Tasted Sunday, September 30, 2012 by MikeATL with 612 views
Every few years, I subject one of my tasting groups to a tasting of older Loire wines. Most of them drink few wines from the region, but generally present at least the illusion of enthusiasm for tasting some different wines than those they are accustomed to. Between a couple of corked bottles and a few others that didn't show as well as I'd hoped, it wasn't perfect, but it still worked out pretty well.
2000 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie Vieilles Vignes Clos des Briords
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie
Light gold color and the honey and preserved lemon additions to the expected saline and mineral elements show right away that it isn't a baby any more. There is still enough fruit to balance the acidity, but it doesn't pop with the vibrancy of a recent bottle of the '97. A good, but not great example of an aged Muscadet, this bottle suggests that it might be time to start drinking these up.
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1999 Thomas-Labaille Sancerre Chavignol Cuvee Buster Les Monts Damnés
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
A ray of sunshine on a dreary, rainy night, there is some gold color, but it still looks shiny and inviting. I can't help but smile as I pick up ripe Crenshaw-y melon, drizzled with just a hint of pale honey, a pleasant minerality and a little tartness keep the fruit from getting out of hand, and a kiss of honey lingers on the finish. It hasn't grown old, it just picked up some new ways to have fun, and I suspect it still has at least a few more delightful years left in it.
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