One of the leaner wines tonight, and thus, one of my favourites. There's a nice bit of green apple here, as well as some other white fruit. The acidity is brilliant here: so much linearity and drive, but balanced by the opulent fruit. An excellent start to the lineup.
Compared to the linearity of the 2004, this is clearly a much fatter and riper wine, with a palate presence that you could say is larger than life. It's opulent and exotic, with lots of ripe fruits, and a real mixed back of southeast Asian spices like kaffir lime and lemongrass. But even though this gets heady with all those elements, there is still enough acidity here to keep this in shape.
A bit of a laggard tonight, though we weren't 100% certain that that wasn't due to the provenance of this bottle. That said, this didn't have any discernible flaws either. There's quite a bit of botrytis and a slight touch of oxidative character here. It's also a ripe wine, but pales in comparison to the 2005 in that respect. As well, it's lacking some of the drive that I want.
This is the first wine where I found a little touch of sauvignon blanc grassiness on the palate. But that's all held in check by the ripe elements here. There's an almondy note that pokes out here as well, but unlike so many other aldehydic elements in wine, this one doesn't seem to be bitter.
This was another brilliant vintage of this wine. The nose has a touch of green, but no overt grassiness like the 2007 (though there's a sweet gooseberry note). What stands out here is the intensity of this wine. It feels like everything is more alive, more amped up. There's a current running through this wine. It's packed with nervous energy and raw power.
This was one of the heaviest and ripest wines of the evening, with some really high-toned qualities about it. It's definitely heady, and you can almost pick out some alcohol on the nose as well. Lots of white fruit, but despite the heightened ripeness and fatness here, there is still the necessary muscle under it to keep this from being a shapeless mass. A good wine, but a bit of a laggard in terms of my own personal preference.
Probably my wine of the night. The nose has some flavours of Fuji apple, among many, many other things. It's one of the most intense and powerful of the wines tonight. There's so much to discover in this wine, with its minerality, fruit, acidity; really feels like the complete package. This is the wine I wish I had more of.
Right after the height of the 2010, is the low of the 2011. I thought this was the weakest wine at the table tonight. It had a bit of a thin meanness to it, but without a lot of the racy acidic drive of something like the 2004 or 2008. The nose showed, uniquely, smoke, and the palate had a slight unpleasant stemminess to it that also started making me think of the greenness in 2011 red burgundy (though nowhere as offensive). Don't get me wrong, this is a good wine, but just a bit of a runt in context.
It's almost fitting that the best wine of the night (2010) was followed by the worst (2011), which was then followed by this, which was was so ordinary and foursquare. It ticks all the tickboxes, crosses the t's and dots the i's, but I'm not sure there's too much to be excited about here. Yes, it tastes like Vatan, and it's definitely typical for the producer, but this just doesn't quite have the pizzazz that I found in all the better bottles tonight.
More of a unicorn nowadays, than anything else. Yes, it was certainly interesting to try this intellectual curiosity of a wine, but if it's worth the silly price tags it garners at the auction market, the answer is an emphatic no. Clearly identifiable as pinot, with its delicate red fruit and florals. There are some definite stem notes as well, as well as a surprising (but not high) amount of tannins on the finish. Good acidity, but somewhat thin in terms of midpalate and finish.
2004 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 95 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
One of the leaner wines tonight, and thus, one of my favourites. There's a nice bit of green apple here, as well as some other white fruit. The acidity is brilliant here: so much linearity and drive, but balanced by the opulent fruit. An excellent start to the lineup.
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2005 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Compared to the linearity of the 2004, this is clearly a much fatter and riper wine, with a palate presence that you could say is larger than life. It's opulent and exotic, with lots of ripe fruits, and a real mixed back of southeast Asian spices like kaffir lime and lemongrass. But even though this gets heady with all those elements, there is still enough acidity here to keep this in shape.
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2006 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
A bit of a laggard tonight, though we weren't 100% certain that that wasn't due to the provenance of this bottle. That said, this didn't have any discernible flaws either. There's quite a bit of botrytis and a slight touch of oxidative character here. It's also a ripe wine, but pales in comparison to the 2005 in that respect. As well, it's lacking some of the drive that I want.
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2007 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 93 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
This is the first wine where I found a little touch of sauvignon blanc grassiness on the palate. But that's all held in check by the ripe elements here. There's an almondy note that pokes out here as well, but unlike so many other aldehydic elements in wine, this one doesn't seem to be bitter.
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2008 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 95 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
This was another brilliant vintage of this wine. The nose has a touch of green, but no overt grassiness like the 2007 (though there's a sweet gooseberry note). What stands out here is the intensity of this wine. It feels like everything is more alive, more amped up. There's a current running through this wine. It's packed with nervous energy and raw power.
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2009 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
This was one of the heaviest and ripest wines of the evening, with some really high-toned qualities about it. It's definitely heady, and you can almost pick out some alcohol on the nose as well. Lots of white fruit, but despite the heightened ripeness and fatness here, there is still the necessary muscle under it to keep this from being a shapeless mass. A good wine, but a bit of a laggard in terms of my own personal preference.
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2010 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 95 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Probably my wine of the night. The nose has some flavours of Fuji apple, among many, many other things. It's one of the most intense and powerful of the wines tonight. There's so much to discover in this wine, with its minerality, fruit, acidity; really feels like the complete package. This is the wine I wish I had more of.
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2011 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 88 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
Right after the height of the 2010, is the low of the 2011. I thought this was the weakest wine at the table tonight. It had a bit of a thin meanness to it, but without a lot of the racy acidic drive of something like the 2004 or 2008. The nose showed, uniquely, smoke, and the palate had a slight unpleasant stemminess to it that also started making me think of the greenness in 2011 red burgundy (though nowhere as offensive). Don't get me wrong, this is a good wine, but just a bit of a runt in context.
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2012 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
It's almost fitting that the best wine of the night (2010) was followed by the worst (2011), which was then followed by this, which was was so ordinary and foursquare. It ticks all the tickboxes, crosses the t's and dots the i's, but I'm not sure there's too much to be excited about here. Yes, it tastes like Vatan, and it's definitely typical for the producer, but this just doesn't quite have the pizzazz that I found in all the better bottles tonight.
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2002 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Rouge 90 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre Rouge
More of a unicorn nowadays, than anything else. Yes, it was certainly interesting to try this intellectual curiosity of a wine, but if it's worth the silly price tags it garners at the auction market, the answer is an emphatic no. Clearly identifiable as pinot, with its delicate red fruit and florals. There are some definite stem notes as well, as well as a surprising (but not high) amount of tannins on the finish. Good acidity, but somewhat thin in terms of midpalate and finish.
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