WTN: 4 wines I like - 3 Loire, 1 Burg

Tuesday with a veal chop, 2008 Brulees/Auge "L'Erebe " (VdT). Crown-capped, red plums and cassis, fresh, good acidity, moderate tanins. Good mouthfeel, good length. B+

Wednesday I had a board meeting, so no wine opened (though leftovers sampled when I got home late).

Thursday Betsy was back in kitchen with pasta with littleneck clams and breadcrumbs (from an old Saveur) and roasted kale. Wine was the 2007 Huet "Clos de Bourg" Vouvray Sec. Sec, but not austere, there is a definite hint of sugar. A bit tight at first, opens into a full-bodied muscular Chenin, broad apple fruit with earth and a little wax. Really nice wine, gets better and better through evening. A-

Friday felt like a glass of red when I got home, went with the 2008 Drouhin Cote de Nuits-Villages. Bright cherry fruit, a little herb, light bodied Pinot with barely perceptible tannins that drinks well right now. Tasty, easy. B

Dinner was a Biba Caggiano recipe for roasted cod with potatoes, wine was the 2007 Pascal Cotat "Les Monts Damnes" Sancerre. Zesty citrus and white pit fruit, good acids, great length. No stereotypical grassy or catpee notes, but still what I'd regard as classic SB character - fresh, bold, with a green edge behind white fruit. A-/B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency. 

2007 Huet "Clos de Bourg" Vouvray Sec. Sec, but not austere, there is a definite hint of sugar. A bit tight at first, opens into a full-bodied muscular Chenin, broad apple fruit with earth and a little wax. Really nice wine, gets better and better through evening 

I don't drink as much Huet as some folks but I had a bottle of 07 Le Mont Sec early this summer (May?) that was pretty shut down. Nice to hear that this shows better.

Nice dinner ... and good wines.
I like the Cotat wines, both guys. Although, I thought that the Pascal Cotat 2007 "L-M-D" would need more years, as that high acidity and that "bold and green edge", I figured, may need to setlle down a bit with cellar time. But then again, I was thrown a big curve when in September, I opened a 2008 Francois Cotat "Les Culs de Beaujeu" that drank very well.

Dale,
Question for you. When we were in the Loire a few years ago I picked up a Huet '04 Le Mont Sec. I like Vouvray and am comfortable with pairings, etc.
But I would like your advice as to when I should drink this and with what you pair it. TIA.

Rahsaan, I wasn't precise in note, it was tight when I opened, but I decanted it, and it opened pretty quickly at that point.
Ramon, I do think this will age well, but sometimes you just feel like opening it now. I've got more.
Richard, I'm scarcely a Huet expert, maybe Rahsaan or someone. I don't have any '04, but I've found in my limited experience that the secs age better than I would have thought- 89 LHL was delicious even from half recently. Pretty versatile food wine-this went well with cod and potatoes, but would do great with chicken I'd think. Good acidity if you needed something to cut a rich sauce. I remember a good pairing with a smoked trout salad.

Rahsaan, I wasn't precise in note, it was tight when I opened, but I decanted it, and it opened pretty quickly at that point..

Nice to know. But my Le Mont got even tighter and more difficult over 24 hours. The joy of different wines!

The 2005 Huet Le Haut Lieu Sec I opened two or three nights ago was sleeping soundly. It's hard to know when Huet Secs are going to close down but often they do just that by about the fifth year, so I shouldn't have been surprised. I'll try to keep my hands off the remaining bottles of this for another five years or so. These things are so good on release that sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be best to drink them up in the first couple of years.

The 2005 Huet Le Haut Lieu Sec I opened two or three nights ago was sleeping soundly

I've had even worse experiences with Huet 05 secs than Huet 07s in recent months. Definitely shut down.

These things are so good on release that sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be best to drink them up in the first couple of years.

It all depends on how you like to drink them. And how much time you have to spare!

When do you think the 05s are going to open up, Rahsaan?

Here's one way to get a general impression of when Huet Secs may reopen. Go to Cellar-Tracker and type Huet Le Haut Lieu Sec. (Don't include a year.) This will get you fourteen pages of data. Of course you can do the same thing with Huet Le Mont Sec, etc.

When do you think the 05s are going to open up, Rahsaan?

No idea. I don't have enough experience to predict that. Plus, there will undoubtedly be many stages of better and worse showings, plus variation across bottles and tasters. Which is why I've never placed much faith in Cellartracker. But maybe I haven't looked closely enough.