Notes from a very interesting Loire tasting (mostly done blind) matched with Japanese cuisine.
1993 Dom. du Closel Savennieres Cuvee Speciale – light straw colour, very waxy nose, smooth but still has acidic bite, excellent length. I once tried this when it was only about 5 years old and it was like a newly bottled Cloudy Bay sauv blanc, able to etch the enamel on your teeth. These wines realy do need 7-10 years to mellow.
2002 Damien Laureau Savennieres Les Genets – new age Savennieres. Darker, with a rich honeyed nose with some botrytis, then surprisingly light on palate, delicate even, finishing with a hint of oxidation and a fair bit of acidity. Not sure I like these higher alcohol early drinking versions as much as the traditional style.
1995 Champelou Vouvray – musty nose at first but that blew off, medium body, pleasant soft wine, nothing special.
1998 Dom. du Closel Savenierres Les Caillardieres – this one was apparently strong enough to induce temporary memory loss in the person that brought it, as he scrambled to recall what was in his bag. It has more colour than the Vouvray, and a stony nose devoid of the usual wax, and a molasses or brown sugar note that strangely was not out of place in this very dry wine. Tasty, balanced and with good flavour concentration and length.
1996 Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont – lighter colour than the Closel and a delightful floral mineral nose that later added a waxiness and complexity. Rich on palate, smooth and long. My favourite to that point.
1995 Foreau Vouvray Clod Naudin Moelleux – an interesting petrol Riesling sort of nose, excellent balance on palate and it only showed as off dry despite a 12% RS – that’s what enough offsetting acidity can do. Very good.
1970 Moulin Touchais – it was nice that someone brought this stand-by Anjou (it is a Coteau du Layon) that is sold like Ch. Gillette – the current vintage is usually at least a decade old. I’ve had the 49, 64, and 71, but I don’t think I’d tasted the 1970 before. Dark amber in colour, slightly hot butterscotch nose, lots of RS but tons of acid as well and it worked out to a very decent balance. It made me think of seared foie gras….
1995 Olga Raffaut Les Picasses Chinon – on into the cab francs! I don’t recall drinking any wine made by anyone named Olga before – it conjured up visions of tractors and sturdiness I though best to put out of mind. The rim of this wine was getting pale and showing its age, and the nose was oddly Burgundian in a good stinky sort of way, with a marked green note. It later transformed into a primarily cherry nose! No more than decent fruit, drying tannins at the end and a tad hollow in the middle.
2000 Baudry La Croix Boisee Chinon – a young, sappy floral fruit nose, with a slight hint of mint, smooth and obviously youthful on palate. The tannin was fairly soft.
2002 Couly-Dutheil Clos de l’Echo Chinon – we tasted this when we first got to the restaurant and then a couple of hours later when we drank it. Intense sweet nose, medium weight, and aggressive, slightly green, hard tannins. After a couple of hours the nose had changed to one of cigar smoke (in a good way), but the wine was still tighter than a.….well never mind, let’ just say it was not giving much. A wine to be revisited in a decade or so.
Morals – whites are better than reds in the Loire. Whites age beautifully. Loire whites mate with Japanese cuisine passably well (easy on the wasabi). Fascinating tasting.
