WTN: Recent wines and Vatan

2008 Masi, Modello:
This is all or mostly refosco and is a lip smacking, thoroughly quaffable red for about $9. Perfect for lasagna, pizza or other red sauced food. Drink now.

2007 Drouhin, Chablis:
Tight when first opened but it got going after about a half an hour; crisp, stony, of its place and mouth-watering. Very nice wine for less than $25.

2007 Saintsbury, Pinot Noir Garnet:
This is up to $22 and, for my taste, is generic and barely worth the effort. Not something I’d buy again.

2007 Guy Saget, Muscadet:
About $11 and pretty non-descript – when there are so many good Muscadet around, this is a waste.

2007 Matrot, Meursault (375 ml):
Screw-capped, $10 and so much better than the price suggests. Lots of stuffing, good complexity, flint and nuts amidst taut chardonnay fruit. Excellent and what a deal!

2007 Drouhin, Saint Veran:
Around $18 (I’m trying to convert euro to dollars in my head – bad craziness) and shockingly delicious. Clean, pure scents and flavors, moderate complexity and an after-taste that makes me want more. Just plain yummy.

2007 Gonon, St. Joseph:
Under $25 (same conversion thingy) and really good; complex, round, tactile in the mouth and quite a finish. Excellent.

2002 Anne Gros, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits:
Elegant, feminine, intense wine with a real sense of place, good complexity and sustain. A joy to drink. About $25.

2006 Anne Gros, Bourgogne:
Adequate pinot noir from Burgundy without artifice or nuance; nothing more. About $28.

2007 Edmund Vatan, Sancerre Clos la Néore:
Decanted about an hour; I feel a little helpless in describing truly great wine – its as though this rises above its sauvignon blanc variety, and it rises above its Sancerre appellation, to become Vatan – the unique and dazzling expression of the mix of variety, site and a lifetime of work and excellence. It’s tight and gives every evidence of being a several decade wine and yet, the scent, structure and flavor are precise, fresh, complex and balanced to such a degree that I stop eating just to concentrate on the taste. And I find myself waiting longer than I would have expected to pick up my fork again – this doesn’t just finish, it resonates for a time after swallowing. Nothing flamboyant here; no big, plush texture or blockbuster impression – it is controlled yet expansive; soulful, in a way that transcends the written word. And, as luck would have it, I found it at $35/bottle when it is often near twice that.
Oh my!

Best, Jim

thanks for notes, you're in Europe?
The 07 Drouhin St Veran has been yummy indeed, and was about $13 here buying case, great QPR.
I liked the Matrot 07 Bourgogne, will look for the Meursault.
Saintsbury. In the mid-late 90s they were probably my "go to" American PN producer. The Garnet was $12-14 and a great drink now value, the Carneros offered a bit more complexity, and then the Reserve and Brown Ranch were cellar candidates. But something (Saintsbury or me) changed, and I no longer find them very attractive.

[James Roscoe]

After reading the Kladstrups' book Wine and War, I would buy any Drouhin product. That the St. Veran is so good makes me very happy indeed. I will be on the look out for it at my BAWS. They usually get a good deal on Drouhin products. I am hoping we will see it at $13 here too.

[David M. Bueker]

I've had both the Drouhin St. Veran & the Anne Gros Bourgogne. As a dedicated Chardonnay hater I was still impressed by the Drouhin. I liked the Bourgogne more than Jim, but it is very correct.

Dale,
Some of the wines tasted were bought while I was in St. Barts (hence, euros).
Best, Jim