Which six French whites?

[Jenise]

We've chosen French whites for our next neighborhood tasting, and I need to choose six from this list of what's available locally. My partner in planning prefers to avoid "the usual suspects", so I've not listed any white burgs. Any strong reccos on this list? Bear in mind that most of our attendees aren't geeks, and I have a happier crowd when I serve broadly appealing wines and lean, high-acid wines like Muscadet tend to suffer by comparison. No matter how much I might enjoy such a thing, wines like that suffer by comparison at events like this and there's no point in picking a wine I can ID from the outset as a last place finisher.

Here's what we have to choose from:

07 Perrin Blanc $10
07 Vielle Ferme Luberon $9
08 Abel Clement Rhone Blanc $8
07 Ferraton Croze Hermitage $17
07 Le Piegeaoulet Vaucluse $20
07 Guigal Rhone $15
07 Du Nage Nimes $11
07 Maby Lirac $25

07 D'Astruc Viognier $10
06 D'Astruc Vermentino $8
07 D'Astruc Marsanne $9
07 Campuget Nimes $12
07 Lurton Viognier $11

Schlumberger Grand Cru Riesling Suerin $31, vintage not specified
Schlumberger Pinot Gris $16, vintage not specified
07 Engel et Fils Pinot Blanc Reserve $12
07 Engel et Fils Pinot Gris Reserve $15
06 Engel et Fils Gewurz $15
03 Materne Haegelin Honacker Pinot Blanc $13
05 Materne Haegelin Riesling Bollenberg $15
05 Materne Haegelin Gewurz $15
05 Materne Haegelin Pinot Blanc $13
07 Weinbach Cuvee Theo $35

08 De La Vielle Tour $8
06 Thieuley $15
06 St. Jean de Graves $16
08 Moulin de Ferrand $8
07 Re Cougne $12

05 Thevenot Aligote

07 Vacheron Sancerre $31
07 Bigonneau Quincy $15
06 Bourgeois Sancerre Reserve, $24
06 Bourgeois Pouilly Fume $22
07 Bourgeois Petit Bourgeois $12
08 Cave de Saumer Le Pouche $10
05 Cruchet Vouvray Sec $20
07 Chauvigne Savennieres $20
05 Baumard Savinnieres $25
05 Baumard Savennieres Papillon $41
Patient Cottat Sancerre, vintage not specified, $24

07 Bernard Apremont, $14
07 Ripaille Savoie Blanc $13

Having typed in all those names, I'm disappointed not to see any Trimbachs or Picpouls on the list though they may be in town from a different source (we're trying to help a struggling restaurant-and-wine-shop-in-one with this purchase).

Mostly producers I don't know.
If you avoid Muscadet for lean/high acid, for god's sake don't go for the Savennieres!
La Vieille Ferme is usually good for the money (but under $7 here), Weinbach is a star but will blow your budget
Henri Bourgeois is usually pretty solid second tier Loire producer (I don't mean second rate, just not up to Cotats, Vatans, etc)
Don't know the producer, but Apremont is a nice change of pace.

some crowd pleasers here.
how about:
Engel P. Blanc
Engel Gewurz
Any of the white bordeaux
petit bourgeois
cave saumur - you are lucky to have the 'lieu dit' there; we only get the generic here.
apremont

Jenise, that's a pretty uninspiring choice . If it were for me, I would go for -

Weinbach Cuvée Théo (Riesling I presume)
Both Savennières from Baumard
Sancerre from Pascal Cotat (if that is what is meant by "Patient Cottat")
Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé from Bougeois
Costière de Nîmes from Ch. de Nages
Ch. Thieuley
Both Schlumbergers
? Apremont

Given your requirement, however, that the wines should be crowd pleasers, I would delete the Savennières, as Dale says, also the Cotat Sancerre, because they are tough when young, and perhaps the Rieslings which tend to be geek preference, elegant and charming though the Weinbach offerings are.

That doesn't leave much. The Nages and Thieuley can be dull for geek palates but are dependable.

Sancerre from Pascal Cotat (if that is what is meant by "Patient Cottat")

Tim, I think she got it right, this is another producer, my one Patient Cottat memory didn't impress

Sancerre from Pascal Cotat (if that is what is meant by "Patient Cottat")

Tim, I think she got it right, this is another producer, my one Patient Cottat memory didn't impress

Yes, one click on Google confirms that you are right, Dale. Sorry for raising false hopes. I wonder if this is a real name; it sounds as if it has been devised in order to get a cheap ride on the back of Pascal Cotat's repuatation.

Alsce can be a happy hunting ground for non-geeks (yet who might not have any experience there). Thus maybe 2 from there, including 1 gewurz purely for it's 'in your face' impact. Maybe make the other one a Pinot Gris to make the comparison with the popularity of Pinot Grigio (and how that is often neutral, whereas Alsace Pinot Gris has more texture)

Tempting to put both a Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in there as the old-world pre-cursor to NZ Sauvignon Blanc.

Any Loire sweeties in their range? Not usually too expensive and can impress.

I'd be tempted by the Guigal if only for the potential availability - it is a name that might stick (granted not the BEST reason for including a wine ).

regards

Ian

[Jenise]

Jenise, that's a pretty uninspiring choice .

Isn't it? But yes re the Theo, it's the Riesling. That was one of the few on this list that I knew and had any confidence in (would trust any Weinbach product, really, but this is the only one that popped up).

Ian, I agree on the gewurz, we must include one. The Guigal can be a good choice--but Guigals are so varied, would be hard pressed to buy without some knowledge of what the current vintage is like. How hot was 07? Oh--another California vintage, isn't it. Maybe that's not such a good choice? The 03 sucked.

Oh, and I just remembered that elsewhere in town I can get the 06 Huet Lieu-dit Sec. That would be a great choice, and not too expensive, even though it means I'd be taking some of my business away from the guy we were trying to do business with.

[David M. Bueker]

Jenise,

2007 was warm in the Rhone, but in no way a repeat of 2003. I've really enjoyed the 2007 Cotes du Rhones so far.

[Jenise]

Just wanted to thank everyone for all your inputs--you really made a difference as there are wines here I'd have never selected without guidance or your reccomendations. The tasting hasn't occurred yet, but I did just place my order. And what I decided was that the gem on this list was probably the Weinbach Theo, so I picked that and built the rest of the lineup around it, adding the Engel Gewurz (thanks to David C, Ian and anyone else who recco'd this, must be rare here as there are no notes on Cellar Tracker for this producer) and the Schlumberger Pinot Gris (good producer, and I'll bet the majority of our members have never tasted a quality, European PG). To those I added a wine I didn't give you the option of because it was scribbled in tiny letters between two others on the handwritten, faxed list I have and didn't see it the first time but which I think you'll approve of, especially as a complement to the first three, a Marc Bedrif Vouvray. Since the wines are served not one at a time but all at once, I decided in this go-round to avoid all the Sauvignon Blancs for fear they'd taste like paint stripper when compared horizonally to the other four, so for the final two I went with the rich warm fruit of the Southern Rhone and Guigal's Rhone Blanc, and then opted for the Bernard Apremont, which several of you voted for, out of sheer curiosity. Even bought an extra for myself. The four self-pour pre-tasting wines will be roses from Domaine Sorin and Donjon, and two more that I have yet to select. Hopefully, one will be a Tavel.

So there's the line-up. Again, thanks all for your invaluable help.

Jenise
Yes the Bredif is a good wine and different enough to aid discussion... indeed there is very fine variety in what you've chosen - it should really get people arguing the merits of the different wines.

nice choices!

regards

Ian

The Vacheron would be on my list, along with the simpler Baumard. The Papillon often needs a few years age to break out of its shell. I would serve one of the Savoie wines, not just to be geeky, but because they are interesting.

Are you sure the Ferraton is a blanc? I had not been aware that C-H can be blanc.

Sorry to be late to the party. It sounds like a great lineup you chose. For future reference though, I can't recommend the Domaine D'Astruc whites highly enough. They are all crazy good for the price. Try the Viognier. It has great restraint, with rather cardamom-like notes on the nose. It might not fool you for a Condrieu, but for $10, I'd put it up to anything from Washington.

Last year I attended a Roussanne tasting with a very fancy group of Seattle industry folk. We blind tasted several Chateauneuf Blancs, as well as entries from California and Washington. Someone threw in a ringer, the Domaine D'Astruc Marsanne, and it easily won the tasting. Of course, a lot of the wines were blends, and probably a lot of them had some Marsanne in them, making it a little harder to catch the difference in variety, but still, a Marsanne that has the verve to pass as a Roussanne is a pretty impressive thing to me!

[Jenise]

The Vacheron would be on my list, along with the simpler Baumard. The Papillon often needs a few years age to break out of its shell. I would serve one of the Savoie wines, not just to be geeky, but because they are interesting.

Are you sure the Ferraton is a blanc? I had not been aware that C-H can be blanc.

Re the Ferraton, the list I have was complied by a Distributor and others added to it, so where I suppose they could be wrong about their product, I dunno! I've never seen a Crozes white either, but I don't know why they wouldn't exist even if we rarely see them over here.

[Jenise]

Sorry to be late to the party. It sounds like a great lineup you chose. For future reference though, I can't recommend the Domaine D'Astruc whites highly enough. They are all crazy good for the price. Try the Viognier. It has great restraint, with rather cardamom-like notes on the nose. It might not fool you for a Condrieu, but for $10, I'd put it up to anything from Washington.

Last year I attended a Roussanne tasting with a very fancy group of Seattle industry folk. We blind tasted several Chateauneuf Blancs, as well as entries from California and Washington. Someone threw in a ringer, the Domaine D'Astruc Marsanne, and it easily won the tasting. Of course, a lot of the wines were blends, and probably a lot of them had some Marsanne in them, making it a little harder to catch the difference in variety, but still, a Marsanne that has the verve to pass as a Roussanne is a pretty impressive thing to me!

Wow, that IS impressive! I'm sorry I didn't hear from you sooner. I love to show off this kind of value. I'll make a point of trying them myself if/when I trip over some.

Baumard is almost always very good; I've enjoyed everything I've ever tried from Henri Bourgeois and wish I could find it more often. I've not had the Thevenot Aligote, but I've enjoyed the reds. Would be interesting to try the Lurton Viognier.. same family as d'Yquem, no???