Sparkling Muscadet made from Melon. A hint of yeast on the nose with citrus and some slate. Good minerality on the palate with good acidity. Light slightly coarse bubbles and little mouse. Pale straw in color, but refreshing.
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet-Côtes de Grandlieu sur lie
Pale straw in color. On the nose, slate, chalk and limestone and hints of grapefruit. More creaminess on the palate than the nose suggests. Grapefruit on the palate, with seemingly somwhat soft acidity and the finish is a bit thin and short.
Pale straw in color with some green tinges. Nice nose with good fruit: sweet and sour apple, with good minerality including chalk and limestone and some floral notes. Good acidity, but somewhat sharp with lots of sour apple and a somewhat short finish. Pretty good.
Pale straw in color again, with more hints of green. At first, less expressive nose than the Cottat Sancerre that preceded it, but it was just less fruity. Lots of cut grass and mineral notes on the nose. Some pepper and spice on the palate and fairly light bodied, but much more refined than the Cottat. Much cleaner finish, with no sharpness. I really liked this style of Sancerre.
Pale straw in color again. Tasted twice. Very interesting nose with tons of slate and something that reminded me of petrol (but not in the intense way this occurs in some Riesling), together with some nice sweet citrus. On the palate, very focused with vibrant acidity, significant sour apple and more mineral notes. Fairly long finish. This was one of my favorite wines at the tasting.
My favorite white wine at the tasting. I had the 2011 Cour Cheverny from the same producer recently so I had some framework for comparison for this wine; this differs rather significantly from that wine, but I don't know how much this just reflects the vintage. I was told this vineyard has a different exposure and consists of sandy soils.
The nose on this wine was just beautiful. While the 2011 Cour Cheverny was really intense with many competing notes, the nose on this wine is similarly complex, but just more elegant. Instead of intense ocean notes, you get whiffs of sea salt, great minerality, apple, citrus on the nose. On the palate, this follows suit with more minerality, and sour apple, grapefruit; great acidity and a nice, high-toned, slightly tangy finish. Wonderful wine.
Not sure of the disgorgement date. This is a funky wine. A bit of brett on the nose, minerality, smoke and some earth. A hint of sweetness on the palate. Very pale salmon in color. Interesting and fun, but not sure I would drink this on a regular basis.
Pale translucent red in color. Some stemmy notes on the nose, with good pinot fruit, with a mix of sour and sweet cherries together with some herbaceousness. Light bodied with medium acidity and more sweet red cherries on the palate. A little bit of structure on the finish, which tends to the bitter end of the spectrum.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Very vegetal nose with tons of green pepper, which drowns out the fruit a bit. On the palate, a bit thin with some nice minerality. A fair amount of structure on the finish and I didn't perceive a lot of acidity. Not really my style of Cab Franc though.
I really enjoyed this, and it was probably my favorite red at the tasting (of 3 wines though). Much less vegetal cab franc than the previous wine. Some smoke and earth on the nose, but it seemed like the fruit was attenuated. A hint of creaminess on the palate with nice black pepper notes and a pretty, well-structured finish. A hint of bricking on the edges, but still deep red. This would have been wonderful with the right food, and it seems like it would evolve nicely in the glass.
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon-Beaulieu
Just a wonderful sweet wine. Almost orange in color. Nuttiness and tangerine on the nose, with fantastic acidity and good, not over-the-top sweetness. I would love to have some of this in my cellar.
NV Domaine Claude Branger "L éClipse" Méthode Traditionelle
France, Loire Valley
Sparkling Muscadet made from Melon. A hint of yeast on the nose with citrus and some slate. Good minerality on the palate with good acidity. Light slightly coarse bubbles and little mouse. Pale straw in color, but refreshing.
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2013 Domaine Les Hautes Noëlles Muscadet-Côtes de Grandlieu sur lie
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet-Côtes de Grandlieu sur lie
Pale straw in color. On the nose, slate, chalk and limestone and hints of grapefruit. More creaminess on the palate than the nose suggests. Grapefruit on the palate, with seemingly somwhat soft acidity and the finish is a bit thin and short.
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2013 Eric Cottat Sancerre
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Pale straw in color with some green tinges. Nice nose with good fruit: sweet and sour apple, with good minerality including chalk and limestone and some floral notes. Good acidity, but somewhat sharp with lots of sour apple and a somewhat short finish. Pretty good.
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2013 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Pale straw in color again, with more hints of green. At first, less expressive nose than the Cottat Sancerre that preceded it, but it was just less fruity. Lots of cut grass and mineral notes on the nose. Some pepper and spice on the palate and fairly light bodied, but much more refined than the Cottat. Much cleaner finish, with no sharpness. I really liked this style of Sancerre.
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2013 Domaine Les Poëte Quincy
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Quincy
Pale straw in color again. Tasted twice. Very interesting nose with tons of slate and something that reminded me of petrol (but not in the intense way this occurs in some Riesling), together with some nice sweet citrus. On the palate, very focused with vibrant acidity, significant sour apple and more mineral notes. Fairly long finish. This was one of my favorite wines at the tasting.
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2012 Domaine Philippe Tessier Cour-Cheverny Les Sables
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Cour-Cheverny
My favorite white wine at the tasting. I had the 2011 Cour Cheverny from the same producer recently so I had some framework for comparison for this wine; this differs rather significantly from that wine, but I don't know how much this just reflects the vintage. I was told this vineyard has a different exposure and consists of sandy soils.
The nose on this wine was just beautiful. While the 2011 Cour Cheverny was really intense with many competing notes, the nose on this wine is similarly complex, but just more elegant. Instead of intense ocean notes, you get whiffs of sea salt, great minerality, apple, citrus on the nose. On the palate, this follows suit with more minerality, and sour apple, grapefruit; great acidity and a nice, high-toned, slightly tangy finish. Wonderful wine.
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NV Domaine Brazilier Coteaux du Vendômois Brut Methode Traditionnelle
France, Loire Valley, Coteaux du Vendômois
Not sure of the disgorgement date. This is a funky wine. A bit of brett on the nose, minerality, smoke and some earth. A hint of sweetness on the palate. Very pale salmon in color. Interesting and fun, but not sure I would drink this on a regular basis.
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2013 Domaine Les Poëte Reuilly Rouge
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Reuilly
Pale translucent red in color. Some stemmy notes on the nose, with good pinot fruit, with a mix of sour and sweet cherries together with some herbaceousness. Light bodied with medium acidity and more sweet red cherries on the palate. A little bit of structure on the finish, which tends to the bitter end of the spectrum.
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2010 Dominique Joseph - Le Petit Saint Vincent Saumur-Champigny Cres-cen-do
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny
Very vegetal nose with tons of green pepper, which drowns out the fruit a bit. On the palate, a bit thin with some nice minerality. A fair amount of structure on the finish and I didn't perceive a lot of acidity. Not really my style of Cab Franc though.
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2006 Catherine et Pierre Breton Chinon Beaumont
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
I really enjoyed this, and it was probably my favorite red at the tasting (of 3 wines though). Much less vegetal cab franc than the previous wine. Some smoke and earth on the nose, but it seemed like the fruit was attenuated. A hint of creaminess on the palate with nice black pepper notes and a pretty, well-structured finish. A hint of bricking on the edges, but still deep red. This would have been wonderful with the right food, and it seems like it would evolve nicely in the glass.
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2010 Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon-Beaulieu Les Rouannières
France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon-Beaulieu
Just a wonderful sweet wine. Almost orange in color. Nuttiness and tangerine on the nose, with fantastic acidity and good, not over-the-top sweetness. I would love to have some of this in my cellar.
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