Mondeuse, is there any in your area?

TN: 2012 Domaine de L`Idylle Mondeuse Vin de Savoie.

Cellared 2 yrs, price unknown, good natural cork, 14% alc. Opened 3 hrs, drank over 2 days.

Color is pale dull strawberry with watery rim. Nose is a tad closed over the time open but "would have guessed Gamay" from a wine store owner I was visiting. Some floral notes on day 2 but could not find a lot going on
Initial entry thought is savoury, spice, Rhone-like. Pepper, red fruits, good tannins, plum. Cherry later, good acidity, not a lot of ripe fruit here. "Tart" from across the table as we finished the wine off. Needs food to help it along, I am intrigued to find more but at a price I guess?

Savoie wines used to be cheap, but now pricier. Chambers in NYC usually has several, but now in $25-35 range.

[David M. Bueker]

The Lagier Meredith is good, but runs in the $40s.

Mondeuse, which I love in its unoaked versions, is surprisingly hard to come by here in Normandy. I grab one whenever I see one from a producer whose name is familiar. (BEWARE of proliferating Quénard estates with different standards!) Prices are usually in the lower Euro teens, occasionally less.

[Jenise]

I bought the only bottle of Mondeuse I've ever seen, Bob, about ten years ago, a Dressner import. Not common round here at all.

From the archives.

So lets move on the newly released 2016 Mondeuse from Clos Idyll. Check my notes above on the 2012.

2016 Domaine de L`Idylle Mondeuse Noir Vin de Savoie.

11.5% alc, good nat cork, decanted one hour, $28 Cdn, always a nice presentation label. Medium depth in color, violets and pepper on the nose, earthy for sure. Initial entry thought is quite acidic and tart with a bitter touch on the finish. "Picked too early" from across the table. Fruit hard to discern here and not much evolvment overnight either. Too young, tannins to the forefront and not a lot of fun. Satay pork skewers and rice was served alongside. Expected more.

Like you, I guess that your 2016 was too young, Bob. Here is a TN on a delightful 4 year old Mondeuse which I picked up a few months ago.

2013 Domaine Dupasquier Vin de Savoie Mondeuse - France, Savoie, Vin de Savoie (8/7/2017)
Quite lightly and transparently coloured and medium- bodied at most, this wine delighted with its pepper sprinkled savoury complexioned sour cherry fruit, lively minerals and acidity and persistent flavour. Some kinship with a lighter N.Rhône with a pepper jar spilled into it. Good+.

The Lagier Meredith is good, but runs in the $40s.

But, David....that's a world-class Mondeuse!!!

I love Mondeuse. It's a grape they should be planting all up&down the Coast of Calif. To me,
Mondeuse has an herbal character that reminds me of rosemary & thyme, a bit on the pungent side.
I get that in the L-M and most of the Savoie Mondeuse. The L-M has more structure than most from the
Savoie, but doesn't have that slightly rustic/earthy/loamy character of those from the Savoie.
One of my favorite grapes...better than any Cabernet or Pinot.
Tom (trolling David only a little bit)