Picked up two btls Sat at ArroyoVino in SantaFe that I tried last night:
1. LouisMichel et Fils AC: Chablis PremierCru Montee de Tonnerre (13%; VineyardBrands) 2011: Light gold color; strong mineral/chalky/steely/flinty rather grapefruity/citric/lemony/Chard slight smokey nose; fairly rich/lush bone dry/austere strong mineral/chalky/flinty/steely tangy/metallic/grapefruity some lemony/Chard flavor; long tangy/grapefruity/citric rather steely/mineral/chalky some lemony/Chard very dry/austere finish; not a lot of Chard fruit but very terroir driven; should go out 10 yrs or more if it doesn't fall to premox. $45.00 (AV)
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2. Bodegas Piqueras TerraGrande Monastrell Dd'O: Almansa (Barrel aged: 6 mo. in 300 litre French oak "cascks"; 14%; www.BodegasPiqueras.Es; BeaconWine) 2010: Med.dark color; strong plummy/blackberry/Mourv some smokey/toasty/oak slight herbal/spicy/rosemary quite attractive nose; rather soft slight tannic/bitey strong plummy/Mourv/earthy/blackberry some toasty/smokey/oak bit hot/alcoholic flavor; med.long strong plummy/Mourv/earthy/blackberry/herbal some toasty/oak bit alcoholic/hot finish w/ somewhat bitey/hard tannins; very good Mourv character & fair amount of oak but a bit hot/alcoholic and bitey tannins; good for the price; some like a Cline ContraCosta Mourv but more bitey/tannic. $16.00 (AV)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Chablis: I don't drink much Chablis (except for PaulMasson Chablis), but have very fond rememberances of great Chablis back in the days when I once drank Burgundy. LouisMichel was one of my favorite producers back then. When I spied this btl at ArroyoVino, I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane. Many of the recent low-end Chablis I've tried over the last few yrs were real disappointments because they had been K-J'd,,left w/ some RS. This LouisMichel was rather rich, but had that steely character I recall so well. Nice trip down memory lane.
Tom