A memorable tasting and dinner at home with a group of old and new friends. Marcia outdid herself and made a small, delicate dish to go with each wine. Every component meshed and delivered, inspiring the conversation into an ascending spiral of camaraderie. There's a glow when everything fits just so.
2007 Luneau-Papin Gros Plant du Pays Nantais VV Sur Lie 11.0%
Chalk, slate, grapefruit, white flowers. Fresh as a daisy in heat. Lovely tongue tickling acidity and vibrant fruit. Crystal clear, like a Laura Cantrell song.
2005 François Chidaine Montlouis Les Choisilles 14.0%
Intense nose, very minerally, supercharged with grapefruit and white flowers. Lovely texture and thickness, the nearly off-dry sweetness offset by a deftly bitter orange pekoe finish. Smoky and slightly hot from the alcohol. Could have used a bit more acidity, and perhaps time.
2006 Jacques Puffeney Arbois Poulsard M 12.5%
The color of a darker rosé. Strawberry and cloves. Vibrant acidity, matched by brash fruit, closer to cherry in the mouth. Initially there’s an objectionable gloss to the sweetness, like cherry cola, but with air and food this straightens itself out. Still prefer Overnoy/Houillon in the Poulsard sweepstakes.
2007 Jacques Puffeney Arbois Trousseau Les Berangères 13.0%
Cherry, cloves and spices. Delicious acidity, perfect balance, satisfying body. Serious and elegant. A thingamabob of beauty. In the right hands, what a grape this is. Puffeney and Tissot trousseaus both rock in the cradle.
2007 Jacques Puffeney Arbois Pinot Noir 13.0%
Deep dark berry aromas with leather, resin and cloves. Terrific acidity and mouth feel. Classy yet savage. Hard to pick between this and the previous, but I’ll go with the underdog.
1997 Domaine du Clos Naudin/Foreau Vouvray Moelleux 13.0%
Apricots, peaches, almonds, white flowers, botrytis, the sweetness kept in check by a lovely bitterness and sufficient acidity. Quite the closing chord.