This one has a lot of stuff on the label. It's Vouvray. It's sec. It's "Cuvee Silex". It's vendanges manuelle. It's 2009. It's 13% alcohol. We have a "Vin issu de raisins de l'agriculture biologique". There's an address, a country of origin, "white Loire wine", and it goes on and on. I picked it up at the corner grocery store for $19 or so. Tonight seemed like a good (if way early) time to open it as we were having scallops with a ginger-garlic-cilantro cream sauce for supper.
Pale straw yellow in the glass. Bright aromas of pineapple, pear, and honey. In the mouth, there's a quick initial hit of sweet peach blossoms and pear and a bit of oiliness. It very quickly firms up and the mid-palate has the fruit suddenly giving way to stony acidity. Finishes dry with a hint of the fruit and a touch of bitterness hanging on.
This was absolutely great with the scallop dish. It's very tasty and interesting wine with a lot going on in it. Overall, though, it really needs a few years. The acid-minerality and sweet fruit don't really battle it out, but they are a bit like a couple of Fox News pundits trying to out-shout each other. Give this stuff some time and I'm sure they'll settle down and sing "Kumbaya".