Always fun to head across the Bay for a tasting, and when it's chenin blanc the opportunities to learn are endless. So it was with a recent Thursday tasting of seven different chenins at Arlequin. A superb lineup.
First up the NV François Pinon Vouvray Pétillant Brut was pure but very earthy/dirty and quite intense. I appreciated it, but more intellectually than pure pleasure points and other didn't care for it at all. Kind of cava-like in its intensity event if the bubbles offered a frothy cleansing element to the wine. The 2008 François Pinon Vouvray Silex Noir, however, wowed many at the tasting, including yours truly. Texture of the gods, slightly tangy with integrated richness, fantastic focus. The wine has presence and won me over without a doubt. The 2008 Clos Briderie Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos de Volagre, on the other hand, felt more approachable, more rounded, and felt like a simpler more fruit-driven wine with lots of tangy funness—though some thought the order might make one underestimate how beautifully delicious this wine was. Perhaps. The 2008 Foxen Santa Maria Valley Chenin Blanc Ernesto Wickenden had lots more hay and green grass as opposed to the crayon and licorice of the previous wines and had a spicy richness that appealed along with its softness, but almost felt at times like the alcohol was peeking through. It was among august company, though, and it held its own. The 2006 Domaine du Closel-Chateau des Vaults Savennières La Jalousie is a masterpiece. Superb depth, dark cassis elements, pure, elegant and delicate. Utterly beautiful. Stony. Ashy. Ahh, chenin, we really should get together more often, shouldn't we? The 2008 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir L'Effraie perhaps was another victim of order? It struck me as bright and cherried. Fun but without that Je ne sais quoi—or so it seemed. Had great luck with this producer before, so not sure if this vintage (which evidently was a challenging one in the Loire, anyone know?) kept up to snuff. My feelings on the 2008 Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Mont seemed to divide from others in the room. I found its bare sweetness made the wine feel like it was pulled in two directions without resolution. The pure pearwater effect was quite nice, but the wine just didn't feel resolved to me. Others delighted in its delicious intensity and just plain pure deliciousness, however, so there's plenty to appreciate there. Seven chenin. A Thursday indeed!