Doing some posting catchup over the past month:
2004 Domaine Richou Coteaux de l'Aubance La Séléction (Loire) $17 Rich, creamy, honeyed lemon curd with the faintest hint of botrytis. It’s sweet but not overtly so with enough acidity to balance. This was a really nice match with hot spicy thai green curry.
2007 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier (Central Valley) Richly flavored with sweet tropical fruit and lemongrass, noticeable acidity but softer than I normally like. Not a lot of complexity or depth but tonight I just wanted a refreshing companion to our restaurant meal and this worked fine. Most of the time I want to listen to King Crimson, but sometimes you have to put on The B-52’s.
2006 Huët Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu (Loire) $30 Very clean, young, lithe chenin. It’s a bit closed aromatically but the flavor and depth are quite engaging, surprisingly so actually. Lots of primary waxy lemon and apple, a light hint of flowers, with sec-tendre level rs. There is the usual mineral core, solid acidic crunch, and wonderfully tasty length but doesn’t have the overall structural elegance and balance of ’05 or ’02. I’ll tuck a few away but these are very enjoyable now.
2006 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Clos des Briords (Loire) $13 This may be the most lush and most accessible vintage of Briords that I’ve tried. It started out very fruit forward and became more exceedingly granite structured with air some few hours later. I can’t stress enough how delicious this wine is and is the proverbial steal at $13. Served with grilled, shell-on shrimp (coated in oil, breadcrumbs, lots of black pepper and lemon) and simply grilled diver scallops. Life is good.
