Off to Umami Burger for a little vino and burgers. This was a very fun and thorough enjoyable tasting. Since Loire is a favorite, I was quite pleased by both the performance and the quality of the wines, especially the Chidaine and Boulay wines. The 2005 Gérard Boulay Sancerre Monts Damnés was quite rich. Not what I would describe as light on its feet. It was balanced and showed remarkable depth and structure. I'd place it somewhere in between E. Vatan and Reverdy in style, yet closer to the later. An excellent wine, but certainly not what one usually finds in Sancerre. Both wines from Chidaine were incredible. The 2008 Chidaine Montlouis Clos Habert is one of the greatest Clos Haberts yet. It is a kaleidoscope of flavors, with amazing depth and length. It's stunning right now and hard to keep from popping corks. The 2008 Chidaine Vouvray Le Bouchet is another winner though I don't have as much experience with this cuvee. The minerality was tremendous and clearly masked any RS, which I believe this wine usually has (demi-sec?). I think this wine needs a little time to integrate all the elements. I would give it 2-3 yrs.
On to 2009 Beaujolais which I was eagerly anticipating. After reading so many valuable TNs on the interwebs, I had a good handle on what needed air and what could be p'n'p. The 2009 Lapierre Morgon is a beauty. We popped and poured and it showed quite well immediately. Certainly not as fat as others in the flight, this wine is already elegant and graceful. Down the road this will turn even prettier. Next up the 2009 Drouhin Morgon which was also p'n'p. This was sweet, fat, unmistakable of the Beaujolais in that the fruit is clearly Gamay with that grapey soil meets dark spice element. Not sure what to make of this as I've never had Drouhin's Beaujolais. John Gilman sure loved it so perhaps there is potential I'm not aware of. I'd be most interested to see how this evolves and like said it is quite affordable. Now on to the two wines I was most excited about trying. The 2009 Foillard Morgon Côte du Py was double decanted seeing 5 hours in the decanter prior to the tasting. Having fallen head over heels for the 2007 and skipping the 2008 as it just didn't carry the depth of 2007, I was really anticipating the 2009. I was not disappointing as I took my first whiff. Ahh...spice, brambly dark cherry fruits with a refined and marked Pinot character. This was nice, but clearly carrying lots of baby fat. This wine should eclipse the 2007 with time and will be an eye-opening ringer in upcoming EWG Burg flights. Our last wine is a wine I know well, the 2009 JP Brun (Terres Dorres) Morgon. Past wines have captivated me for its great structure and focused fruit. Brun's Morgon is a food wine. So this wine got a slow O2 decant, in the bottle for 24 hours. This definitely was necessary as the wine still showed a bit tight. Some of the spice came through, but this has structure for days. The 2008 is drinking quite well right now. In comparison, this wine needs 5 years to begin to show its charms. It will compete with the best 2009s from Morgon once it reaches maturity. I can't wait. Personally, these wines were a nice example of 2009 Morgon. I've had the Thevenet and feel it is showing the best at this early age. I'm happy to have a good chunk of these wines in the cellar and look forward to following their evolution.
Our next flight was Rioja. First up was the 1968 Viña Valoria Rioja . This was in one of those giant, big bad, heavy 750ml bottles, which seemed to be a current bottling. My first whiff gave nothing. When I returned, I got a whiff of what I thought was TCA. It's tough to tell sometimes with older bottles, so I kept the glass nearby. Returning sometime later, still nothing on the nose and palate tasted very muted. I was certain this was mildly TCA'd but others were not convinced. Unfortunately, this never gave up the goods, so I marked it as damaged. On to the 2001 Bodegas Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea. Oh yeah, this is not damaged! Wow this was beautiful. Just a tremendous wine with wonderful complexity, savory and leather saddle with supporting acidity and round tannins. Always evolving in the glass, the Prado Enea is just flat out wonderful Rioja. A touch of dill wood still needs to integrate, and I'm confident it will. This was my favorite wine of the evening just edging out the Clos Habert. One more Rioja to go. The 2004 Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga Reserva was young, oaky, tight, closed up and unforgiving. Nothing to really say other than 5 yrs it might show some of its charms.
Both of the Coteaux du Layon sweet wines were nice, but I didn't really spend a lot of time with either. The 1990 Baumard Clos de Sainte Catherine was as expected darker and deeper than the younger 2005. Showing rich honeyed notes and layers of stone fruit. I agree with my cohorts with the lack of acidity. The 2004 Baumard Clos de Sainte Catherine was indeed sweeter and very young. It should develop nicely as there seemed to be more acidity and focused fruit.
Good stuff!!