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E&R's 1st Annual Salon des Vins de La Loire-egon et La Dive Bouteille
E&R Wine Shop, Portland OR
Tasted February 27, 2015 by David Paris (dbp) with 774 views
Introduction
From the liner notes: "La Dive Bouteille" ("the divine bottle" - from Rabelais) is the now famous off-site tasting event taking place each year at the gigantic "Salon des Vins de La Loire". La Dive Bouteille, known simply as "La Dive" is home to the Loire's very strong and growing movement of making wines "naturally" via organic and oftentimes biodynamic principles. We honor thee style, tastes and flavors of their philosophy, as well as their wine making diversity, tonight being offered alongside more traditional styles we all know and enjoy.
Flight 1 (33 notes)
White
2013 Jonathan Didier Pabiot Pouilly-Fumé
89 points
Fairly vibrant and fresh aromas of sweet, tropical fruit and some minerals. Lovely viscosity in the mouth with a pleasing soft, sweet fruit flavors and mellow acid and mild minerality. Minerals dial up on the tart finish.
White
2013 Domaine François Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnés
88 points
Lovely fresh, but tending towards lighter aromas. Soft and mild fruit on the palate, but not too compelling. Feels like an every day wine. Soft finish, with nothing out of place and showing a creamy minerality lingering. Quite mild. Again, nothing out of place, but nothing compelling for the price point.
White
2011 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc
91 points
Aromas are slightly funky, rich and thick. Smells a bit like burning rubber and Saphir Renovatur (shoe polish). Similar funk on the palate, with a tart vibrancy. Lovely and very interestingly compelling. Lots of fruit and a strange worm crawling through some vegetables. More earthy notes on the finish, and an odd (but enjoyable) plastic note. Quite lovely flavors linger. This is so bizarre; it's like something I shouldn't be eating, but I really enjoyed the experience.
White
2010 Domaine des Baumard Savennières
87 points
Smells like tar and rubber. Weird. Interesting richness on the palate, with a lovely attack of evolving fruit; melon and cantaloupe, with puckering acid present. Really rich attack on the tart finish, also showing some metallic notes.
White
2013 Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Clos du Bourg
88 points
Soft aromas, only showing some light resin notes. Richly texture, which is pleasing, but the flavors are fairly soft and mild, only showing light acidity and minerality. Tart, slightly bitter metallic finish.
White
2012 Denis Jamain Reuilly Les Pierres Plates Blanc
87 points
Fairly mellow notes of rich buttery flavors on the nose. Soft and creamy on the rich, yet mellow palate. Clean finish with some minerality. Fairly simple.
White
2011 François Cazin (Le Petit Chambord) Cour-Cheverny Vendanges Manuelles
89 points
Soft and creamy on the nose, but also quite luscious, showing notes of pine needles. Tart and mellow aromas. Lovely soft palate entry with a mild complexion. I quite enjoy the texture, which I find unparalleled for the price. Really nice density and mild acid. Rich finish with lovely lingering acidity and some minerals. Someone mentioned to me that there are only 50 acres of this grape (Romorantin) in the whole area.
White
2012 Domaine Trotereau Quincy
87 points
Soft but pretty aromas with lovely fresh fruit. Mild creamy palate entry with soft light complexion. Light minerals on the finish, which is clean with nothing out of place. That said, also nothing too compelling.
White
2012 Le Rocher des Violettes Montlouis-sur-Loire Cuvée la Negrette
88 points
Soft and light aromas. Mild palate, with some plastic notes on entry. After this dissipates, flavors are fairly enjoyable, if mild. Creamy finish with some moderate acidity on a finish that's rich.
White
2011 Ferme de la Sansonnière (Mark Angeli) La Lune
90 points
Wow, this is quite funky on the nose. Smells of rich tar and burning rubber and burning melon rind. Or, like someone's dirty belly button (no idea why that came to mind). Rich palate entry that's quite large with more funky, strange flavors. Mellow and rich, but somehow the whole thing remains quite enjoyable and balanced despite the oddity of the whole thing. Rich finish that's quite enticing and lovely. Big and decadent finish.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Triple Zero
87 points
Really lovely rich, unique aromas. Very enjoyable. The palate is soft but a little burning funky tartness comes in. It's fairly high in acidity on the palate. Lovely, but the high acidity and minerality is a little awkward and harsh.
White
2012 Jo Landron Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie Clos la Carizière
88 points
Very soft and mild aromas. Some hay notes. Lithe. Rich and mild flavors enter the palate, which is soft and light. Some acid dials up on the soft finish. A pretty daily drinker wine.
White
2012 Paul Prieur & Fils Sancerre
87 points
Soft and creamy aromas. Nearly candied fruit. Nice. Soft sweet fruit on palate entry, which is mild and lovely. Rich, soft mild notes on the finish. Creamy, with slight metallic notes.
White - Sparkling
2013 Le Sot de l'Ange Touraine-Azay-le-Rideau
86 points
Very soft, quiet aromas. Mild again on the palate, which is light in body, showing some light pineapple notes. Light with some minerality on the finish.
White
2013 Complémen'Terre Nolem
88 points
Soft and pretty aromas; light, with some melon tartness. Rich acid on the puckering palate, showing some clean fruit and slight funk. More puckering lemon carries into the finish.
