for pyrazines decreasing over time, so I suspect I would have liked this much more ten years ago.
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2009 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 95 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
From magnum (yep). A slightly herbal nose and a faint hint of pyrazines, but it is not distracting at all. Very ripe, and perhaps somewhat atypical in that sense, for a Loire red, but I quite enjoy the generous mix of red and black fruit here. It's no wallflower of a Rougeard. The palate shows lots of breadth, again likely due to the ripe vintage. The tannins feel almost resolved at this point; this is surprisingly ready to go. A close second to the 2006 Bourg tonight.
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2006 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 95 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
My receipt for this says $100. Ah, those were the days. A fantastic bottle of cabernet franc that would answer the question of what would cabernet franc taste like if Thierry Allemand made it? There is a generous smoky tone on the nose, as well as plenty of fruit that is still very fresh. The green pepper emerges more as a green herb tone than like biting into an actual bell pepper. The palate's texture is what gets me though -- it's just so silky and luxurious. Then there's all the light (but potent) fruit, earth, and herbal notes, with a sweetness from the fruit that gives this a very pleasing roundness as well. Absolutely lovely. My favourite wine tonight, followed by the 09 Poyeux.
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2018 Domaine Labet Chardonnay La Bardette 90 Points
France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
Chardonnay from a massal selection - 1.36 acres, vineyard planted in 1947 - topsoil from Lias clay, Bathonian limestone based - barrel's breeding 29 months - bottling 05-04-21. Extremely reduced, though not in the sulphurous way, this definitely is a product of very reductive winemaking. The palate is clearly quite fat and ripe, and evocative of the vintage. Not my favourite bottle Labet white; this just doesn't seem that well put-together right now. This did turn a little natty with a few hours of air, so while I would have loved to give this the air to get rid of the reduction, I'm not sure it'd hold up.
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2020 Domaine Labet Pinot Noir Les Varrons 85 Points
France, Jura, Côtes du Jura
massal selection - 0.62 acres vine - 1983 plantation - red clay on top of Bajocian limestone base - matured 7 mos 228L. barrels - bottling 30/04/21 - pH 3.54 - SO2 libre <6 mg/L - total <20 mg/L. No one was surprised when I said this wasn't my style of wine. This is way carbonic. I can see and understand why others might love the style, this bottle just doesn't work for me at all. It's got a candied/confected hard cherry candy note on the nose that is unmistakable, but thankfully this wine isn't cloying like that because there's so much acidity. Definitely a wine of style. (I'm told this shed the confectionary elements a few hours later.)
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1997 Domaine Philippe Delesvaux Anthologie 95 Points
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon
#2073. From half-liter. This is just as I remember it being. A huge botrytis bomb, but with so much acidity that according to one professional at the table that they "popped a salivary gland just smelling it". Yes, this is over-the-top intense and insane, but man is it good. Incredibly sweet (see previous notes for a discussion) but plenty of brown spice and apricot notes as well. Ample acidity, but it's eclipsed by the insane amount of sugar here.
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