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Wine Focus for February 2018: Open That Bottle Month!

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Rahsaan

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Re: Wine Focus for February 2018: Open That Bottle Month!

by Rahsaan » Wed Feb 21, 2018 5:04 pm

Tim York wrote:
2011 Château Cantemerle - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Haut-Médoc (2/3/2018)

The second consumed the next day demonstrates that regions despised a generation ago as producing no more than "country wines" can now trade punches successfully with GC Bordeaux.

2004 Philippe Alliet Chinon Coteau de Noiré - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (2/4/2018)


Sure, the question is always how deep those regions can go in their competitive offerings.

I suppose the other factor is that styles have changed in Bordeaux since earlier generations, further complicating the comparison.

I've been away from both Bordeaux and Chinon for a while, may get a chance to taste a few in the upcoming weeks. When I did drink them more regularly I preferred the Chinon for freshness, but there was no doubt that they also tended more rustic.
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Re: Wine Focus for February 2018: Open That Bottle Month!

by Tim York » Thu Feb 22, 2018 4:21 am

Rahsaan wrote:I've been away from both Bordeaux and Chinon for a while, may get a chance to taste a few in the upcoming weeks. When I did drink them more regularly I preferred the Chinon for freshness, but there was no doubt that they also tended more rustic.


Hi Rahsaan,

On average I think that it's correct to say that Chinon tends to be more rustic but I don't think that true of top cuvées like this Noiré from Alliet, Dioterie and Chêne Vert from Joguet and Croix Boissée from Baudry, which IMO show great finesse. There can, however, be leathery nuances, particularly in older vintages, which may disturb the brett paranoid. Top Bourgueil cuvées from, say, Yannick Amirault and Jacky Blot can be very fine too as well as Saumur-Champigny from Rougeard, of course, Thierry Germain, Chevallier (Ch.de Villeneuve)...... However, prices seem to be escalating :( .
Tim York
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Re: Wine Focus for February 2018: Open That Bottle Month!

by Rahsaan » Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:14 am

Tim York wrote:
Rahsaan wrote:I've been away from both Bordeaux and Chinon for a while, may get a chance to taste a few in the upcoming weeks. When I did drink them more regularly I preferred the Chinon for freshness, but there was no doubt that they also tended more rustic.


Hi Rahsaan,

On average I think that it's correct to say that Chinon tends to be more rustic but I don't think that true of top cuvées like this Noiré from Alliet, Dioterie and Chêne Vert from Joguet and Croix Boissée from Baudry, which IMO show great finesse. There can, however, be leathery nuances, particularly in older vintages, which may disturb the brett paranoid. Top Bourgueil cuvées from, say, Yannick Amirault and Jacky Blot can be very fine too as well as Saumur-Champigny from Rougeard, of course, Thierry Germain, Chevallier (Ch.de Villeneuve)...... However, prices seem to be escalating :( .


Sure. And maybe rustic is a loaded word. But even top cuvées from Joguet and Baudry are crisper and don't show the same depth as similarly-ranked Bordeaux. Which is why I tend to like them more. Just noting that there is something to regional differences!

And prices are escalating, but I don't think Baudry has gone up as much as perhaps it should have. Maybe one day!
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Re: Wine Focus for February 2018: Open That Bottle Month!

by Tim York » Thu Feb 22, 2018 4:07 pm

Rahsaan wrote:And prices are escalating, but I don't think Baudry has gone up as much as perhaps it should have. Maybe one day!


Baudry's La Croix Boissée and Alliet's Noiré 2014 or 2015 are both listed at c.€24 at a caviste from whom I have occasionally bought; also Jacky Blot's Bourgueil Mi-Pente. Thierry Germain's Saumur-Champigny Marginale is in the mid-30s and some of his cuvées parcellaires cost more. These prices represent substantial increases on a few years ago but still are excellent value for the quality on offer. Rougeard's prices have become stratospheric.

Buy while they are still affordable :D .
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Re: Wine Focus for February 2018: Open That Bottle Month!

by David M. Bueker » Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:22 pm

Someday soon these will all be gone...

1989 Edmunds St. John Les Côtes Sauvages - USA, California (2/25/2018)
It’s not often, but sometimes an old wine brings more than just a pleasing compilation of old wine character. Sometimes there is a palate sweetness that has little to do with fruit, and more to do with the softening and integration of everything that was in the wine when it was young. Then there’s a perfume that is more than dried leaves and damp earth. It’s a synthesis of dried flowers, spices, fruit essence and all the earthy elements as well. It’s captivating, begging for another sniff, another sip. It’s savory along with the sweet. Then it’s gone. The bottle is finished, and what’s left are memories and taste ideals that are almost impossible to meet, much less exceed. Yet the experience was that special, and the memories remain rewarding as long as they c
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Re: Wine Focus for February 2018: Open That Bottle Month!

by Joe Moryl » Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:35 pm

This is a bottle that was being saved for something special, so we drank it last week at a fancy BYO:

2008 Niepoort Charme, Douro:

This is one of the top wines at Niepoort, and the aim is to produce a more elegant style of Douro wine. Old vines from a prime location. Color is a light, bright cherry red, which is unusual for this region. Extremely fragrant, possibly due to the large percentage of Touriga Franca (which with Tinta Roriz, aka Tempranillo, make up most of the blend). The wine was slightly cloudy in the glass, despite our attempts to bring it gently upright to our destination. Unlike a lot of Douro wines heavy in Touriga Nacional, this does obtain a certain Burgundian elegance, with bright cherry fruit and some balsamic notes. It seems quite primary despite being 10 years old, and still overly marked by oak for me. Perhaps some further aging would tame the wood and allow some additional nuances to emerge. An interesting interpretation, but not totally worth the steep price, IMO.
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