2002 Brégeon, Muscadet:
12% abv; a clenched fist when opened with no aromatics, little flavor and piercing/almost spritzy acidity; after about 15 minutes it became very pretty with lemon, mineral aromas; lemon-drop and stone flavor impressions and nice length; with about an hour open it was superb with greater depth and breadth, more integration and a lively balance that made me wish I’d decanted this. With linguini and white clam sauce; none better.
2009 Ducroux, Régnié:
12% abv, Demeter; the nose is ladies’ face powder, red fruit and warm earth; the same in the mouth with an accent of black olive, slightly rustic and vigorous with good length. Quintessential Beaujolais and delicious with a rough chopped hash of grilled chicken, caramelized onions, corn and spinach.
2011 Poggio Anima, Grillo Uriel:
13.0% abv; a perplexing wine: on one hand it is unusual and character driven, on the other it’s resinous (as in retsina) and slightly sour; I’m not sure I like it but I won’t dismiss it. Better after being opened and a week in the fridge; seems more of a piece. Pretty darn good with salad Niçoise. Screwcap. Thanks Steve.
2007 Pépière, Muscadet Granite de Clisson:
12% abv; any attempt to parse this wine by descriptor would fail; it is, at this moment, quite simply the finest Muscadet I have tasted. Comparison to premier or even grand cru Chablis is not without appeal and yet it retains its sense of place albeit in a more noble form. Deep, pure, rich and delineated and yet, the sum is greater than its parts.
Clearly, I am having difficulty with adjectives; hopefully, gentle reader, it will suffice to say that it is a masterpiece. With a shrimp and vegetable pasta, other worldly.
Oh my!
2005 Pépière, Muscadet Granite de Clisson:
12.5% abv; one step behind the 2007, today. But great promise.
Best, Jim