$33.99 Retail, after discount. Served immediately following a bottle of '02 Cottat Sancerre Vieilles Vignes... the first sip of this was pretty wild, and obviously completely different than the Sancerre. Served blind, it made everyone at the table sit up and say "whoa, what the heck is this??" Fat, oily, lowish acid, spicey, almost tropical fruit and a hint of oak (I have no idea if this wine saw any new oak, but the first whiff certainly suggested some). Well, after a few minutes the initial impression of oak seemed to disappear, and although it's fairly low in acidity, the balance on that end seemed to improve as well (no doubt following the high acid Sancerre made this one seem flabbier initially). This is a thick, rich beauty with exotic fruit and an intriguing spiciness. This wine has a lot of character, and considering how many CNP blancs are merely "nice" - fairly nondescript, and perhaps overpriced - this one is worth checking out and well worth the $$, IMO. Not sure it's built to age, though... I'm afraid the alcohol might start to dominate in time. Conservatively, I'd say grab a few bottles to drink over the next couple years.
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10/29/2004 - Ben Andersen wrote:
$33.99 Retail, after discount. Served immediately following a bottle of '02 Cottat Sancerre Vieilles Vignes... the first sip of this was pretty wild, and obviously completely different than the Sancerre. Served blind, it made everyone at the table sit up and say "whoa, what the heck is this??" Fat, oily, lowish acid, spicey, almost tropical fruit and a hint of oak (I have no idea if this wine saw any new oak, but the first whiff certainly suggested some). Well, after a few minutes the initial impression of oak seemed to disappear, and although it's fairly low in acidity, the balance on that end seemed to improve as well (no doubt following the high acid Sancerre made this one seem flabbier initially). This is a thick, rich beauty with exotic fruit and an intriguing spiciness. This wine has a lot of character, and considering how many CNP blancs are merely "nice" - fairly nondescript, and perhaps overpriced - this one is worth checking out and well worth the $$, IMO. Not sure it's built to age, though... I'm afraid the alcohol might start to dominate in time. Conservatively, I'd say grab a few bottles to drink over the next couple years.
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