Community Tasting Note

Julian Marshall wrote:

Sunday, March 31, 2019 - The colour was very dark and intense. The nose, like the taste, was very closed at first, taking a good two hours in the decanter to open up, before revealing aromas of forest fruits, yeast and eucalyptus, with spices and charcoal. The attack is powerful, silky and ripe, but the actual flavours are quite muted at first; the middle section is full-bodiedn but a little chalky, with a strong sense of bell pepper, before a rich seam of fruit, where at last the flavours become more distinct: dark cherry, blackberry and finally some blackcurrant. The finish is odd - very disjointed: at the back of the palate, a broad, sweeping wave of indistinct fruit with chalky greenness, which slips down the throat, whilst at the front a strong taste of sweet blackberry which tingles the tongue, remaining long after the wine has gone. Weird.

Completely different to the other Chinons I've tasted recently, this was bigger and broader in scope. The body and silkiness are very impressive - this is clearly high-class wine, but which succeeds in tasting both ripe and unripe. The ripe fruit tastes a little extracted and the green cloak is almost caricatural - perfect for convincing doubting newcomers that the rumours were correct and that Chinons are not for them.

Tasting it, I was reminded of the comment by Erwan Faiveley, quoted in Stephen Tanzer's excellent article last week - “the only Burgundy wine that a winemaker in Bordeaux can understand.” This is a Chinon that Bordeaux lovers would understand, but which not all would like. It has the power and body of Bordeaux, unlike the Clos Guillot I tried last week, but without the slightly sweet flavours of modern Bordeaux. There's something Pauillacais about it, but somehow unfulfilled. It reminded me of the Duhart 2008 I tasted last year - good, but with a nagging greenness. Much like Sociando-Mallet can taste, so if you like that, this is for you.

Post a Comment / View Julian Marshall's profile
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (1,763 views)