These are belated notes from dinner last month with an extended set of family members.
N.V. François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Méthode Traditionelle. This is a really interesting wine, with a nose of struck match, nutty nougat, copper, dark ginger and toasted citrus peel, with perhaps a bit of sweetness riding just below the surface. There is great acidity to this in the mouth that’s evident right from the moment it hits your palate. It is lively all the way through, ending with a finish that is nervy and mineral-laden. In the middle, though, it is nutty and darkly yeasty, with notes of peach pit, dark citrus and brown spices that just work real well together. This is just great value in sparkling wine.
2007 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Sauvignon No. 2. This is not especially complex or giving on the nose, featuring taut aromas of melon, peach, lemon and granite that are initially grassy and twangy but mellow out with time and let the fruit come forward more. In the mouth, it is tightly-coiled and smoky, with notes of flint right up front and slightly creamier white peach and melon through the middle. It stays a bit narrow, but has an even-keeled and classy finish. It is a wine with everything in moderation and proportion, but could probably use some more time to perhaps find greater breadth.
2006 François Chidaine Vouvray Les Argiles. This wine smells of lemon oil, mineral spirits, wax candy, Earl Grey tea, quinine and bits of dried tropical fruit cubes found in trail mixes. In the mouth, it is super-crisp and seemingly bone-dry—with a light and airy yet firmly mineral-driven personality. The minerality is just such a core part of this, accompanied by flavors of lemon/lime, white peach, smoke and botanical herbs that slowly come in with air. It is linear and tightly-focused, though it slowly fleshes out a bit while staying true to its core character throughout the whole evening. It is not particularly complex or giving right now, and I’d be curious to see what a few years in the cellar would do for this wine.
2008 La Caplana Gavi Gavi di Gavi. This wine starts out poised and focused, with crisp and tart aromas of minerals, peach, lemon zest, green grapes, white pepper and chalk dust. It turns more to orange blossom, honey and yellow gumdrop as it warms and takes on more air. It takes some time to get there, but winds up rather pretty. It is tart at first, slowing getting just a bit more creamy and fleshed out with food, but staying the course with its lemon ball and mineral-flavored core. It turns a bit sunnier and more lifted on the finish, where it reminds me of a refreshing Greco di Tufo. Nice QPR here.
2008 Vollenweider Kröver Steffensberg Riesling Spätlese. This young wine is still taut and tensile on the nose, giving up just small-scale aromas of apple, white flowers, lime zest, peach fuzz and river stones at this point. I am used to Vollenweider being more effusive at a young age, so I was a bit surprised to find this less giving than expected. In the mouth, though, it is more in line with expectations. It tastes very strongly of fresh apple flesh at first, slowly folding in rich layers of peach preserve, citrusy gelatin and more of a raw apple juice or applesauce quality over time. It is rather even-textured, feeling pure and polished and youthfully direct, with just enough acidity present. It has a full, fanned-out finish that has less cut than one might want, but otherwise this is a very nice-tasting wine that needs a bit of time to find its aromatic footing
2007 Jean-Paul Thevenet Morgon Vieilles Vignes. There are gorgeous aromatics to this young wine. Abundant scents of earth, leather, dried blood, black tea and mushrooms create a base for pretty top notes of dried black cherry and rhubarb pie. It feels airy and ethereal in the mouth, with a lovely lacey texture despite all of the down to earth flavors of leather, iron filings, black tea, soil and tingly barrel spices. The dark-toned fruit is sort of hit and run right now, with the mineral and leather elements really steering the ship. The texture is really lovely, with a smooth easy feel and not a whole lot of tannins present until about the 1 hour mark. The finish is a touch bitter, with wisps of smoke and barrel char needing a bit of time to better integrate. Otherwise, though, this is an airy, spectral wine married to smooth and polished fruit in a really personality-driven package that is quite memorable.
1996 Louis Jadot Pommard. The nose here is pretty and light, with earth and worn leather aromas buttressing bright spiced berries and smoky leafy bits. Over time, the fruit falls back and some jalapeno, ash and red flower petal notes come to the fore. In the mouth, it is totally resolved of tannin and while the acidity is obvious, it has not yet over-run the fruit. There is still some charm to the red berry fruit and red flower elements, and while the wine is not especially fleshy or grippy, it does still have decent intensity and tight persistence. It surely isn’t getting any better, but it still has a bit of pleasure to deliver.
-Michael