Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Alte Reben trocken 2008 – C. von Schubert - Alc.11% was bone dry, perfect with oysters and very good with Alsatian choucroute. It showed medium/light body with the usual lovely Abtsberg fragrance, minerality and very crisp but non-astringent acidity allied with quite dense substance and a firm finish with a surprising degree of salinity. More subtle and complex than a bottle two years ago without any loss of crsipness; 16.5/20+++.
Incidentally I recall a conversation with Dr. Carl von Schubert a couple of years ago in which he recommended richer and sweeter styles of his wines with high iodine oysters on the grounds that they would be a much better foil for such oysters than a bone dry wine, which would tend to be hardened. I wonder; there was no unacceptable hardening here though these oysters' iodine content was not especially high.
Vouvray sec 1998 – Domaine du Clos Naudin, Philippe Foreau – Alc.13%. 1998 was a difficult vintage and I believe that Foreau only made this dry cuvée with no demi-sec and moelleux. The wine went through a long closed period. The colour is now quite deep yellow. The nose showed nice notes of apple pie, flinty minerals and a touch of wax. The palate was bone dry, crystalline, flavourful and brightly focussed with aromas similar to the nose, medium body, some depth and good length with only residual greenness from the difficult growing and harvesting season; 16.5/20.
Savennières Cuvée Spéciale 1995 – Château d’Epiré – Alc.13% was a very deep yellow and showed a strong nuttiness at first which suggested fairly advanced oxidisation, although with a lot of good elements underneath but disjointed; we left about two-thirds of the bottle to use in cooking. I was therefore surprised that, after three or four days in the fridge, the remainder was much better focussed with the oxidative notes receded into an acceptable element of complexity. There were complex aromas of quince, wax, acacia, gentle nuts and minerals on the medium/full, dry and quite round palate with some residual primary fruit, typical Loire minerality and enough smooth acidity for freshness and balance (the 96s showed crisper acidity); this seems to demonstrate that old style Savennières needs decanting; 16.5/20+ on re-opening.