.2011 Château de Varennes Savennières - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières (9/11/2014)
This bottle came festooned with awards and cost €1 more than its 2010 elder brother but, without making a side by side comparison, I can almost write the same TN. Colour is a limpid pale yellow and the nose is fresh with some citrus and white fruit together with lots of minerals. The medium plus bodied palate plays variations on these themes with nervous tension, crisp acidity and a mineral spine which veers towards the saline on the finish. There is perhaps a shade less underlying roundness than in the 2010 and a hint of greater rawness on the finish but I am unable to say whether this is the result of a vintage effect or simply the age difference. Very Good.
1998 Philippe Alliet Chinon Coteau de Noiré - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (9/9/2014)
1998 was considered a mediocre year in Touraine but this is not the first which I have found to have aged very gracefully. However, let me warn people that it fails to tick many boxes usually often deemed required for a successful red. It is light in colour and body and its tannic structure has almost completely disappeared. However the aromas both on the nose and palate were exceptionally delicate and fine with notes of ripe raspberry, fine Darjeeling tea and faint traces of dry leather. The palate was not big but had a silky texture, smooth acidity and residual fine fruit together with secondary woodland flavours and good length. Very good but don't delay in drinking up.
2002 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Demi-Sec - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (9/7/2014)
After a Foreau demi-sec '00 which was poxed and an '02 sec which was very evolved, this '02 demi-sec (labelled Perruches for the Belgian market) more than makes amends; indeed it is a candidate for my wine of the year so far.
The nose was wonderfully expressive with notes of white fruit (a lot of pineapple), quince, apples and pears, almonds and minerals. The palate was medium bodied, linear and long, bright, perfectly balanced and focused with mouth-watering acidity offsetting discreet sweetness with a gentle crescendo to a firm finish with all the aromatic elements in perfect seamless harmony with just a little apple and pear pie coming out on the after-taste. The wine has scarcely moved since the previous bottle opened four years ago; I only changed two words in my description from then! Outstanding.
2001 Domaine François Mikulski Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru (9/6/2014)
This Meursault reminds me why I used to love Côte d'Or white Burgs a generation ago before anyone had heard of pox or Parker points. Previous bottles of this medium bodied and linear shaped Burg had privileged lush creaminess over cedar tinged white fruit, minerality and lively acidity but on this bottle all the elements had come into balance and the result was beautifully elegant and harmonious. Excellent but my last bottle, alas. Excellent.
2012 Château Clément Termes Gaillac - France, Southwest France, Gaillac (9/5/2014)
Made from local grape varieties, Baucal and Duras, this bottle did not intrigue me in the way that the best from other SW regions such as Marcillac, Fronton and Irouléguy do, but it was robust and enjoyable in a rather rough and rustic manner without any artifice. Maybe a little age would round out some of the angles. Fair.
2005 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (9/3/2014)
Given Gonon's reputation as well as my experience of other vintages, I was expecting this to sing more eloquently. Colour was still primary with no signs of bricking in the rather dim light of my dining room. Aromas on the nose and on the palate were subdued with the usual N.Rhône notes of metallic sour cherry and grilled meat. The palate was quite full bodied with depth and intensity of fruit, marked non-astringent acidity, adequate backbone and length. I can't help feeling that even in its 9th year there is unfinished business here, if the aromas open up. Good with ?++ potential.
1997 Château Bouscassé (Alain Brumont) Madiran Vieilles Vignes - France, Southwest France, Madiran (9/2/2014)
About two years ago, I wrote the following about the basic Bouscassé '97 bottling. "This is a robust wine with deep colour, savoury plum like fruit, wet leather touches, full body, lively acidity with mineral touches, firm but ripe tannic structure and a tad more charm than in many vintages softening its classily rustic austerity". The only changes I would make for this VV bottle would be erase the reference to softening of the usual austerity and increase the description to acidity from "lively" to "very crisp". Nevertheless I continue to be a fan of Madiran, admire this wine's unsophisticated distinction and think that it may benefit from a little more age. Good+.
2009 Guilhem et Jean-Hugues Goisot Côtes d'Auxerre Corps de Garde - France, Burgundy, Côtes d'Auxerre (8/31/2014)
About a year ago I thought that a bottle of this was still somewhat closed aromatically and was diminished by dry caramel notes on the finish. It has now opened up quite a lot. Colour was a limpid quite light ruby red. The nose was expressive with sour cherry and strong mineral notes. The palate was medium bodied and linear in shape with quite round fruit, minerals and lively acidity in good balance and with no trace of dry caramel although the finish remained very firm, particularly the last glass after the food's moderating influence was finished. I think that there may still be some development potential. Good.
1997 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (8/30/2014)
Very young seeming bottle on cracking form. Colour showed little sign of age. The nose was rich and complex with notes of red and dry fruit, minerals and some leather, yet fresh. The palate was medium/full with good depth and fruit sweeter than often but still with plenty of tangy mouth-watering acidity and a good long finish supported by ripe resolved tannins. Very good.
2006 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Sec - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (8/29/2014)
When I purchased these bottles at a tasting, Philippe Foreau agreed that this vintage's "sec" was tendre and not really dry, so I was not surprised by how it performed. Colour medium yellow. Nose subdued with pear and wax notes. The palate was medium+ bodied and decently long with round fruit and an underlying burnished brown sugar note with only moderate minerality and acidity making its character closer to demi-sec than to sec. I also had the feeling than the wine might still be in a somewhat closed phase as the aromatics were more muted than I expected. Just good.
2009 Domaine de l'Ancienne Cure Pécharmant Selection - France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Pécharmant (8/28/2014)
Quite full bodied and robust with some distinct personality, this Merlot dominated Bordeaux blend was another wine were the first glass impressed but the next glass was somewhat tiring. Nose was initially subdued but some tangy fruit came up on swirl. The palate confirmed vigorous red and dark fruit with minerals and tangy acidity backed up by firm tannins with a caramelised touch of the sort which I attribute to new oak ageing and it was this element which tended to pall. However I think that it will integrate well in a couple or so years. Good-.
1999 Philippe Alliet Chinon Coteau de Noiré - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (8/27/2014)
Colour deep for Chinon with little bricking. Nose of sour cherry, clay and wet leather. Savoury charactered medium bodied palate with some depth, lively acidity and fruit more prominent than on the nose opposite the clay and wet leather components. Well supported finish which would, however, benefit from more length. Those wet leather notes are probably provided by brett but, in moderation as here, are for me a welcome part of Chinon complexity and typicity, which many modernists are trying to eliminate. The brett allergic should, however, abstain. Good.
2010 Château Bourdieu - France, Bordeaux, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux (8/26/2014)
Medium/full bodied with round and fruity entry and mid-palate but the finish is dominated by tannins albeit quite ripe. Curiously I liked it at first but tired of the tannins on the second glass while Germaine's reaction was the opposite. There may be enough fruit for this to integrate with time but Blaye is not an area where I would instinctively look for age-worthy claret. Fairly good.
2007 Mas Piquemal Côtes du Roussillon - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon (8/25/2014)
This was a bin end and, I think, past its best but nevertheless interesting to drink. Deep colour, nose with orange peel and liquorice notes plus hints of rubber. Quite full bodied palate with little primary fruit but quite deep and complex with the notes from nose completed by herbs, spice, dark chocolate and a pleasantly bitter finish. Difficult to rate because better to drink than the description implies. I have been unable to find the varietal composition of this wine by googling and would like to know. Good- .
Posted from CellarTracker