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Red
2013 Jérémy Quastana Vin de France Côt'Lectif
88 points
All Malbec (Cot here). Soft and rich aromas. Quite nice. Rich acid on palate entry, which is mellow and tart, including some green tones. Nice, though. More green pepper is noted on the finish, which is lean, but pretty.
Red
2013 Un Saumon dans la Loire Vin de France Touraine Boutanche
85 points
This is the first red he's ever made here. Soft and pretty, mild aromas on the nose. Soft and mellow on palate entry. It's simple, but that's the point... simple, juicy fruit. Puckering finish which is quite tart. Yummy and simple, with light puckering tannins.
White - Sparkling
2010 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Pétillant Brut
86 points
Soft and clean aromas, showing some tart minerality. Rich mellow flavors on the slightly sweet fruited palate. Clean acidity is present. Thee finish is puckering, but sweet again, showing tart, mellow fruit. Simple, but nice.
White
2013 Domaine de la Bregeonnette Gros-Plant du Pays Nantais
81 points
Soft, light, mild aromas. Mild on palate entry and a little off balance. Weird creamy texture. Weird finish tastes like miso soup and other funky oddnesses.
White
2011 Domaine de Veilloux Cheverny Argilo
66 points
Smells like funky sweet corn and creamed lemon with a little meat mixed in. Totally odd and unique. Similar palate flavors. Totally odd. Like a tin can. Odd and awkward finish. More tin can notes.
White
2011 Domaine de Juchepie Le Sec de Juchepie Les Monts
87 points
Aromas are of a rope. Interesting. Soft palate entry, which is light in body and light on flavors. Creamy finish, with flavors of corn husk lingering.
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Red
2012 Domaine de Veilloux Cheverny Rouge Les Veilleurs
81 points
This smells like fireworks; sulfur. Totally odd and pretty gross. The palate texture is soft with cutting acidity. Quite creamy. The finish is then puckering green bitter notes. Really funky and oddly acidic and overly tannic for the texture. Not enjoyable.
Red
2012 Domaine du Mortier Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil Cuvée Dionysos
88 points
Green poopy aromas. Funky but it's pretty mellow. Soft palate entry and actually quite forward in flavor profile. Nice mellowness but still showing some integrated tannins. Puckering and lean, tart soft finish.
Red
2012 Domaine Sérol Côte Roannaise Les Blondins
89 points
Soft, creamy pretty red fruits on the mild nice. Mild palate entry, which is soft in texture. Quite round and nice. Mellow finish with pleasing fruit. There's nothing out of place and this is a very nice drinker for the price.
Red
2012 La Grange Tiphaine Touraine Clef de Sol
90 points
The vines are 110 year old Cot. The aromas are soft and creamy; mellow, but quite pleasing. Really pretty rich, soft texture on palate entry. Mild, wich clean and richly flavored, puckering smooth fruit. Really nice acidity balancing that texture and fruit density. Pretty attack and dial up of richness and acid on the finish Really lovely. 90+
Red
2011 Philippe Alliet Chinon Vieilles Vignes
91 points
Wow, this smells fantastic! Huge depth of character. Creamy, and slightly green, but rich and elegant caramelized bell peppers dial up. The palate is soft and light on entry, with nice mellow, elegant creamy fruit notes. This is really classy in the mouth. Puckering acid and leanness on the finish, which is soft. This feels like a drink now wine, but hugely delicious for the price.
Red
2011 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot
90 points
Nice integrated nose, but it's quite light, only giving the slightest hint of green bell peppers. Overall, very mild. Mellow on palate entry, but you can immediately tell how well balanced and integrated this wine is, offering nice fruit flavors and soft acid balancing nicely. Huge dialup of acid on the puckeringly lean finish. Quite pretty.
White
2013 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre
86 points
This smells like a fibrous honeycomb of a bey hive, but without any sweetness. The palate is soft and creamy on entry, with mild flavors. Puckering odd tartness on the finish that comes across as metallic richness. It's also slightly sweet and off putting.
White
2002 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos Habert
91 points
A fun extra pour of an older bottle. This offers rich honey aromas and nice rich intensity; quite deep and complex. Soft and lovely balance of richness and tartness on the palate. Really drinking in a beautiful place today, with a nice rich finish.
Red
2011 Clau De Nell Grolleau
91 points
Really rich and lovely, elegant aromas. Sweet fruit, lovely richness. So beautiful and elegant. Way beyond expectations. Lovely palate entry. Beautiful balance and grace. Really pretty, elegant finish as well.
Red
2011 Yannick Amirault Bourgueil La Coudraye
89 points
Rich and quite earthy on the nose. Soil and green bell pepper dominate. The palate is soft on entry, but pretty mellow in flavor. Pretty on the finish, with some more red fruit noted here than elsewhere. Overall, tart, but pretty mellow wine.
Red
2000 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir Hommage à Louis Derré
86 points
The first vintage of this wine. Aromas are soft, with lots of cooked chanterelle mushrooms; nice, tertiary notes. Thin, light, lean palate that leaves the mouth puckering. Not much fruit. Puckering, lean, really soft finish. Perhaps gone too long.
Red
2003 Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur-Champigny Terres Chaudes
Smooth aromas, showing some earth and funk notes. Creamy, with dark fruit flavors and flowers. Quite nice. soft, mellow smooth palate, with some tart fruit and tons of lovely acidity. Really acidic on the finish which is also absolutely fantastic. Drinking in beautiful balance today.