Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck, Paragon
Tasted Saturday, March 26, 2011 by Paul S with 815 views
This was the first of three parts in our planned Loire-themed dinners put together by HM. I found this to be an extremely educational experience, and one which underlined how much good Loire wine can be drank for relatively low prices.
One big stand-out for me was the pair of Muscadet in Flight 1. Unlike the Sauvignon Blancs, we did not have a large representative range of big-name makers (no Guy Bossard, Marc Olivier, or Laneau-Papin wines for example), yet the two wines that we did have were every bit as good as the far pricier Sancerres and Pouilly-Fumes. Comparing them side by side was a real eye opener. Somehow, these two excellent wines, priced at under US$20 each were rated much lower on CT than the other wines we had on the day; but drinking them together, one was hard pressed to see why. Does cheap Muscadet suffer from an impression problem that makes people see them as nothing but easy summer quaffers then On the quality that our wines showed, they were far more than that and represented ridiculous value for money.
On to the Sauvignon Blancs on Flight 2. We had a far wider selection here, with some of the stars of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume reprsented, and even a NZ ringer thrown in. Even though one could pick up the varietal characterisitc in all the wines, the styles were so very varied. It was, to some extent, not even a matter of terroir, but of the winemaker's hand. Nevertheless, stylistic preferences aside, there was also clear quality here. However, pricing in many cases would be far higher than the Muscadet, and good value is not something that can be necessarily ascribed to all the wines.
All in all A fantastic dinner. I am looking forward to Part 2, when we hit the reds.
NV Veuve Moisans Brut 88 Points
France, Loire Valley
Surprisingly pleasant stuff. We all thought it was a cremant of some sort - but at this price and for what is the equivalent of a VDQS wine, this was really bang for the buck. I sure thought it was better than quite a few mediocre Champagne NVs. The nose was admittedly a bit strange, smelling like a mixture of socks and washed rind cheeses - very extreme at first, but the funk blows away slightly to show some neutral white fruit scents, mineral and toast, and some spice. With time, some musk and white flower accents start emerging. I liked the palate more though. Slightly creamy mousse. Herbs and brambles on the attack, shades of slightly oxidative apples after that, very neutral flavoured on the mid-palate, then spicy at the end with a minerally tail showing surprising persistence. Not all that serious in terms of weight and structure, but I found this to be very drinkable, balanced, and with no hard edges - all in all a very pleasant tipple.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue