2006 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir L'Effraie [Chenin Blanc] (Coteaux du Loir AOC, upper Loire Valley, northwestern France) cork closure, 13.5% - imported to USA by Louis/Dressner Selections, LDM Wines, New York, New York - appears darker gold, smells like riesling on initial take, lots of peach little lime, as it opens up (and it takes hours) get lots more interesting complexity, taste tiny bit fizz and quite a bit of thickness, great concentration followed by lite stones, tiny hint of age, initial impression is posistive but indicates little reason to rush, after 3 to 5 hours it really opens, rich honey and wax, background sweetness matched by fantastic depth, depth grows over days two and three, worth drinking in moderate doses at room temperature with lots of air, this wine brought me a lot of pleasure, plenty of stuffing at first, but so much more enjoyable as wine unwound, richness, spices, complexity, fantastic roundedness, yum, a splurge going in at $33, but well worth it's ability to shelve and revisit over days, my kind of mini-splurge wine.
2007 Meulenhof Mosel Riesling (Mosel, Germany) screwcap closure, 9.5% - imported to USA by Terry Theise selection/Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, New York - appears green gold, tons of embedded spritz, smell simple freshly cut green apple, taste tangy sweet, lively acid, back and forth between acid and sweetness, delicious, really beautifully clean, slight rock, delicious easy drinking wine, a fantastic simple riesling it is quite enjoyable to guzzle, at $21 for a liter, a fantastic Friday night wine to perfectly accompany one of Bakesale Betty's signature fried chicken sandwiches. Yum!
2006 Huet Vouvray Sec Le Mont [Chenin Blanc] (Vouvray AOC, Touraine, Loire Valley northwestern France) cork closure, 12% - imported to USA by Robert Chadderon Selections, New York, New York - appears yellow gold, smell watermelon and raspberry, fantastic nose, opens nicely especially after 3 hours open, taste viscous, rich, flows like silver, rich and dry, very poised tangy stone, very very refined, loved it when I opened it, loved it more as it opened up and loved it best after 24 hours with just the tiniest bit of chill, the dry richness has settled down and the firmly drawn lines are amazing structure for the wine, the wine is intense, but it's intensity stays perfectly within those lines, at $33 another splurge, but a useful contrast to the Effraie from a few days earlier--the Mont is less exuberant, less youthful--a bit more elegant; both are fantastic wines--my fascination with chenin blanc continues.
