In the last couple weeks I rounded up close to a dozen Mary Taylor wines and invited some friends over:
NV Sofia Brescia Veneto Frizzante
Blend of Glera and Garganega. I thought this would be a light little fizzle but it has more flavor and body than that thanks to the garganega. Medium yellow color with a fine bead; everyone loved it.
2022 Olivier Gessler Côtes de Gascogne Blanc Colombard blend
Everything the last CT reviewer didn't like so much about this wine is exactly what we loved about it. It wasn't tropical, wasn't overt, but just a fine, elegant blend of white fruit and flowers. I've had three bottles of this in the last month and loved every one of them.
NV Remi Larroque "Gaillacoise" Pet-Nat, Gaillac, Southwest France
A blend of five indiginous grapes: Prunel d'Art, Fer Servardou, Duras, Loin d'Oeil and Mauzac. Almost colorless, more offwhite than white. Rich and complex flavors included underripe pineapple and red apple skin, and texturally there were detectable tannins--great mouthfeel. Serious and stunning, and apparently in short supply: only 3000 bottles were made. The biggest surprise of the tasting and the one I woke up thinking about this morning.
2022 Jacqueline Delaunay Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie Mary Taylor Melon de Bourgogne
One of four Mary Taylor whites poured and by far the driest. Really nails the minerally, oyster-shell thing so beloved about Muscadets. I will defnitely buy more.
2022 Anne Sarda Coteaux de la Cabrerisse Mary Taylor
100% Carignan. Decent body, lightly grapey, unfiltered texture,14% alcohol shows. I've had good 100% carignans but not a fan of this one.
2022 Sophie Siadou Valençay Mary Taylor Gamay-Pinot Noir Blend
35% each gamay and cot (malbec) and 30% pinot noir. Bone dry with what one Loire fan present identified as a distinct Loire personality. I picked up tayberry fruit and ash. One of the group favorites among the reds, and mine too.
2021 Pedro Gonzalez Mittelbrunn Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Mary Taylor Red Blend
First timer with this grape, Pieto Picudo. Never even heard of it before Dale's recent note on this same wine. It's a very pleasant, peasant-y kind of wine, medium bodied with tangy acidity, the kind you get little carafes of at lunch in little villages in Spain and you don't even ask what the grape is. It's just: red wine. But a nice one.
2022 Fabien Castaing Périgord Mary Taylor
Don't think I've ever seen a wine that admitted to being 99% one thing and only 1% something else, but here's one. The major grape is merlot and the 1% is cabernet sauvignon. Very indentifiably merlot with purple color, nose of violets and dust and sweet dark fruits on the palate. Tasty enough but will become more attractive with another year or two of bottle age.
2019 Lucia Ferreira Dão Tinto Mary Taylor Red Blend
60% Touriga Nacional, 40% Tinto Roriz. Soft entry, parchy tannins, medium body. Not terrible but not particularly interesting.
2021 Felipe Ferreira Mary Taylor Douro Touriga Nacional blend
Biggest and most structured of the seven MT reds on the table, WOTN for several. Should age well.
2018 Jean Marc Barthez Mary Taylor Bordeaux Red Bordeaux Blend
50% Merlot, 25% each CS and CF. En-pointe Bordeaux flavors but relatively simple, easy drinking.