Quarts de Chaume is one of the most famous of the Loire appellations for sweet, botrytis-affected chenin blanc. Perhaps THE most famous.
This wine is a prime example of why it is so famous.
The color is a pure, burnished gold. It says, "prepare yourself for something special."
Now we take a sniff at the aroma of the wine. The wine's aroma jumps out of the glass to meet your nose. This is phenomenal. It's ethereal. It takes you to other planes of existence. The aroma profoundly declaims, I am chenin blanc. Worship me! I'm not going to try to dissect it further. This is the aroma of the chenin blanc grape variety. But wait--there's more. There's that honeyed hint of botrytis there, too. It all says you're in for a treat once you actually put the wine in your mouth.
So we take a sip. The mouth feel is thickish, as befits a dessert wine. It is sweet. And the flavors of chenin blanc and of botrytis, perfectly married, dance over the palate. Oranges, lemons, pineapple, and yes, grapes, are all there in a sensory overload.
Without acidity, this would be cloying and overbearing. It isn't. The acid balance is perfect. It keeps the flavors dancing on the tongue long after you've swallowed the wine, and it forces the flavors to the fore in that "peacock's tail" finish that one hopes for in a great sweet wine.
The flavor lingers on the tongue for minutes after you've swallowed the wine.
This is a great Quarts de Chaume at its peak.
Triple Curly and extra woo woo! (I'm reserving one "woo" for possible better wines in the future.)
-Paul W.