Maconnais, Pouilly Fuisse, St. Veran, etc.

Last night we met to drink some white wines from southern Burgundy. The theme was broadly the Macconais including Pouilly Fuisse, St. Veran and anything in the general area. The wines were mostly purchased locally and I have indicated the Ohio pricing. It was an interesting tasting. The first time thru the wines really separated themselves from each other. With air, however, many of the weaker wines really improved and a couple of the better wine slipped a bit. First, this is a nice spot to find good chardonnay's many of which presented good value. In addition, even the most oaky of the wines were a far cry from the buttery, over oaked wines, that are still plentiful in California. Plus, these present a nice value from the Village and lesser 1er Cru wines of the Cotes de Beaune while still providing a crisp and mineral driven experience. The wines were consumed over 3 hours. breads and cheeses were served.

• 2010 Alphonse Mellot Côtes de la Charité Blanc Les Pénitents 87 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Côtes de la Charité

  This is a chardonnay from the Loire Valley. Copper-gold in color. The nose is chalky with some lemons. On the palate, more grapefruit with a slightly oily texture. This turns bitter on the finish and has a decidedly woody/oaky heat to the finish which was its biggest issue. Still, it is a nice enough wine that is middle of the road in style.

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• 2011 Domaine Chanson Viré-Clessé 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Viré-Clessé

  I liked this more than the group who had it collectively last. Green/gold in color. The nose has some sulfur and minerality. It is tart with lemons and slight grapefruits on the palate. Long finish. I thought this was a tasty, refreshing chardonnay. $21 Ohio.

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• 2013 Cave de Lugny Mâcon-Villages La Côte Blanche 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Villages

  This my friends is why we drink blind. This bottle was a throw in from a party I had been to the prior Saturday. There were some bottles left unopened, so I was given this bottle. Screw capped and all of $10 Ohio. It was the groups #2 WOTN. The interesting thing is that it took about 40 minutes to open up and deliver. I had it at 83 points initially, but it kept getting better with air. Pale silvery gold in color. The nose has slight lemon candy notes but with air those intertwine with a solid minerality. Nice texture. An initial bitter grapefruit rind disappears laving some grapefruit and lots of minerality. Nice balance with a long finish. Food friendly and great QPR.

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• 2009 Daniel & Julien Barraud Pouilly-Fuissé Alliance Vieilles Vignes 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

  Yellow gold in color. The nose has some sulfur which blows off. Then lemon curd. This is the roundest wine of the night but still has a nice acidity. Lemon fruit flavors. Good finish. Perhaps it was the age, but this seemed the most polished wine. It was one of the pricier ones at $35 Ohio on release.

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• 2012 Joseph Drouhin Saint-Véran 85 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Saint-Véran

  Yellow gold in color. Some flint on the nose. This has a lime sweet tart quality to it, which I didn't care for. There is some minerality and it seems fine enough. I would certainly drink it and enjoy it, but not something I would seek out.

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• 2012 Maison Albert Bichot Saint-Véran 84 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Saint-Véran

  This is a producer whose red wines can provide some value IMO at the lower end. At $20 Ohio, I am not sure there is much value here. The wine is certainly drinkable and reasonably food friendly, but the interest stops there. The nose is a bit meaty with out fruit, flint, etc. The palate is thin with grapefruit and a slight bitterness to it. Good acidity.

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• 2011 Domaine Thibert Père et Fils Saint-Véran Champ Rond 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Saint-Véran

  Silvery gold in color. The nose has flint with slight lemon peel. On the palate, this has a nice texture. A bit soapy, which I sometimes find in cote de Beaune wines. Also lemons. It improved with air as a minerality came out.

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• 2010 Domaine Cordier Père et Fils Pouilly-Fuissé 85 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

  This was one of my least favorite wines while it was the groups WOTN. I think the difference was that this was the most oaked wine of the night. I was really enjoying the lack of oak in many of these wines, and this just seemed like overkill to me. I suspect had I drunk it on its own, it would not have been an issue and certainly there are thousands of Chardonnays with a much heavier use of oak out there. It has a deep gold color. The nose is tight at first eventually showing fresh oak and vanilla. It has a rich texture which is nice. Tart apples on the palate. It did keep evolving with air, but again, not in a direction I liked. Three people named it their WOTN only one of whom acknowledged the oak, so perhaps it was just me. At $40 Ohio, it was by far the most expensive wine in the lineup as well.

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• 2012 Nicolas Potel Pouilly-Fuissé 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

  This was my WOTN, but the group liked it less. Yellow gold in color. The nose is clean with chalk, pears and apples. Also some vanilla but in a reserved way. On the palate, there is a saline quality to this. Red apples on the palate. I would think this also saw some oak, but it is not dominant. A very pretty wine.

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Thanks to Jeff K. for hosting us in their new home. A beautiful home to be sure.