WTN: My new tasting group does 2010 France

The stars have aligned for me rather nicely since arriving back home in Kansas, and on Saturday night I hosted the first tasting for my new group. I decide to do 2010 France, as it could work at several levels and meet people wherever they are at: the grapes, the regions, the vintage. Also, I had been curious to test my hypothesis that a given vintage is expressed with a similar character across France (the answer seems to be yes).

Clos du Roy, Graves 2010
The dry white of Chateau Piada in Barsac. On the nose, floral perfume, rich pear and apricot, and mineral; somewhat burnished and richened with age, and quite Sauternais. Rich, nectary and fresh on the palate, with wonderful pear, apricot, and orange marmalade. Wonderful stuff. Drink now. 3 Stars [10/3/15]

Chateau de Suronde, Anjou 2010
A bit oxidative and resinous on the nose, with deep yet subtle orchard fruits and stone, unusual but very nice. Similar notes on the palate, honeyed, with candied apricot and orange rind, and generous stone/mineral. Keeps getting better with air. Very nice. Drink soon. 3 Stars [10/3/15]

Patriarche Pere et Fils, Pouilly-Fuisse 2010
Low key but aromatic and rich nose. On the palate, a bit nectary, with ripe, rich pear and stone fruits, and marmaladish acidity. Very good. 5 more years. 3 Stars [10/3/15]

All three whites seem to have similar acid character and fruit density/richness.

Louis Latour, Santenay 2010
Lovely, sweet, aromatic nose, with accentuated cherry and blueberry, green tea, and cloves. Same notes on the palate, with wonderful, succulent texture, lovely cherry and blueberry, and spicy. Beautiful and nicely balanced. Love it. 5 to 10 more years. 4 Stars [10/3/15]

Chateau Trebiac, Graves 2010
Unusual blend for Graves, 80-20 Cab Sauv-Merlot. Very nice Graves nose of dense dark, sweet fruit, tobacco, gravel/stone, and cocoa powder. On the palate, wonderful and succulent texture. A little short at this stage, but oh so nice and promising. Lots of upside potential, give it time, can last for another 10 years or more. 3.5 Star potential. [10/3/15]

Chateau du Trignon, Gigondas 2010
Good Gigondas nose of black currant, tar, dried herbs, tobacco, chocolate, black olives, and stone/mineral. Similar notes on the palate. Very, very good, albeit a bit aggressive and obtuse at this stage. Approachable now, but will benefit from another 5 years, and should last for another 5 years or more after that. 3.5 Star potential. [10/3/15]

All three reds seem to have a similarly fresh acid structure and classical tannins structure, with delightful fruit density and lushness.

Also, I had been curious to test my hypothesis that a given vintage is expressed with a similar character across France (the answer seems to be yes).

I haven't thought about this systematically, but this should vary across vintages. Vintages with big strong defining features are more likely to be similar (by definition) as opposed to vintages where localized weather events make a bigger mark (again, by definition). 2003 would be a good example of the first, and 2002 of the second.

I guess the big question is which type of vintage is more common, and how climate weirdening might play a role!

I haven't thought about this systematically, but this should vary across vintages. Vintages with big strong defining features are more likely to be similar (by definition) as opposed to vintages where localized weather events make a bigger mark (again, by definition). 2003 would be a good example of the first, and 2002 of the second.

Yes, I've definitely perceived a warm vintage vs. cool vintage behavior of this "phenomenon." My impression with cool vintages is that there are still some similar characteristics, but whether those produce something stylistically successful depends on the region: 2002 is a good example, excellent in Burgundy, okay in Bordeaux, poor in the Rhone (of course that example might simply indicate that regions that have cooler climates anyway can cope better in cooler vintages). My recollection is that there is something about the firmness and restraint of the fruit in 2002 that is at least somewhat similar between Bordeaux and Burgundy.

The best "moderate" vintage case I can think of that exhibits some global similarities is 2006: in Burgundy, Bordeaux, and the Rhone, 2006 seems to have attractive dark fruit profiles that are more aromatically driven, that are still reasonably dense and structured but definitely not rich and lush.

My impression with cool vintages is that there are still some similar characteristics, but whether those produce something stylistically successful depends on the region: 2002 is a good example, excellent in Burgundy, okay in Bordeaux, poor in the Rhone (of course that example might simply indicate that regions that have cooler climates anyway can cope better in cooler vintages).

Or, in that case it indicates that the Rhone got hit with massive one-off rainstorms and floods during harvest that destroyed a lot of fruit and hindered final maturity for lots of other fruit. Whereas Burgundy and Bordeaux did not.

So am not sure that I would call 2002 a 'cool' vintage. Perhaps 01 and 04 in the north would qualify for that. But of course 2001 in the south was far from cool.

So, the more I think about it, France does still have some geographic diversity in vintage character.

So, the more I think about it, France does still have some geographic diversity in vintage character.

For sure. My fascination to examine possible similarities arises from the fact that you wouldn't necessary expect strong similarities, given the geographic spread and diversity, and yet striking similarities do seem to exist in some vintages.

Fun idea for a super-geeky offline: do a matrix tasting with the same wine from each of Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Rhone in 3 different vintages - one excellent across the board, one mediocre across the board, and one mixed.