WTN: Chidaine, Closel, Karthauserhof, Chave CdR, Masciarelli, Texier, etc

2005 François Chidaine Montlouis Clos Habert (France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis)

On night one this seemed sweet and even a little soft with all the baby fat. 24 hours open and it seems more etched and firm. Lemon zest and a little face powder in the nose, rich citrus and honeyed palate. A little chalky minerals and even some orange rind botrytis? Lots of concentration and layers to this wine. Long finish. Should age well I would guess. I love the 05's from Chidaine.




2004 Domaine du Closel Savennières La Jalousie (France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières)

Pale yellow color. Honeycomb and apple cider nose. More floral in the mouth, with brown baked apples. Some heat towards the finish.

2nd day, aromas a little more interesting, with slight chalky minerals showing up. Broad and a little heavy in the mouth. I liked this more on release, it has lost a little of its fruit and has that oxidized apple taste.




2004 Karthäuserhof Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Riesling Kabinett (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Ruwer)

My oldest son, who usually prefers beer over wine, was watching our house when we were away recently. We arrived home, and he was sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of this, and listening to the Smithsonian archives of the blues. He said he wanted something good to drink for a change. Will wonders ever cease?

Still with a little CO2, nice acidity, crunchy green apples and slate. Airy and quite delicious. Wish I had bought more 04 Kabinet.




2003 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Mon Coeur (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône)

Chave's take on Côtes du Rhône, a blend of syrah and grenache from non estate grapes. Dark translucent garnet. Smoke, kirsch liquor, blackberry fruit and some herbs, possibly rosemary in the nose. Also some wood toast noticeable. Full bodied, with dark fruit, lowish acidity and ripe tannins that finishes a little bit drying. Pretty good CdR, and a good effort for the hot vintage. It is still young and a little reductive at this point, but I would drink this over the next 2-3 years or so.



2000 Gianni Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Marina Cvetic (Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo)

Deep saturated purple. Roasted dark fruits, toast, licorice in the nose. Somewhat grapey, good acidity, ripe tannins and some alcohol noticeable on the finish. Very young, without much change from release. I think this needs the right food, it is a little heavy for casual sipping. We drank the wine with pasta and tomato sauce, but it would be perfect with grilled sausages, onions and peppers or something similar.




2005 Zilliken Riesling Butterfly (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Saar)

Sweet tart nose with more pronounced minerals than prior bottles. Still pretty spritzy. Green apple and citrus rind, kind of a weird malty finish. Nice quaffer. A bit rough around the edges with the 11+% alcohol.




2004 Éric Texier Condrieu (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu)

Really lovely wine. Violet and other florals, pear, and some melon fruit. In the mouth the fruit is framed with taut racy acids, and a long finish. First few whiffs had some coconut (oak? ) that left pretty quickly. Becomes more mineral and even grassy as it opens. Yum. Thanks for the tip, Jenise.




2005 A. et P. de Villaine Mercurey Les Montots (France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Mercurey)

I was so looking forward to this one, for a look at 2005, but also my first wine from de Villaine. Oh well, maybe next time.

Horribly awfully corked, bug spray first then the wet cardboard. Uggh. I guess it is better to find out now and not after many years in the cellar.

Best,
Marc

2004 Domaine du Closel Savennières La Jalousie (France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières) I liked this more on release, it has lost a little of its fruit and has that oxidized apple taste.

Anyone know if a similar progression has been observed with the 04 Clos du Papillon? Is this just a general shutdown period?

I love the 05's from Chidaine.

Have you tried the Baudoin or Argiles, yet? Good call on the Habert. It was really good on day 2 and maybe even a little more intense on day 3.

Anyone know if a similar progression has been observed with the 04 Clos du Papillon? Is this just a general shutdown period?

Thanks for asking that. I was wondering the same thing. I hope it is just a shut down period. I have some 2002 Closel Jalousie and the 02 Papillon, but I don't think now is the best time to open them.

Marc

Have you tried the Baudoin or Argiles, yet? Good call on the Habert. It was really good on day 2 and maybe even a little more intense on day 3.

Hi Bill.

I dug up my notes for the 2005 Chidaine wines I've tried. I think my favorite so far is the Montlouis Les Tuffeaux which is the blend from different parcels of Montlouis. The Habert is bigger, richer and maybe just as multifaceted, and if aging I wouldn't bet against it. In fact these 2 were the wine I bought more of. My preference is for the demi-sec style but they are all delicious.

I just realized I haven't tried the Vouvray Baudoin yet. I will have to fix this.


2005 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Tuffeaux (France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire) 1/27/2007
Aromatically this is pretty tight right now. Some lemon rocky scents with air. In the mouth full demi sec sweetness, quite rich and silky, ripe yellow peach and chalky minerals. Long finish. The acidity seems buried under the baby fat. Pretty damn good right now, potentially excellent, try again in a few months.

Overnight the wine really blossoms and opens with honey and quince aromas, and the minerals more noticeable. Also the wine seems more in balance with a good spine of acidity to accompany the richness of the palate. There is several layers of flavor here and the wine is an excellent example of demi sec Chenin from the Loire.




2005 François Chidaine Vouvray Le Bouchet (France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray) 1/31/2007
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.



2005 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos du Breuil (France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire) 2/10/2007
This is sec level, paler in color compared with the demi sec tried recently. Somewhat tight, opens up considerably on day 2. Vibrandt aromas of hard lemon candy, a little quince underneath. Nervy and energetic in the mouth, lots of minerals, chalk, and powder. Really good, but needs time for everything to come together.


Here is Lyle's take on the Breuil :

"We started off with the 2005 Francois Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Clos Breuil which was the best '05 Chidaine I have had so far. The nose was wispy and delicate but that deceieved you somewhat as the body of this wine was big, chewy and ripe with wonderful acidity. Crunchy apple and pear fruit along with intense aggressive minerality. A true mouthful of Chenin. Forceful yet so pretty with loads of structure for the long haul. After some aeration delicate doughu, appley and mineral notes started to arise from the glass. This was delicious but gone too quick. This matched wonderfully with some sort of watercress/arugula shot thing"

[quoted from famous WIWP Lyle Fass and his excellent blog Rockss and Fruit.]

I haven't tried the Bournais, which wasn't available here, but have heard that it is very unique (different soil?) and good too.

The Argiles I tried in 04 and it was a sec Vouvray and not bad for a difficult vintage. Haven't tried the 05 version yet. If you have access to Huet, the couple of 05's Ive tried are outstanding and worth the money IMHO. That is what I bought from Vouvray, in addition to the Pinon Tradition which I've gone through half a case already.


All the Chidaine wines reveal much more of themselves with 24 hours of air right now.

Best,
Marc

Thanks, Marc. The Tuffeaux is around here so I may try that one. I havent seen Bouchet or Breuil here though.

My shipment of Dom. Richou (Chauvigne Sec, Les Rogeries, and Coteaux de l'Aubance) just landed. It's going to be chenin month around here.