TN: Two Whites...(short/boring)

Tried last night w/ simple pasta:
1. Curran GWT SantaYnezVlly/SantaBarbaraCnty (14.1%; http://www.CurranWines.com) 2006: Pale yellow color; strong lychee/cheap hair oil/spicy/GWT very attractive/perfumed nose; tart totally dry ripe/lush/rich very spicy/GWT/lychee slightly bitter flavor; med.long totally dry hair oil/lychee/GWT bit bitter finish; loads of lychee/GWT varietal character; terrific GWT and competes well w/ any Alsatians. Fairly priced at $26.00
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2. Domaine Roc Chateau Vieux Chard VdP du Jardin de la France/Loire (12.5%) Pierre Chainier/France 2005: Light yellow color; rather chalky/minerally some appley/lean/Chard pleasant nose; tart chalky/minerally/metallic bright/crisp/appley/Chard simple flavor; med.short metallic/minerally/chalky light appley/Chard finish; lots of Loire minerally terroir; pleasant Chard for $12.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. GWT: I was quite taken by ChrisCurran's GWT. It is probably the 3'rd best Calif GWT I've ever had. I thought it stood up to most Alsace GWT in the $16-$30 price range. The beauty of this GWT is that it seemed totally dry. Most Calif GWT are finished w/ a bit of r.s. to take the edge off the bitterness. They are often pleasant to drink at first, but become rather tiring on the palate. This one had a bright/zippy acidity and no r.s. that I could tell. A really lovely GWT I thought.
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2. Calif GWT: The Navarro's are generally my favorite of the dry Calif GWTs. But easily the two best I've had were DavidBruce Mendocino GWT '78 and '79. The first one was a typically DavidBruce weird wine. Like he did with his SCM WhiteRiesling, he barrel fermented it and barrel aged it in new/toasty French oak. It was 14+% alcohol, totally dry, and very Chard-like in nose and palate except for this powerful GWT character. I loved this wine for its uniqueness. Stodgy old traditionalists hated it because this was not how GWT was "supposed" to taste.
The '79 was a whole nuther beast. It was a dead-ringer for GREAT Alsatian GWT, like Hugel/Clos Gaenesbronnel or Bott Freres (remember, this was afore Z-H had totally corrupted what was then Alsatian GWT). Maybe a light touch of oak, but powerfully fragrant and huge lychee/spicy/GWT fruit. The likes of that wine, alas, has never since been seen in Calif.
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3. LoireChard: I was, of course, shocked and apalled that they are making Chard in the LoireVlly. Though labelled Vin du Pays du Jardin de la France, it had Loire in large letters just beneath. For gawd's sake...this is the Loire. This is supposed to be CheninBlanc and SauvBlanc. Have these Frenchmen NO respect for tradition. What is next?? Cabernet in the Loire? SauvBlanc in Burgundy? Zinfandel in the Languedoc?? Even though the wine was a very nice Loire white at a very fair price; it is utterly disgusting that they are now making international varieties like Chard in my beloved Loire. Arggghhhh...these Frenchmen!!
TomHill

I was, of course, shocked and apalled that they are making Chard in the LoireVlly. Though labelled Vin du Pays du Jardin de la France, it had Loire in large letters just beneath. For gawd's sake...this is the Loire. This is supposed to be CheninBlanc and SauvBlanc. Have these Frenchmen NO respect for tradition. What is next?? Cabernet in the Loire? SauvBlanc in Burgundy? Zinfandel in the Languedoc?? Even though the wine was a very nice Loire white at a very fair price; it is utterly disgusting that they are now making international varieties like Chard in my beloved Loire. Arggghhhh...these Frenchmen!!

I totally share your sentiments in general, Tom, though I would note that conventional white Cheverny (as opposed to Cour-Cheverny) is normally a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, so the grape has been grown in the region for some time, albeit in small quantities. I just hope this producer is using some excess grapes grown in Cheverny as opposed to someone planting new chardonnay grapes somewhere in the region.

international varieties like Chard

What do you mean "international" varieties?

I thought chardonnay was French, and originated just a few miles/kilometers to the east of the Loire in Burgundy.

Why not the same indignation over the Pinot Noir they produce there?

Puhleeze! I love the Pinot Noir from Sancerre and Menetou-Salon, it's as far from internationalized winemaking as you can get, and it's no recent development -- by law, the only reds from those appellations have to be 100 percent PN.

What is next?? Cabernet in the Loire?

I just counted 26 bottles of Loire Cabernet in my cellar, but I don't think it is the same Cab that you are referring to.

I tried a dry Oregon Gewurz yesterday that failed for many of the reasons you mentioned. Too hot, low acidity, and not that great a nose which is a big shame for an aromatic variety like GW. Nice notes, BTW.