WTN: Tales from the crypt

[David M. Bueker]

1997 Domaine de Baumard Savennieres Clos de Papillon
Oxidized, shot, dead and buried. Like one of Jack Bauer's victims.

1997 Domaine de Baumard Savennieres Clos de Papillon
Oxidized, shot, dead and buried. Like one of Jack Bauer's victims.

David, are you absolutely sure of provenence of this bottle. Old chenin can take on some strange characteristics, but this sounds perfectly awful. I opened a 1996 entry level Baumard at Mo'Cool a couple years ago, and while it was certainly "different" it was also quite delicious. Sorry to hear of your luck with this one.

[David M. Bueker]

Completely sure, as I bought it from a highly reputable source & cellared it from release. Another bottle of the same wine, from the same case (I grabbed four back then) was glorious last year. Cork was fine too.

Guess I should open my regular '96 & 97

1997 Domaine de Baumard Savennieres Clos de Papillon
Oxidized, shot, dead and buried. Like one of Jack Bauer's victims.

Do you have more? Future bottles may show better. At least one would imagine.

[David M. Bueker]

All gone, but I do have a '96.

I popped one of these in December and had the exact same experience as you. A shame.

[David M. Bueker]

Hence my "aging" thread.

My TNs from a mini horizontal a few weeks ago below. I'm not used to the style, hence not deadset on them being oxidised or not. However they were pretty consistent and pretty consistently tough going. Additional age (post opening) suggested a fractional imprvement perhaps, but nothing to crow about. The lightness of the acidity was a surprise.

1999 Domaine du Closel Savennières Clos du Papillon - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières (5/9/2009)
Darker still, yet not quite golden. The nose showed bruised apple, but again a very savoury palate with just sufficient acidity. Perhaps 2nd best of the three

All in all, interesting to taste these, yet on the strength of this, no rush to try again. The 3 bottles having been recorked at the end of the evening, will be sampled over the next 2-3 days to see if talk of extended aeration as a miracle 'cure' has any effect!

1999 Domaine du Closel Savennières Les Caillardieres - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières (5/9/2009)
A touch better (than the coulees and clos du papillon of the same vintage), with slightly darker colour, maybe slightly more herby on the nose, with the palate showing pleasant butter, honey, sour-apple and really quite a decent length to the fennel-accented finish, carried with sufficient acidity. Good if still somewhat challenging.

1999 Domaine du Closel Savennières Les Coulees - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières (5/9/2009)
Straw-coloured, yet such an odd savoury, almost sweaty fruitless nose. Some honey and oilyness on the palate, but a touch bitter yet lacking in acidity. Interesting, but not exactly charming.

1997 was a year when many Loire growers lowered their amount of sulphur a bit too much; in some that was recognizable very soon, in others it took some time. I personally played safe and finished my stash a couple of years ago.

Greetings from Sweden / Fredrik L