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Wine Type
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Vintage
Name
Variety
Locale
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Date
Posted
Score
Helpful
Comments
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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2015 Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance
Chenin Blanc more
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2015 Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvee Constance (Loire, Touraine). Cork-finished and served from Coravin into both Riedel Riesling and leCache. Rare Wine Company, 11.5pabv, $133/500 ml. Firm yellow-green with a slight brown tinge, with clingy, thick-coated Tudor window tears. Nose starts tight with lanolin and linden leaves going on to hints of white peach. Piquant and juicy acidity with great freshness; again, tight from palate to apple-tinged finish, but shows much promise, both after the argon blows off and hopefully through many years. Revisiting after 12 noon pour, resinous raw aged Pu-er tea (I've been brewing up my best for the last week or so, and it hangs in the mind); fine orange bitters bring lift to mid-palate. Although this wine is supposed to be heavily selected for Botrytis in some vintages, the ones that I've tasted (1995, 1997, 2015) have been mostly quite restrained for this, and emphasis is on a clean, fine, pointillist character. Therefore the concentration here is probably due more to 'clean' shrivelling rather than porriture noble. A wine of importance, but strangely, snows not a bit of snootiness. Though this was bought to drink in the baby-fat stage, Manhattan will be under water before it reaches its peak! 96-98/100.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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2008 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg
Chenin Blanc more
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2008 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg, 12.5 percent. $57/750 ml, Rare Wine Company, CA.
Full straw green, thick, multiple tears.
For style, this will probably never be my favorite among Huets, but the quality is there. Extremely, almost unpleasantly musky in the fruit, like muskmelon tempered with imperial linden leaf juice. From a previously Coravined bottle with some softening of the fruit probably due to the large needle I used for the original draw. The rest of the nose is floral, slightly peppery, the palate tangy and citric underneath, with a moderate sweetness for this style of wine; actually better on the grapefruit and cherry-tinged finish than I expected. Perhaps I'll like this better when it has plenty of air and is less reductive. 91/100; 2020-2030.
Perhaps as a drier-styled Première Trie this wine might find an interesting use at table when the residual sugar has been consumed by longish cellaring; it has the complexity for surprises to occur.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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2008 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Mont
Chenin Blanc more
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5/14/2018: 2008 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Mont, 12.5 percent, third Coravin. Cork-finished; warm red-tinged gold. Thick sheeting and lots of small tears. Has the reductive melon note, but has been aired down so it's showng what else it's got. A bit of sour cherry, rose, and lactic milkiness seasoned with delicate spices and herbs like chervil, its nose is wrapped in what is more like a very delicate spring honey. Penetrating, juicy, dryish entry, with plenty of ripe acid, savory acid, and a very clean finish. More delicate and a bit drier than the Clos du Bourg, tasted yesterday and today, and less reductive. Tasted from a Riedel Riesling. 92/100. Drink 2019-2030.
PREVIOUS TASTINGS FROM THIS BOTTLE:
2008 (from bottle previously Coravined, in Impitoyable}: 2/20/2017. Medium yellowish-amber. Reluctant tearing and sheeting but quite limpid. Redcurrant, linden leaf, and muskmelon quite prominent, over a neutral florality. Crisp acids and white tannins are followed by kumquat, but with any sweetness pushed into the background by somewhat of a witches' brew of immaturity. May also be made in a drier style. Finish tart but neutral, yet promising. 93. Drink 2023- 2035. (12.5 pabv.)
