WTN: 03 Saumur, 04 Graillot, Pinot from Brun, Toro, 95 Faustino, 05 Chidaine

2003 Caves des Vignerons Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux

Drank with a mushroom pizza. Vibrandt aroma of blackberry leaf, olive paste. Flavors follow with some cement minerals, iron, then a little flat in the middle and finishes with roasted ripe plums and dusty tannins. Good except for the flat hollow spot in the mid palate, and the acidity seemed dull compared to the Graillot CH.

2004 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage

This opened with a steely black fruit nose that reminded of a few 03 red Burgundies I've tasted. As it opened more, the smoky, meaty, peppery typical syrah stuff came out. The palate was really lively, high acidity, but so fresh and juicy combined with the floral and charry meaty nose. I really liked this one. On day two it calmed down a little but still pretty punchy.

2000 Pascal Bouley Volnay Champans 1er Cru

I enjoyed this bottle a lot a couple of years ago during a memorable dinner with Paulo F. in Philly. I was really looking forward to trying this again with 2 more years of age. My wife had roasted a duck with a cognac orange zest sauce, which should have been a great match.

The wine showed little aromatics and seemed pretty dull. The palate was silky and had some pretty red fruit trying to make an appearance. My guess is this had low level of TCA and overall was pretty disapointing.

1995 Faustino Rioja Gran Reserva I

Red with a little bricking. Some funky bret initially, with old leather and tobacco leaf following. In the mouth it has red cherry fruit, bright acidity, somewhat lean, very minimal tannic structure left. I enjoyed this light bodied Rioja as a good table wine. If you want a dense, fruit forward, extracted wine I would look elsewhere.

Actually gained a little body and weight overnight and still nice on day two.

1999 Finca Sobreño Toro Selección Especial Reserva

After Otto's recent note and the discussion that followed, I looked in my cellar to see if I had any wines from Toro to go with some barbequed baby back ribs. I found this bottle to try.

Dark purple color. Lots of oak flavors in the nose, vanilla, toasted coconut, sandlewood. Ripe blackberry fruits, jammy, a licorice note, moderate tannins, long finish. The 14.5% abv was not noticible. Totally dominated by barrel flavors at the moment. I didn't mind the bigness of the wine, but this was the wrong time to open this because of all the new wood flavor.

2003 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Pinot Noir

We had cornish game hens, fingerling potatoes and a baked acorn squash for dinner, and I wanted something to compliment the food. Rather than trying to guess which of my 05 cru Beaujolais were shut down or too tannic to enjoy, I opened a bottle of this, which has been drinking well since release. This didn't disappoint and was great with the food. Red berry fruit that is not over ripe or roasted, and a little forest floor in the nose, medium body, silky mouth feel, with just the right acidity for the table. Some powdery tannins that were not obtrusive. Another incredible value from JPB, and really good in the context of the 2003 vintage.

2005 François Chidaine Vouvray Le Bouchet

With baked butternut squash. Yellow fruit, apricot and quince flavors, demi sec sweetness, powdery extract, good balance, finishes a little hot. Good overall. Less sweet and not as many facets as the Montlouis Tuffeaux right now. This is a nice Vouvray and is more open and expressive when first opened, but I am much more excited by the depth of the Le Tuffeaux Montlouis from Chidaine, which took 24 hours to show its best.

The rest is not wine related.
I was up at Mt Baker skiing yesterday. It was wet and the snow wasn't very good, but the day was interesting as some of the best snow boarders in the world were at the mountain practicing for the Mt Baker Banked Slalom snow board race upcoming this weekend. These guys and women were really fun to watch, and very talented. If you are in the area this weekend the race would be worthwhile to check out. On Saturday they are having a Salmon BBQ and music at the lodge also. The lodge has a nice assortment of NW microbrews and a selection of wines from Mt Baker Vineyards, but of course.

Cheers,
Marc Davis

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for the notes. I have a single bottle of the Chidaine. Looks like I should hold off opening it.

David

p.s. fall vacation might be Vancouver & Seattle. Could be in your (and Jenise's ) neck(s) of the woods.

2004 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage

This opened with a steely black fruit nose that reminded of a few 03 red Burgundies I've tasted. As it opened more, the smoky, meaty, peppery typical syrah stuff came out. The palate was really lively, high acidity, but so fresh and juicy combined with the floral and charry meaty nose. I really liked this one. On day two it calmed down a little but still pretty punchy.

