Tried these last night:
1. ChaloneVnyd CheninBlanc Chalone (EG; 9 Fr.oak barrels; #1688 of 2735 btls; www.ChaloneVineyard.com; 14.4%) 2007: Med.gold color; lovely minerally/chalky very perfumed/fragrant/spicy very light toasty/oak some floral/carnations/mango very perfumed complex nose; fairly tart quite minerally/chalky/steely light floral/pineapply/spicy/mango very light toasty/smokey/Fr.oak fairly rich/vibrant complex flavor; very long/lingering minerally/chalky/earthy bright floral/carnations/mango/pineapply tart spicy/curry complex complex finish; a Calif Chenin like no other I can recall, not like Loire, not like most tutti-fruiti Calif renditions of Chenin; the kind of wine you want to have one more glass; quite an exceptional wine that will appeal to the AFWE. Attractively priced at $20.00
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2. Dom. de la Garrelieres le Rouge CabFranc AC: Touraine TW (12.5%; Biodynamic) Francois & Pascale Plouzeau 2008: Very dark color; very strong earthy/mushroomy some spicy/cinammon rather herbal/CabFranc quite perfumey nose; fairly tart very earthy/muushroomy/Loire red herbal/CabFranc some spicy/cinammon bit tannic somewhat rustic very interesting flavor; very long herbal/CabFranc/earthy/mushroomy light tannic lovely finish; a really lovely example of a Loire CabFranc that's quite drinkable and doesn't have the hard tannins that many of them have. Delicious wine at a very good price. $15.20
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Chalone: I've been following Chalone wines for many yrs. Back in the '70's, they (and StonyHill & Hanzell) were the GoldStandard for Chard in Calif. One of the greatest Calif Chards I ever had was a '68 at 15 yrs of age. They were all barrel-fermented/barrel-aged and had loads of oak, but the extract and fruit to carry that oak. The PinotBlanc and CheninBlanc was made in the same style and the oak pretty much obliterated any varietal character...which would not be approved of in this day & age.
The vnyd was planted back in 1919. Most of it has been replanted since then. This '07 CB is from a small plot of those original vines. It was shown to DarrellCorti and he liked it so much that he bought the lot. His comments below are taken from his newsletter (www.CortiBros.biz).
It is no secret that the Chalone wines are no longer what they once were, since they were taken over by Diageo. TomStevenson's (very good) new book takes them to task for their drop in quality and diluting the brand w/ their Monterey Series wines. I've tasted the Estate Chalones a number of times over the last 10 yrs and always shake my head in puzzlement over how the might have fallen....with a loud thud. Like seeing this hot-chick cheerleader you had a crush on in high school out working on the streets at age 50. So sad.
So I was a bit hesitant to buy any of this wine. But..as some may know...Darrell can be a very persuasive salesman and I sprung for 9 btls w/ a friend. Shoulda bought more.
I bought my first Chalones from Darrell way back in the early '70's (by crackey). Knowing that Darrell knew the Chalones from their pinnacle (subtle pun there), I was expecting another Chalone CheninBlanc from those days of yore. Couldn't have been more wrong. This is a Calif CheninBlanc like none other I can recall. If you want an example of a terroir-driven wine...this be it. Amazing wine...but you have to think outside the box.
BTW: Darrell's newsletter offers up GoanCusine Mescut (like a chutney)...made in Australia, of all places. I've tried the Mango version and it's pretty interesting stuff. Have also tried the smoked Basmati rice and it's pretty unusual as well.
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2. I really liked both of these wines quite a lot...bot excellent drinking. The kind of wines I seem to be more & more drawn to these days. Don't much care for RedBordeaux, but like Loire CabFranc. Don't much care for Piedmonte Nebbiolo but like most all the Valtelline Nebbs. Guess I must be part of the AFWE.
Tom
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CHALONE CHENIN BLANC 2007 Estate Grown (Original Vines)
It is not well known, but once I was in the wine producing business. In 1965, I met Dick Graff who was going to University of California, Davis, and was just beginning his career in wine. He was planning to make wine at a closed winery in the wild hillsides of southern Monterey County at Soledad. The winery was CHALONE VINEYARDS, and Corti Brothers held a tasting of the previous vintage of wine produced there--1960. We sold a nice amount of wine; Dick said that his intent was to resurrect the property and produce the 1966 vintage. I went down with him after the tasting to see this place since the wines had great character and flavor, and at five years old were in remarkable shape. (Bottles of the 1960 vintage opened a few years ago were still in remarkable shape.)
Dick had warned me that the conditions at Chalone were primitive: no electricity except for a generator, no water except for the well which could be pumped if the generator worked, but the place was enchantingly special. And so it was. I became a partner in Chalone. My sister Illa was the financial backer for the 1966 vintage and also part of the work force as were my father and brother. Dick and I conned my sister out of $600.00 which was the working capital by selling her the estimated production of Chardonnay of one barrel at the then unheard of price of $10 per gallon “sur souche,” still on the vine, as was traditional in France with wine merchants buying a grower’s crop before it was harvested. The vineyard was planted to chenin blanc, pinot blanc, chardonnay, and pinot noir. This dry farmed vineyard had originally been planted by a certain Bill Silvear about 1919 on a limestone ridge, midway up the Pinnacles range on the east side of the Salinas valley. Chalone has a special soil and microclimate.
Temperatures drop precipitously in the afternoon, and from what at, say, noon, was a warm, sunny high 90s temperature, by 3pm, fog covered the place and it was chilly. When we offered the 1960 wines, there was chenin blanc, pinot blanc, and chardonnay. Over the years, Chalone has gone on to become very famous. I had dropped out as a partner in 1969, but the wines always held a fascination for me. Just recently, I was shown the 2007 vintage Chenin Blanc made from the original vines on the property. It has that very special Chalone scent and flavor that I remembered from my first encounter in 1966. The wine was for sale, and so I asked how much there was and bought the lot. The total production was 9 barriques producing 2,735 bottles.
This is a serious wine with a very special character, unequaled by any other Chenin Blanc in California or anywhere else--dry, with bracing acidity, and a scent reminiscent of certain “gunflint”scents of sauvignon blanc and a minerally mouth feel which turns almost chalky, but still remains fruity and fresh. This is probably the best example I know of of a wine that speaks to what it is and where it comes from. If there is any wine in California with a sense of “terroir” it is this CHALONE CHENIN BLANC 2007.
I recommend it to you as a white to be served not very cold, cellar temperature is fine, since it is a serious wine worthy of attention. It is also a little masterpiece.
CHALONE CHENIN BLANC 2007 Original Estate Vines $19.99 750ml (#2703)
Case of 12 $215.00 (#2703C)