Community Tasting Note

• JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

  September 30, 2021 - So, it’s really easy to make fun of some folks’ love for Guion Bourgueil Domaine. It’s a Chambers (my place of employment) DI, frugal Loire expert David Lillie loves the farming and the absurdly low price, and they’ve been Bio since before most of you (and me!) were born. A conscientious cheapskate’s trifecta, if ever there was one. But what if it actually was that good? Punchy, herbal, earthy, ripe—but just ripe—with a fine flush of brambly black and red fruit fanning out on the finish? And what if the acid and tannins that lurk beneath the earth notes and fruit signal a bright future for aging? Crazy, right? But that is the case here and I’ll be damned if this isn’t singing with crisped up duck confit, lentils, and arugula with a mustard vinaigrette. Worth well more than the tariff, friends. We can still afford to drink lovely wine.

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7 Comments

• tward commented:

  1/14/22, 7:20 AM - Great TN, thank you! The "really easy to make fun of" was odd to my ears, but I guess it's more of a cultural thing, wouldn't have crossed my mind. Then again, I don't consider myself snarky or smug, but when I cross paths with a MASSIVE HEAVY BOTTLE NAPA CAB bro I probably reflexively smirk.
  
  Also, what's "DI" - something like "darling"?
  
  As an aside: I live on the other coast and have wished I lived in the Chambers radius for years, having visited the site dozens of times. It seems like a real gem of a shop.
  
  Again, great TN, inspiring me to buy too much wine...

• JohnMcIlwain commented:

  1/14/22, 8:32 AM - Hey @tward my comment is that for all the fancy, fashionable, and exclusive bottles that seem to drive wine in social media and the industry, this a wine beloved by people who love wine and also be people who bemoan the wine having gone all the way up to $14.99 (imagine!). And DI is short for direct import. Thanks for your comment and taking the time to read the note, in addition to your kind words about Chambers.

• tward commented:

  1/14/22, 9:53 AM - Fifteen dollars! Highway robbery!!! I've got to find a politician to blame.

• sleepyhaus commented:

  10/11/22, 7:53 AM - Great note John. I have been buying Guion from CSW and more recently Garagiste due to shipping issues, since the 2007 vintage and I'm one of those who continues to love this somewhat quirky Loire CF. The craziest part is that for as cheap as these are, in my opinion they actually require a lot of time to show their best, not the norm for a sub $15 bottle. The '08 Prestige was drinking great when last tried a few months ago, with no sign of decline. Not sure how the riper recent vintages will age, but I have plenty to test it out.

• JohnMcIlwain commented:

  10/11/22, 8:36 AM - @sleepyhaus Those Guions do keep chugging along. I still have some venerable bottles socked away. Might be time to grab one or two from storage. Fine reds for this time of year.

• tward commented:

  10/11/22, 8:52 AM - Lucky you having Guion going back to '08. My cellar only goes back to '14 (and for some reason lacks any '16). I've got some of the '20 (rebranded Domaine) Candide and need to keep an eye out for '21 offers.

• sleepyhaus commented:

  10/11/22, 2:09 PM - I'm missing a few vintages as well, where I either didn't buy much or drank it all early. Also generally I go heavier on the Prestige still buy some Domaine, and have a good amount of Deux Monts back to '09 as well. My memory is that I was fairly unimpressed with '11, and '12 was rather poor, '13 middling. Went fairly big on 09/10/14/15 and then have bought a decent amount of 18/19. Not as much 08/09/10 left as I would like at this point though.

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