What music to pair? It needed something strong yet gentle, delicate, delineated, and perhaps slightly warm - went to jazz: Manu Katche.
One of the best things about wine is its ability to transport...
Warm-glowing-deep yellow (almost golden) autumn sunshine on a cold French hillside. The seashore meets an estuary and I'm pleased by the minerality. A carpet of white flowers, lemon pith thrown at me, and some under-ripe pineapple (hey!), perhaps some star fruit in there too... all somehow in a calm earthen frame (though many do not/would not see that).
A bright palate showing lemon and even a little Swiss cheese if you are so inclined
. Light but round, and offset by just a hint of sweetness. It has solid acidity, plenty of grip and rock-oriented (mineral) flavours; even going as far as heavily salted crustaceans. Flavour-wise, it's a rather gentle Vouvray sec. On the palate it is just so bright and balanced! Tends to leave one salivating as it is, but could possibly do with a few years' ageing.
Technicals (limited): 5 g/l r.s., 13.5% abv, ranging 12 to 16°C (54 to 61°F) over drinking, and Manu Katche seemed to work.
$: At the winery, the (2010 vintage) sells for almost a third the price that it sells for in Australia, and about two thirds the price that it sells for in New York state or the UK (current exchange rates). Loire-heads just need to move to France
.