11/17/2017 from bottle Coravined 2.20.2017: 12.5 percent ABV; Rare Wine Company. Cork-finished. quite light amber-gold in color; sheeting with very few tears. Begins with a slightly brothy note, following with complex floral nose similar to men's cosmetics over sweet tropical melon, overripe peach and a little wax with end-touches of honey and incipient light tobacco leaf smoke. Medium textured but vividly acidic with perceptible lime zest and energetic vibrancy, showing little of its dessert-wine possibilities, due to lack of Botrytis and heavy extract (I hear only 6.5 percent RS); probably in the long run drunk when at apogee a table wine (think very rich Copper River salmon or steelhead). Beginning to integrate on its impressive finish and show an attractive texture dusted with redcurrant on its way out. Now it's a bit too melony for me but decant or give it two or three more years and pleasure index will improve. 93+/100RPPP
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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2015 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Mont
Chenin Blanc more
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2008 and 2015 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Le Mont
2008 (from bottle previously Coravined, in Impitoyable}: Medium yellowish-amber. Reluctant tearing and sheeting but quite limpid. Redcurrant, linden leaf, and muskmelon quite prominent, over a neutral florality. Crisp acids and white tannins are followed by cumquat, but with any sweetness pushed into the background by somewhat of a witches' brew of immaturity. May also be made in a drier style. Finish tart but neutral, yet promising. 93. Drink 2023- 2035. (12.5 pabv.)
2015 (Coravin, Impitoyable): Full gold-amber. More liberal Gothic tearing. Almost Riesling like peaches and fermentation aroma, with breaths of thyme flower, having some linden leaf underneath. Entry is decidedly like a dessert wine, with powdered sugar, juicy apricot and peach, a slightly fiery finish (but my palate is oversensitive these days), with orange flower, cinnamon, and clove notes and great length. A come-hither baby, showing a very juicy side that melts the heart and will prevent many from pursuing this wine through the twists and turns of maturing. Drink now through 2045. 97-98. (11.5 pabv.)
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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2004 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru
Chenin Blanc more
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Half-bottles 13 pabv. Screw-cap.
Gray-orange, hints of gold in Impitoyable; Tudor church windows framed in tears. Green seedless grapiness, vivid high tones. Smoky verbena and light, gentle melon, with vivid freshness to the nose.
Lighter in texture but little botrytis. Green grapes, bitter grapefruit zest, wax. Mid-finish with umami, great length and not a hint of heat; again very juicy and fresh. Plenty of room to integrate but can do wonders at a seafood table. 92/100.
revisit 5/10/17 in Riedel Riesling: Color a little more settled. Again vivid, breathing life, grapy, with lime flower, fresh apricots and a teasing bass note edged with tropical melon, perhaps moving to bergamot; the whole becoming quite harmonious and teasingly forward. Sweetness first strong on entry, then tapers into finish, with sufficient acidity to make the finish pleasingly juicy. Give it an extra point for sure. 94/100 PPs on day 8.
With fisherman's mussels with cherrystone clams added, tomato veggie sauce and a hint of Reggiano dissolved in it: the mixture of sweet tomato, saltiness,t and herbs melds nicely, the wine and the seafood broth being civilized by each other.
Drink now and through 2023.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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1996 Château Soucherie Coteaux du Layon Vieilles Vignes
Chenin Blanc more
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at MoCool pre-tasting; Joel G's.
Appropriate gold-green from this cork-finished wine in 750 ml. Purchased from WineBid sometime in the past 2 years. Melon, wood sap, caramel, dried apricot, straw,vanilla, with a little oxidation showing; possibility of less than ideal storage in a very fine wine. A mouthful--a punch of intense creamy melon and vivid juicy acidity, again showing a little maderization, costing this a point or two. Still not bad at 19 years in a vintage that has often seemed overripe and over the top. Plenty of joy even in this bottle. Drink now, but if you have them well-stored, will hold.
And, strangely, that oxidized note seems to disappear over an hour's drinking, which means that I misinterpreted it. Add a point back.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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2008 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Haut-Lieu
Chenin Blanc more
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2008 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Haut-Lieu, S.A.S. Huet, 11, Le Croix Buissée, Vouvray, France. Imported by Vieux Vins, Inc., Vineburg, CA, a Rare Wine Co. Selection. Miami Valley Wines, Tipp City, Ohio, $47/750 ml. 12.5 pabv.
