Bierzo Mencia Joven 2008 – El Castro de Valtuille, Raul Pérez – Alc.14% - (€8). According to Victor de la Serna this is not the famous Raul Pérez but a relation of the same name. Nevertheless I love this wine. It was full of bright fruit, especially raspberry and cherry, as well as a leathery tang and a good grip. There was also a certain pleasing rusticity which I don’t recall in the equivalently priced but more refined Ultreia St.Jacques from the real Raul Pérez; 16/20++.
Rully 1er cru “Grésigny” 1999 (W) – H&P Jacqueson – Alc.13%. In October 2008, I wrote - “I think that I kept this too long (one more bottle); the entry is nicely mineral with some nutty white fruit but an excessive note of dry caramel emerged on the finish which I don’t recall from earlier bottles; 14.5/20 now.”. Well 3 ½ years on, this last bottle was better as I could detect none of that dry caramel which disturbed me previously. The nutty notes were more pronounced and there was a hint of sherry but this cannot be called premox in a Rully’s 13th year and I found it an attractive element of ageing at this low level. The nice minerals and white fruit were still there, albeit darkening somewhat and the whole was nicely focussed; 15.5/20.
Bougueil La Coudraye 2006 – Yannick Amirault – Alc.13.5%.
There has been some bottle variation here but this last bottle of the series was perhaps the best in Amirault's ripe and polished style which aims to avoid the typical green pepper and the animal notes (both of which I like in moderation) of a lot Loire Cabernet franc. Medium bodied with fresh bright aromas, ripe red fruit (red currants) and minerals (clay) and for my greater pleasure Amirault did not succeed in eliminating some nice (animal) wet leather notes; a very nice tipple; 16/20.
Savennières Clos du Papillon 2002 – Domaine du Closel – Alc.14.5%. Colour was almost as deep as that of a medium sherry but there was no trace of oxidation on the nose or palate. The bouquet seemed to presage a sweet wine with notes of pear, quince, wax and very fine toffee. The palate was quite full, rich and structured, dark in fruit and aroma and was more demi-sec than dry but well balanced by the minerality and smooth/lively acidity. I was not conscious of burn from the high alcohol unless some of that darkness was its contribution. Not quite so complex and interesting overall as suggested by my notes and memory of a bottle in March 2011 but that could be a function of the pairing (red tuna steak cooked with a honeyed spicy sauce this time and, as often with Loire chenin, local goat cheese seemed to improve focus and liveliness); 16/20++.
Château La Vieille Cure Fronsac 1998 – Alc.13%; estate planted with Merlot 75%, CabFranc 20%, CabSauv 5%. The first bottle was badly cork; a text-book stinker. This was the second bottle under a well preserved cork with only about a millimetre of staining. Its colour showed little bricking but its aromas on the nose were reminiscent of some ageing Bandol with notes of herbs and tar behind some attractive drying fruit. The medium bodied and savoury palate, however, lacked the structure brought by Mourvèdre and there was some roundness in the fruit alongside hints of forest floor and old book as well as a continuation of the aromas from the nose. The whole was harmonious and quite classy but it did seem excessively evolved for claret in its 14th year, though perhaps I should not expect more from lowly Fronsac. 16/20 now but on the downwards slope.
