WTN: 2002 Robinot l’Opera des Vins Vouvray l’Expression

2002 Jean-Pierre Robinot l’Opera des Vins Vouvray l’Expression 13.0%
We picked up a bottle of this at La Cave de l’Insolite and were pretty excited to try something that has never been tried before. I’m kidding, of course, but I can’t find any reference to this wine anywhere and it feels like a crapshoot to open something made with almost no SO2 on the other side of the pond after more than, say, five years. Jean-Pierre is a natural wine maker in the Loire and Otto recently reviewed some of his wines. Color is a pretty but not deep tone of gold. First aroma to hit me is oak, curious since I believe most natural wine makers shy away from it. Then come some barnyard, asparagus, barely perceptible honey and custard, and a growing sea of white flowers. Marcia also got some dishrag. All in all, the elements make for a wonderfully complex bouquet. The mouth feel is frizzy because there are some bubbles hugging the glass, no doubt the result of secondary fermentation. Should be a fault, but isn’t. There is the barest hint of oxidation, at this level giving a welcome dimension of pleasure. Slightly bitter finish but, again, it all hangs together. In short, a wine that appeals to the intellect and the senses, a complete ride. Loved it. In a peculiar kind of way, it felt like going out in the wilderness. A complete ride into the wilderness.

First aroma to hit me is oak, curious since I believe most natural wine makers shy away from it..

I had the same reaction to some of his Jasnières, but this write-up says the casks were 3-4 years old on average:

http://www.wineterroirs.com/2006/07/robinot.html

First aroma to hit me is oak, curious since I believe most natural wine makers shy away from it..

I had the same reaction to some of his Jasnières, but this write-up says the casks were 3-4 years old on average:

http://www.wineterroirs.com/2006/07/robinot.html

Thanks, that was fun to read and very informative. The picture of him wearing multicolored shorts in the middle of a vineyard is priceless.

Sounds like this Vouvray was part of his first vintage, 2002. And if the barrels were, on average, 3/4 years old in 2006, when this was written, it's quite possible that the 2002s were made using new wood, that has since mellowed.

Sounds like this Vouvray was part of his first vintage, 2002. And if the barrels were, on average, 3/4 years old in 2006, when this was written, it's quite possible that the 2002s were made using new wood, that has since mellowed.

Good point, the Jasnières I had were 02/03.

Second half of the bottle was consumed on day two, after 24 hours in the fridge.

If anything, it has become even more attractive. The secondary fermentation bubbles have blown off, losing the fun and frizzy lightheadedness that they implied, but gaining in seriousness, with the oxidative notes slightly stronger, though still quite subtle.