Rich gold-green, with creamy redcurrant and verbena, with waxy melon overtones, and resolving to a vibrant lime-tinged acidity and a subtle thyme-flower note. A moderately sweet-and-sour wine, with citrus-laden skin tones. Needs about another 5 to 10 years to be at its best. Fresh and a bit grapefruity and rustic now, but showing more finesse as it warms and is swirled, starting to show a light resinous taste. 92-93 or thereabouts as it's teased apart. Nice with Stilton; Barbara enjoys it quite a bit, judging by her attack on it. Good grip and white-wine tannins; I'll bring some to MoCOOL in August if I can get some more; Bob H. likes this style. (92 pts.) Drink 2018-2023.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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1997 Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire Les Rayelles
Chenin Blanc more
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TN: 1997 Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire Les Rayelles, 14 pabv; $20 (approx)/500 ml; Village Corner, Ann Arbor, MI. Papin-Chevalier, viticulteur, Beaulieu-sur-Layon; Kent Beverage Co., Wyoming, MI.
Cork-finished 1.5 inches 5-band, high-quality. Rich orange color with green highlights.
Candied orange peel, rose water, melon, hint of wet stone, a bit of smoke, with a somewhat meaty texture.
Candied white peach with a hint of pine; very rich in residual sugar, with cotton candy lift and a little heat. Good energetic finish. At 24 hours the heat leaves and there is a sort of stony edge going through the midpalate.
Rustic but good value for money; these few bottles have produced a lot of pleasure. A nice introduction to the Quarts de Chaume from this maker and vintage, which showed beautifully at the 2009 MoCOOL.
Fully mature and holding; 88/100.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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1997 René Renou Bonnezeaux Tri de Vendange
Chenin Blanc more
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corked, but a sound wine apparently underneath, at least in the high eighties, I'd guess.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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1997 Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire Les Rayelles
Chenin Blanc more
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evidence of premox
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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1989 Domaine Bourillon Dorléans Vouvray Moelleux Tris de Nobles Grains 'La Coulée d'Or'
Chenin Blanc more
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1989 Bourillon-Dorleans Vouvray Moelleux Tris de Nobles Grains 'La Coulée d'Or'; 13 pabv. $25/750 ml on release; Rare Wine Co; Sonoma, CA. Eurovin SA/Christopher Cannan; imported by Europvin USA, Emeryville, CA.
Golden-brown and substantial to the swirl.
Integrated and mature with savory dried apricots, candied orange peel, petrol, and thyme honey notes.
Vivid acidity still with a now balanced sweetness and great and complex finish. Last bottle.
A great pleasure to serve at the 2009 MoCOOL, at Dexter, MI and Lake Bordman, and a great favorite with the crowd.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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1997 Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire Les Rayelles
Chenin Blanc more
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1997 Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire Les Rayelles - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire (5/22/2009)
TN: 1997 Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire Les Rayelles, 14 pabv; $20 (approx)/500 ml; Village Corner, Ann Arbor, MI. Papin-Chevalier, viticulteur, Beaulieu-sur-Layon; Kent Beverage Co., Wyoming, MI.
1997 Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort-sur-Loire Les Rayelles
Cork-finished 1.5 inches 5-band, high-quality. Quite thick and viscous in texture, with a rich gold color. Best served a little chilled.
Rich in residual sugar. Impression of fresh fruit; zippy orange with a touch of rose; high-toned and expressive of minerals.
Good skin tang, initially with a little heat; this will be better in another year or two after some cellar aging, and then drink well for ten plus years.
After two days, a tertiary mushroom/sherry note becomes perceptible in the nose
Very good value for money. Tasted twice with consistent notes. (90 pts.)
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White - Sweet/Dessert
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1997 René Renou Bonnezeaux Tri de Vendange
Chenin Blanc more
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Brief note. This wine, apparently styled like others from the same vintage and producer for sheer power, but comes across as clumsy and unfocussed. Hoping that considerable bottle age will tame this beast, which may be flawed due to insufficient acidity to balance it and give it some finesse. A Robert Kacher Selection (Washington, DC)
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