WTN: 2007 Muscadet

I can't remember drinking much 2007 Muscadet recently, but tonight I had a little theme going on.

At the restaurant dinner I couldn't resist ordering the 2007 Domaine de la Pépière Clos des Briords and it was fine but a bit thin with the first course of clams but gave more shining pleasure with the main course of trout. That said, through the 90 minute-2 hour restaurant duration it never really left the lean ungenerous phase. Not sure if that is vintage, stage of development, lack of aeration or something else?

At home after dinner, with various snacks it was time to open the 2007 Luneau-Papin Le L d'Or which also started off thin but really came on strong with air and was a delightfully juicy brisk aging but fresh bottle of Muscadet. Lovely lovely lovely. Not sure if the Briords would have joined this level of excitement if it had more air, but I'm happy to have more of the L d'Or.

Rahsaan, I don't recall any Briords of any year ever going dumb on me, but I'll have to open one of my two remaining 2007s tomorrow night to see how it's doing. I wrote on the back of the two remaining bottles, "Don't drink until 2015," but what the hell.

Usually I buy one or two cases of Briords every year, but I see I bought only only seven of the 2007s. Don't know why. Maybe it was a weaker than average vintage. I usually try to set aside some each year for at least a decade, although not many make it. Can't keep my hands off them.

Rahsaan, I don't recall any Briords of any year ever going dumb on me, but I'll have to open one of my two remaining 2007s tomorrow night to see how it's doing..

I will be curious to see what you think. I definitely didn't give these two bottles the same amount of attention so it wasn't necessarily a 'fair' comparison, which is why I was motivated to post the question.

Rahsaan,
Like many others here, I buy and drink a lot of Briords, but this vintage seemed less stellar to me, though I haven't tasted it recently.

8/28/2008 A good but not great Briords. But of course a good Briords is a very good thing indeed. Dry, lots of minerals, a relatively round style but still quite penetrating. Less salinity and a touch less intensity than the best vintages. Will buy a few but not a case.

Best,
Charles

Ugh! There's something wrong here but I'm not sure what. My wife thinks it's not flawed, but I do, but I can't say how. There's no fruit, no minerals... well, no Briords. Before we tasted it, I had poured half the bottle in a 375, so we'll take another look at it tomorrow, but expect no miracles. I still have one more bottle, so maybe I'll open it in a few days. In the meantime I'm washing my mouth out with a 2009 Huet Haut Lieu.

Rahsaan, recent Cellar Tracker TNs, ranging from 6/18/13 to 8/21/13, describe the wine respectively as "fresh and invogorating as when it was young," "Singing," and "pristine and fresh as it was 4 years ago." That's about what I expect a six year old Briords to taste like.

Thanks for the notes guys. Good to get some confirmation on the Briords.

After twenty-four hours in a 375, the wine emerged a little better for air but still, as Rahsaan put it in his initial posting, in a "lean ungerous stage." It's not flawed, just snoozing. I'll wait a few years to drink my last bottle.