WTN: Another Breton and a cheap White Bordeaux

2004 Chateau Paradise Casseuil Bordeaux.
Semillon 60%, Muscadelle 20% and Sauvignon 20%.
Barons de Rotschilde
Semillon 60%, Muscadelle 20% and Sauvignon 20%.
Cheap!

This is a delicious white wine, with vibrant citrus fruit flavors, plenty of acidity, good mouthfeel, and a whisper (not a roar) of oak. Very fresh and flavorful. Considering the $15 price point and the sheer liveliness of this wine, I might rate this 90 points.

2005 C&P Breton Bourgeouil "Clos Senechal"
Loire Valley
Cab Franc
$28 or so.

Continues to show that wonderful funky-mushroomy-earthy-slightly bretty Breton nose. Palate shows some tannins. The funk adds some richness to a wine whose fruit and mouthfeel is quite a bit more austere and leaner than the previous examples, but still nice. Very restrained currant fruit with the bell pepper appearing a bit on the finish. We all debated aging this wine. The tannins are a bit drying right now, but would the funkyness take over too much if the fruit fades? Still...enjoyable and 89 points.

2005 "Vitus" Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon.

Stellar example of Napa Cab. Not made by an industry veteran?, so maybe that is why it avoids the oak soup/blackberry milkshake problem. Very "cab-y" in character with a quite striking but pleasant herbaceous bottom to the black cherry and currant fruit. Good acidity and structure, too. I have been able to enjoy this wine over the past few weeks thanks to the generosity of friends and fellow wine-geeks, and it is consistently showing well, so...93 points+

2005 C&P Breton Bourgeouil "Clos Senechal"
We all debated aging this wine.

You should. It is probably shut down right now and not showing much of its charms. I had some 05 Bretons this summer that seemed to be closing up, although I haven't retasted recently.

In general, 05 is solid and Senechal is worthy of age. Brett is a problem from time to time, although there seems to be a good amount of variability. I (and others) have reported several bad/bretty experiences with the 02 Senechal but others have glorious pristine bottles. So..

Thanks for the notes, Brian. I'm a little confused by the title...did you mean a cheap white Bordeaux, or did you accidentally leave out a wine/description? I assume it was just a typo in the title, just want to make sure I didn't miss something (because I'd certainly love to hear about a cheap white Burgundy if it was any good!).

Eek. My bad.

2005 C&P Breton Bourgeouil "Clos Senechal"
We all debated aging this wine.

You should. It is probably shut down right now and not showing much of its charms. I had some 05 Bretons this summer that seemed to be closing up, although I haven't retasted recently.

In general, 05 is solid and Senechal is worthy of age. Brett is a problem from time to time, although there seems to be a good amount of variability. I (and others) have reported several bad/bretty experiences with the 02 Senechal but others have glorious pristine bottles. So..

Thanks, Rahsaan. I guess I don't think about Loire Cab Franc closing down. It was definitely leaner than the 2006 and 2007 bottlings at Terroir.

I guess I don't think about Loire Cab Franc closing down. It was definitely leaner than the 2006 and 2007 bottlings at Terroir.

It's cabernet!

I'm no expert but there should be something in the future of this Senechal. 2005 was a very balanced and sturdy year.

I guess I don't think about Loire Cab Franc closing down. It was definitely leaner than the 2006 and 2007 bottlings at Terroir.

It's cabernet!

I'm no expert but there should be something in the future of this Senechal. 2005 was a very balanced and sturdy year.

Just to echo Rahsaan here, I recently opened the '02 Clos Senechal and it was glorious and still young (and one of the not-Bretty examples) I think that you should revisit the '05 in another 5-10 years and you'll probably have a much better experience (unless it's a Brett bomb).

Mark Lipton

Thanks for the advice, guys!

I am a big new fan of Breton, as I've made clear, so it's good to hear more experienced tasters. And, I still enjoyed this bottle quite a bit (although more on the nose than the palate) So...even with my severe slowdown on buying, I will pick up more slowly over time.

We opened a bottle of the 2002 Clos Senechal back in November. I haven't been keeping detailed notes lately, but that bottle was not one of the bretty ones. It was a little on the young side, but I did note that it was showing very well at the time.