Thanks for these notes, I picked up a couple of bottles of this a few weeks ago. Sounds great!

September is a great time to visit, the rain festival doesn't really start up full time until mid October. Donnhoff in the North Cascades, it could be a killer combination!

thanks for notes. I've been shying away from the '04 Graillot as prices seem high vs earlier vintages , but sounds like I should face the new wine market reality- still a value in context.

I had a bottle of Graillot Crozes 1998 last year that was stunning. The best wine experience of the year. I had it with fillet of reindeer and grouse. He is in my opinion a winner horse.

'04 Graillot ...still a value in context

I think so. It was $26 + change around here. It is hard to find Crozes Hermitage or even St Joseph anymore for under $20, and better WA and Cali syrah are mostly over $30.

Now the Brun Bourgogne for $16 is still what I call a great value in any context.

[Jenise]

Marc, did you find the Brun around here? I've never seen it.

2003 Caves des Vignerons Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux

Interesting, I've only seen Les Poyeux wines from Clos Rougeard. So do you know how many people own plots in the vineyard?

'04 Graillot ...still a value in context

I think so. It was $26 + change around here. It is hard to find Crozes Hermitage or even St Joseph anymore for under $20, and better WA and Cali syrah are mostly over $30.

YEah, my problem is comparing it with what used to be, not current market. I paid $14 for mid-late 90s Graillots, $16 for 2000, $18 for 2001. Of course currency woes account for big part of rise.

Interesting, I've only seen Les Poyeux wines from Clos Rougeard. So do you know how many people own plots in the vineyard?

Not sure Rahsaan. The Caves is a co-op of growers, I think. This was a Garagiste purchase and here is what Jon Rimmerman had to say about them and the Les Poyeux bottle:

The Cave des Vignerons is a small group of growers that do not have the means to market wine themselves. What they do have is some of the oldest, best Cabernet Franc vines in Saumur-Champigny (one of the golden zones of the Loire). “The best of the appellation and a faithful reflection of the vintage” is their tag line - there is no new oak here, only terroir. The Caves des Vignerons is one of the most admired and respected producers in the Loire, just not very well known in the US due to meager export contracts (this is not a Dressner or Kysela winery). Nearly 100% of the their high-end bottles are sold within France and this wine is their top wine – a single site Cabernet Franc from Les Poyeux with breed and class.

The Saumur blanc from the Cave des Vignerons has been available around here in the local wine shops also. Unfortunately I have only tried the 03 vintage which I think is more 2003 than a reflection on the winemakers. The importer is Millesime, Seattle.

BTW, it was your earlier note on the 04 Graillot CH that led to me pulling the trigger on the purchase, and I thank you, I like that one a lot.

Marc

Marc, did you find the Brun around here? I've never seen it.

PM sent.
Marc

BTW, it was your earlier note on the 04 Graillot CH that led to me pulling the trigger on the purchase, and I thank you, I like that one a lot.

Glad to hear it, your experience sounds similar to mine with the high acid but lovely lively balance.

Thanks for the info on Les Poyeaux. I don't know if you've read it, but SFJoe just posted his impressions from last week in the Loire on Therapy, and there is quite some interesting reading, and he mentions that the Poyeaux vines for Clos Rougeard have been in the family since 1664.

Has it been a year already since the 05 Loire report? Wow, time flies. I find opening and reading those reports by SF Joe very hazardous to my credit card account. I've sworn off reading those "Oh My" notes from Fla Jim, also. Very dangerous stuff.

Seriously, that is a great write up on 2006. Thanks for the heads up.

2004 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage

This opened with a steely black fruit nose that reminded of a few 03 red Burgundies I've tasted. As it opened more, the smoky, meaty, peppery typical syrah stuff came out. The palate was really lively, high acidity, but so fresh and juicy combined with the floral and charry meaty nose. I really liked this one. On day two it calmed down a little but still pretty punchy.

Thanks for these notes, I picked up a couple of bottles of this a few weeks ago. Sounds great!

I did the same, but I had to work a bit to find a few of the remaining bottles... Thanks for the notes.

BTW, I just tasted the 1990 of this wine and it was truly magnificient! Just soo delicious!

Cheers, Anders