As often with me, the Loire takes pride of place.
Bourgueil Le Pied de la Butte 2010 – Domaine de la Butte, Jacky Blot – Alc.12.5% - c.€11. At this stage I think that this is even closer to my ideal of young Loire CabFranc for quaffing than Baudry’s Les Granges, though perhaps without that one’s 8-10 year development potential. It was both fun and serious; medium bodied and mouth-filling with gorgeous red fruit, typical leafy tang, dabs of wet leather, gritty minerals and lively acidity; 16.5/20++ QPR!.
Vouvray demi-sec 2000 – Domaine du Clos Naudin, Philippe Foreau – Alc.13%. This does not equal my memories of the 96 and 02, but it was a very enjoyable Vouvray. The aromas on the nose took some time to develop and remained quite subdued with the usual notes of white fruit, quince and wax. The medium+ bodied and decently long palate showed very slight sweetness and I can imagine some producers trying to pass this off as “dry”. The sugar seemed to provide extra depth and “gras” rather than sweetness perhaps because of a lot of crisp, mouth-watering acidity. It went well with a creamy chicken dish and, as usual, excellently with some Loire goat cheeses which brought out the minerality; 16/20++.
Then -
Château Léoville-Poyferré Saint-Julien 2ème grand cru classé 1994 – Alc.12.5%. My 94s seem mostly to be turning out better than many Jeremiahs forecast; kudos, for once, to Parker who was cautiously favourable to them from the outset. The colour was still quite youthful with little bricking, the nose was expressive with nicely leafy red fruit and cedar hints and the palate was medium+ in weight but perhaps a little shorter that in the best years with attractively complex fruit, some depth, mature claret sweet hints and early signs of forest floor. A nice wine but the young Bourgueil above was a lot more fun; 16/20+.
Rully 1er cru Grésigny 2004 – Paul Jacqueson – Alc.13%
This is just what I want from a Chalonnais white. C : Medium deep yellow. N: Expressive with fresh white fruit, nuts and mineral notes with a touch of creaminess and hints of coconut in the background. P: Freshly tasty, round and quite long with good acidity and “gras” with finesse and a harmonious mix of similar aromas to those on the nose. The wine sees about 25% new oak but it is now fully integrated; 16/20++.
Priorat Usatges 2004 – Costers del Siurana (Pastrana & Jarque) – Alc. 14.5 – (€16) – made from Garnatxa, Cariñena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Tempranillo and matured for 1 year in Limousin, Allier and Nevers twice used barrels.
The previous bottle of this was “off” with unpleasant cabbage like aromas. This one was OK but I think that it was time to drink it.
C: Deep red. N: Black currant liqueur and light tobacco aromas.
P: Medium-full bodied, dark fruit and good substance, less sweet, more mineral and austere than most Grenache dominated wines, good tannic structure, similar aromas to the nose with some additional complexity notably some herbs and spice and an additional tarry liquorice element which supported the clean and adequately long finish. Perhaps I was looking for it but I felt that the cabbage was not far away here too; at present 15.5/20++.