I spent the first three weeks of April in Paris, which meant lots of dairy products, pastries, work on my dissertation, and of course a few wines.
Of those I managed to take notes on and remember, the two that provided the most unmitigated pleasure also happened to be the two cheapest. Don't you love/hate that. The 2004 Herve Souhaut VdP de l'Ardeche Gamay "La Souteronne" was only 11euro80 but such a joy with its rocky granite spine covered in delicious supple juicy cold stony fruit. Got even better on the second day as the acidic spine calmed down, but always such a clear stony and supple pleasure. My kind of wine! More surprising was the 2004 Yannick Pelletier Saint Chinian "l'engoulevent" at 10euro90 because I don't usually drink wines from so far south. But this was highly recommended by a retailer with a Good Palate, and the fact that Msr. Pelletier had studied with Leon Barral didn't hurt either. More importantly, the carignan-dominated wine was so crisp juicy supple and clear, reminiscent of the Souhaut as these natural non-sulphured wines often converge, but with a sturdier center providing more for the tongue to hold onto. So, you could taste the garrigue-infused strawberries if you like. This was my kind of Southern Rhone wine!
For more expensive drinking I had a few syrahs, including a dark deep meaty 2000 Allemand Cornas Reynard that had lovely flavors but seemed a bit flat on the structure, which could be the vintage, or perhaps just a stage. Similarly unconvincing was the 2004 Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph which had nice deep red-berry porky flavors but the body was just a bit too thin and slippery, and even more damning it was short! The 1999 Clape Cornas Renaissance was yet another disappointment, with plenty of dark brambly Cornas flavors, but again with the clipped watery texture. Perhaps it was also in a bad stage. The 1999 Bernard Faurie Hermitage was definitely in a difficult stage, but I still wanted to taste it after having swooned over the 2000 at the TGJP. The Faurie did not disappoint in terms of power, with a massive and robust wallop of smoky fruit in the mouth, but it was also so light and elegant as it danced across the palate in a truly noble way, before twisting and coiling the vice grip of tannins around the tongue, reminding you that it preferred to remain dormant for the time being. Easier pleasure was found with the 2004 Jamet Cote Rotie Cuvee Elegance which is so greasy and sexy on the nose with all the bacon florals you could want. Sure it lacks depth and complexity, but it is fun to open.
Had a slightly higher hit ratio with chenin, as the first bottle of 2005 Pierre Bise Savennieres Roche aux Moines was heavily marked by sweet caramel oak and showed almost no fruit, which seemed strange considering the vintage. But, then we were able to chalk that up to bottle variation and constant evolution because two weeks later another bottle was rich and deep but also elegant and light, with no oak flavors but rather a lovely expression of ripe Savennieres. Definitely want to taste this again in the future. The 2005 Pierre Bise Anjou Le Haut de la Garde was more difficult to enjoy, as it could not muster the same elegance as the RAM, but instead came on with tons of heat, weight, and power. Will air there were some typical HdG yellow rocky stony notes, but the alcohol was still too apparent. Less bulky but nonetheless big and in need of time was the 2005 Rene Mosse Anjou. On the opposite side of things was the 2004 Chidaine Vouvray Clos Baudoin which was just a bit too soft pale and light for me to get excited, and then despite the protestations of PAB I was not convinced by the 2002 Richard Leroy Anjou "Les Noels de Montbenault" even after slowly tracking the progress of the bottle over several hours, as it just seemed to be in a difficult stage without enough fruit and with too much oak apparent. Less cranky was the 2003 Les Vignes de L'Ange Vin Jasnieres "le charme du loir", a wine I was eager to try after having read about the producer but never tasted and always looking for more good Loire chenin. And this was definitely good, deftly managing the vintage to be full and rich but also light, firm, and pure. But, it also lacked energy, which may be partially a result of the vintage, but I suspect also reflects the suboptimal vineyards this new winemaker had to work with (but I could be wrong?). Nonetheless, will keep my eyes out for more in the future, when I have the time.
Other white wines included a few Muscadets, the 2005 Pepiere Muscadet Cuvee Eden which everyone should already know is plenty ripe and plenty poised, even if not showing all of its expressive potential at the moment. Less interesting was the 1997 Chateau du Coing de Saint-Fiacre Muscadet "Comte de Saint-Hubert" which was one of those long-lees-aging things, but lacking the life of the Luneau Papin Sempier Excelsior. This was not an aggressively bad wine, just a bit dull and simple.
Tasting the lesser-known cousin of Muscadet, my first bottle of 2004 Francois Raveneau Chablis Montee de Tonnerre seemed so pale that I was convinced it was corked, but when we opened a second bottle I realized that was just the crisp long mineral expression of the vintage, not a lot of flesh, but such precise taut rigid focus. Impressive. In comparison, the 1997 R+V Dauvissat Chablis Les Clos was darker, but also finer, and more elegant, although a bit broad which I suspect is the mark of the vintage. The 2002 R+V Dauvissat Chablis La Forest was in a middlin' stage and showed less pleasure than when I tasted it last year, but, with air the minerality emerged alongside the broad crisp fruit, so it had its merits.
For Beaujolais I had a closed and locked down 2005 Foillard Morgon Cote du Py, and a 2005 C. Pacalet Julienas that was filled with gushing fruit and structured angles although still a bit hard for my tastes. Nothing hard and nothing Beaujolais-like about the 2004 Peyra VdT Crepescule, the same fun fruit juice these wines have always been, nothing more, nothing less.
For fans of lesser known regions I had a 1998 Clos du Mont Olivet Chateauneuf du Pape that was drinking quite well to my tastes although I had been warned that it would be much better in the future. But, for this CdP novice it showed nice resolved raisiney grenache notes and a decently "fresh" structure, so I found pleasure in the bottle, although I was a little frightened that my girlfriend preferred a 2003 CdR we had drunk several months earlier because "it was rounder". Someone managed to get me to drink the 1995 La Mission Haut Brion and the 1995 Lynch Bages, and while I of course know very little about the vintage or the producers, I found them both drinkable and enjoyable, even with my fish. Some of us found the LMHB more open, supple, and finesse-filled while the LB seemed more tannic and awkward, although we enjoyed discussing with Evelyne who found the LMHB to be more shutdown, and she does have the greater experience.
And to end, a wine I noted earlier while still in Paris, the 2004 Le Temps des Cerises "La Peur du Rouge", 100% viognier from deep in Southern France, made by a renegade German who apparently committed some errors with the vinification as the bottom of the tank didn't ferment in line with the top of the tank. But, no worries, because the seductive feel of chewy apricot peach juice, the ethereal air-y cloudy feel so common to natural wines, and the lovely filigree of mineral-laced acid made it a package worth consuming. The slight alcohol finish was perhaps too strong for my gentle soul but it was still fun.
Isn't it always.