This was a rather analytic tasting, contrasting two Chenin Blancs (different styles/same producer/same year) and different varietals, Gamay, Pineau d'Aunis, Cot (same styles/same producer/same year). As always, with wine, it’s fun to infer and dangerous to conclude. But while the two chenins seemed like different varietals, the three varietals seemed more like variations on one. There’s a riff on nature v. nurture in there somewhere, if only I can find it…
2005 Domaine de Baumard Clos du Papillon Savennières 13.0%
With Brie and toast. Screw cap (hooray). Decanted for five hours. Ugly jaundiced straw color. Extremely aromatic, a cocktail of white flowers, resin, almond, vanilla bean, pear, and honey. Good mouth feel, almost sumptuous, decent acidity, borderline deficient, but not quite, and a curiously artificial sweetness, as if from candy. Slightly bitter finish. Nose was complex, but I’d say the mouth is in an awkward phase. Should improve.
2007 Thierry Puzelat Touraine Pouillé (Gamay) 12.0%
With Kalbsbratwurst Veal Sausage and Maille Fig & Coriander Mustard. Regular (good quality) cork. Double decanted for three hours. Light ruby. Rich aromas of strawberry, raspberry, church spices, cloves. Good acid/sweet balance, good structure, pleasantly bitter finish. Seems vinified much drier than your average Beaujolais cru, therefore, while equally aromatic, style is more austere in the mouth. Nice.
2007 Thierry Puzelat Touraine La Tesnière (Pineau d'Aunis) 12.5%
With Cervelá Beef Sausage and Maille Apricot and Curry Mustard. Regular (good quality) cork. Double decanted for three hours. Light ruby. Aromas are similar to the preceding, but denser, with the same red berries, church spices, plus a note of smoked meat. Great mouth feel, chunky and dense, excellent acid/sweet balance, good grip from acidity and a surprising amount of tannin. Similar to the Gamay, but with much more of everything, felt like going from a Village to a Premier Cru. Lovely, and my WOTN.
2007 Thierry Puzelat Touraine KO (In Côt We Trust) (Malbec) 12.5%
With Frankfurter Beef and Pork Sausage and Maille Celery and Truffle Mustard. Regular (good quality) cork. Double decanted for three hours. Dark ruby, contrasting greatly with previous two. But aromas are, again similar to both, with red berries and church spices, plus an odd citric note. Mouth-puckering acidity dominates the fruit, this feels like the grapes were picked too early. This was the only Puzelat with that yeasty, wet cardboard finish often found in natural wines that should never be there (because I dislike!). I had enjoyed a taste of this at Chambers a few months ago but this bottle, while fruity too, was just too acidic for my palate. And, boy, nothing could be further from Argentine malbec. Also on a different planet from Cahors malbec. Nurture trumps nature here, no doubt about that.
2005 Domaine de Baumard Quarts de Chaume (Chenin Blanc) 12.5%
With Coconut Tapioca Ice Cream with Vin Cotto sauce. Screw cap (hooray). Decanted for two hours. Beautiful golden hue, as befits one of the finer dessert wines out there. Intensely aromatic, with quince, guava, pineapple and honey nectar. Sumptuous mouth feel, excellent acid/sweet balance when cool, starts to become a bit cloying as it warms. Probably needs many more years to shed the baby fat, right now a bit too candyish.
On revisiting the three reds, their aromas continued to be lovely, but the sweetness of the Quarts de Chaume had made all three unbearably acidic, all of a sudden. I usually revisit the reds after the dessert wines, and while they always taste more acidic, they had never become downright disagreeable. I usually find myself complaining that the fruit was picked too ripe. Here, perhaps all three Puzelats needed a bit more ripeness.
