WTN: The Dorks of York do All Things Loire

[Jenise]

There were 19 bottles in all. Some I didn't take good enough notes on to get the name or vintage right. Also missing, an Oregon cab franc from Rogue River fruit by a new lady producer whose eponymous label, Leah Jorgensen, hails from Portland, as I can't find the bottling that matches my notes. Only one Loire CF, which was surprising as this group holds Loire CFs in high esteem.

2013 Château de Bois-Brinçon Anjou Terres de Grès Chenin Blanc
Pear and fuyu persimmon with a dry, saline finish. Nice.

2008 François Chidaine Vouvray Sec Les Argiles Chenin Blanc
Rich nose and flavors indicates some bottle age, well balanced with a lingering finish. Excellent.

2015 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc Les Moulins Chenin Blanc
Very dry with a touch of tropicality, drinks more like muscadet than chenin. Delightfully so, though.

2014 Orr Wines Chenin Blanc Old Vines Columbia Valley, Washington
Good concentration and balance with that fine tell-tale beeswax note so appropriate to Chenin. An excellent ringer and eye-opening introduction to an obviously talented new producer. Must learn more!

2014 Gilles Blanchet Pouilly-Fumé Les Champs des Plantes Sauvignon Blanc
Bart's. Very balanced, pure and precise. Very cluttered, ole-timey label. I want to buy some!

2013 Terra Laura Cheverny White Blend
Chard-like with attractive grapefruit notes and a creamy finish. Good!

1983 Clos des Cocus Coteaux du Layon White Blend
Orange, lightly sweet, just a tad shy on acidity, with notes of persimmon, baked pumpkin and celery. Delish. Probably would have rated higher had the mesmerizing Huet not come along.

1996 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg Chenin Blanc
My bottle. Deep orange-y gold. Heady nose of quince cider, apricot and kumquat with savory complexities like celery and baked, unsweetened pumpkin. Outstanding.

2013 Mathieu Coste Coteaux du Giennois Les têtes de chats Pinot Noir
A gamay-pinot noir combo. Good little quaffer.

2012 Château de Fosse-Seche Saumur Eolithe
My notes just say "Wonderful." I must have been very distracted.

2015 Tissot (Bénédicte et Stéphane / André et Mireille) Arbois Amphore Trousseau
My bottle, a deliberate ringer from the Jura. Muted notes of cherry pie with clay, celery and oregano. Interesting.

2014 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Les Motelles
Big, very rich and nicely dry, firm tannins; could be cabernet sauvignon. We were told at the time this was Malbec (Cot), and it was carried by it's distributor who would tend to know. But it comes up on Cellar Tracker as CF--guessing that's wrong.

2009 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Méthode Traditionelle Brut Chenin Blanc
My bottle. Awesome. Golden color. Well-developed flavors, nutty, almond, white flowers, hint of honeysuckle, spice. I paid $25 for this in 2012--should have bought a lot more.

NV Marc Plouzeau Touraine Perles Fines Brut Rosé Blend
Simple with a mildly bitter finish. Good but not great, especially when compared to the Chidaine that preceded it.

Perhaps your distributor was confused at the moment. (Y ou certainly had a long list of wines preceding it!)

Ah, but he only had to be right about the two he brought. It certainly didn't taste like CF.

2014 Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Les Motelles
Big, very rich and nicely dry, firm tannins; could be cabernet sauvignon. We were told at the time this was Malbec (Cot), and it was carried by it's distributor who would tend to know. But it comes up on Cellar Tracker as CF--guessing that's wrong.

I don't know. To my knowledge Saumur AOC in red has to be cabernet franc. And if you google there are a fair amount of retail websites listing this as cabernet franc. Perhaps your distributor was confused at the moment. (You certainly had a long list of wines preceding it!)

FWIW RVF's Les meilleurs Vins de France states that Guiberteau has 6.5 hectares of red grapes, all Cabernet Franc.

Nice tasting and notes, Jenise. Is Château de Fosse-Sèche Saumur Eolithe red or white?

Do you have access to Touraine wines from the Romorantin grape? Laura Semeria makes a nice one at Cour-Cheverny.

[Jenise]

Tim, can't explain it! If it was CF, it certainly didn't have any CF varietal character. Remember, this was a blind tasting with a group of very experienced tasters (I'm the only non-ITB person in the group). There was no knowledge-influence: that is, we didn't think it tasted like Malbec because we were told it was Malbec. On smelling and tasting what was in our glass, we immediately ruled out CF and went to Cot from there and he said yes. So none of this makes sense.

The Eolithe was red. Yes re romorantin, in fact the Terra Laura was mostly romorantin--the description "white blend" came from Cellar Tracker.

Jenise, I don't question the perceptions of yourself and your colleagues when you say that this tasted more plausibly like Malbec than CF, but here is further confirmation from the Quebec monopoly that it is in fact from CF http://www.saq.com/page/fr/saqcom/vin-r ... 4/12114822 . We have to put it down to the effect of terroir .

[Jenise]

Jenise, I don't question the perceptions of yourself and your colleagues when you say that this tasted more plausibly like Malbec than CF, but here is further confirmation from the Quebec monopoly that it is in fact from CF http://www.saq.com/page/fr/saqcom/vin-r ... 4/12114822 . We have to put it down to the effect of terroir .

Oh I get it, no problem. It's just weird that it is.

I don't know this particular wine, but in general the cabernet franc from Saumur and further west can certainly be harder and darker than the cabernet franc from Chinon/Bourgeuil.