WTN: Bocce Wines

After a really slow start to the summer locally, we had a garden – bocce – wine get together yesterday. The weather was brilliant’ the bocce good (my team started out wiping the floor with the opposition, but relented and let them win at the last minute ‘cause that’s the sort of generous guys we are….) and the wine pretty decent too.

Guy Charlemagne Brut Rose (nv) – lovely way to start off. Some nice yeastiness in the nose, good colour, tasty with long clean acidic finish.

2010 La Frenz Sauvignon Blanc – nice varietal nose with grassiness and mineral, ample fruit, good balance and nice long crisp finish. Others found some elements they thought varietally atypical. Nice with smoked salmon.

2007 Boillot Montagny 1er Cru – always a fan of Montagny – great QPR ratio. I found the nose a bit ungenerous barring the initial whiff of sulphur, and a later developing hazelnut hint, but the fruit was decent, the balance quite good and it suited the occasion.

2011 Masquerade Rose of Cabernet Franc – brought by mistake, having been delivered to their house as a vinous dinner offering by some non-wine savvy guests and unfortunately stuffed quickly into the wine cellar rather than taking the time to pour it down the drain. Embarrassed silence as the rest of us adopted a policy of ‘if you can’t say anything nice…’ I think someone said that it was very…pink. Finally the person that had mistakenly brought it broke the polite silence by asking her mate what the heck it was and why had he brought it, the instruction having been to load up a good Tempier Rose. Good comic relief.

The comedy of the wine was nicely offset by the excellent spiced North African style meatballs served cold on a veg/noodle mix in lettuce leaves.

1999 Dom. de Cayron Gigondas – one of my offerings, a bit hesitantly, as I hadn’t tasted it in several years and I was uncertain about how it might be standing up. Turned out very well – good dark red colour with lightening edges, slightly funky nose but mostly fruit based, smooth fruity middle, the finish now smooth, the rough tannins of youth having softened nicely, and good medium length finish. Should last a few years before decline but perfect now and no reason to wait.

We had some tarte l’oignon Provencal style with a layer of parsley achoiade under the onion, followed by miniature radish and herb butter sandwiches and herb loaded potato salad.

2005 Perrin CNduP Les Sinards – primarily fruit driven nose, and some nice sweet fruit on palate, and it developed a bit of spice with time. Not too ripe, this was surprisingly enjoyable now but should continue to develop.

[Jenise]

After a really slow start to the summer locally, we had a garden – bocce – wine get together yesterday. The weather was brilliant’ the bocce good (my team started out wiping the floor with the opposition, but relented and let them win at the last minute ‘cause that’s the sort of generous guys we are….) and the wine pretty decent too.

Balderdash! You were simply outgunned with superior play! We whipped your butts so bad your teammate wouldn't even play a second game!


Guy Charlemagne Brut Rose (nv) – An excellent rose. Second Guy Charlemagne I've had in the last couple months, and I'd not heard of this producer before. Each has made me wonder how something this good could be such a secret.

2010 La Frenz Sauvignon Blanc – Okay, I'm in the atypical crowd. I don't know how much SB you drink but we drink it several times a week, and this had an odd (but not unpleasant) ripeness up front that pushed what little grassiness this had way to the back of the experience. I enjoyed the wine a lot, but would not have guessed it to be 100% or even primarily Sauv Blanc.

2007 Boillot Montagny 1er Cru – I brought this. I owned a case (only one or two left now), and each bottle has been better than the last, evolving from a fairly singular lemon-and-flint profile into a small bouquet of white burgundy goodness. This was no exception, and the wine's probably about at peak.

2011 Masquerade Rose of Cabernet Franc – This wine ended up in the general purpose kitchen refrigerator after our July 4th party. That's where the Montagny was, which had been stashed there as a possible lobster wine a few months back and where it awaited a new fate. The Tempier I had given Bob to stash in the house a few days earlier he put into the wine-only reefer, also in the kitchen: but he had no reccollection of doing that. I had some in the cellar, which is where we stood when I made the decision about what to take for bocce, but of course the other would be colder so I sent him into the house for both bottles. While I packed the food he rounded up the bottles, going first to the big fridge for the Montagny--when he saw a bottle of pink wine next to it, he just grabbed it without reading the label. What was so funny about all that was how nasty we knew the Masquerade to be, it's owners having poured this wine for us before. They really like it, but to us it's full of really off, vegetal flavors, like rotting-cabbage and swamp water.

1999 Dom. de Cayron Gigondas – What you said. Delightful wine.

Loved those radish sandwiches!

2005 Perrin CNduP Les Sinards – Were we drinking the same wine? I found some cooked, oxidative flavors in this bottle--and the garden's elevated "room temperature" only emphasized the pruney quality, much to its detriment. If I owned other bottles, I'd consider drinking them sooner than later.

Funny, I didn't have the same take on the Sinards - there wasn't the degree of ripeness you saw, nor oxidative notes for me. I thought it was a middle of the road CNduP, perhaps a bit disappointing based on previous tastings, and hoped that it would improve with more time (I could be wrong). We were in agreement on the Rose, though!

We'll have to let the question of bocce prowess be decided on the field of battle at the next possible date! I shall be awaiting you, balls in hand!

[Jenise]

Funny, I didn't have the same take on the Sinards - there wasn't the degree of ripeness you saw, nor oxidative notes for me. I thought it was a middle of the road CNduP, perhaps a bit disappointing based on previous tastings

Wonder what Coop thought? That is, wonder if he detected the oxidation I did. I've noticed that if you and I disagree on a wine, it's typically about oxidation. I often taste oxidation where you don't.

Not sure it is a matter of tasting - perhaps more a tolerance level. You seem to have a very low tolerance for oxidation while I don't mind small amounts - it can add interest to a wine, as in older Champagne or Chardonnays.

Haven't seen Coop's note. I've seen this wine reviewed by point-people from 85 to 92 or so. This bottle, should I be forced to allocate points, would have been about an 87 - pleasant, but I feel zero regret that I have none in my cellar.

[Jenise]

Not sure it is a matter of tasting - perhaps more a tolerance level. You seem to have a very low tolerance for oxidation

Could be. I'm really interested in this, because it does make a difference where predictions of further development are concerned and if my palate tends to see an early demise where the more tolerant taster would see good development ahead, I'd want to take that into consideration when writing tasting notes.