Originally posted 3/14/02
Our resident wine-hating whippersnapper, Yixin, was in town this past weekend, so a few folks here got together to toast his still functioning liver.
Apparently, unbeknownst to me the theme was bring whatever reds will horrify Brad as with the exception of the falling apart 94 Pesquera Crianza I brought, all the reds were Loire Cabernet Franc, or Red Burgundy.
The dessert wines made up for it, though, so Ill just post my notes on those. The first two wines, however, are wines I had this past September that I finally got around to writing up as they fit in with the dessert wines.
Brad
1959 Gaston Huet- Vouvray, "Le Haut-Lieu"- Demi-Sec
Light golden color. The nose offers up nuts and minerals with the faintest hint of apricot. The wine gets off to a relatively slow start on the palate. It seems a little soft at first and fairly easygoing. Air really helped it coalesce and with time it really started to shine. Theres a terrific mlange of apricot, marzipan, mineral and lemon skin. Well balanced and fairly dry with a touch of honey. The finish is the wines real strength as it shows a rush of flavor and brilliant intensity that keeps building. Plenty of life ahead of it. Solid A-. Tasted 9/01
1959 Domaine des Douveliers (Claude Pinon)- Vouvray
A golden color thats a little darker than the Huet. Theres no sweetness indicator on the label, but it tasted sweeter than the Huet Demi-sec, but not so much. Seems to be in that nether region between Moelleux and Demi-Sec. Some pleasantly funky earth aromas with grilled stone fruits. On the palate its much chunkier and not as polished as the Huet, but its showing much more youth. Delicious older Vouvray stone fruits, nuts and lots of earth. Finishes with a burst of juicy acidity suggesting that this wine still needs time. Delicious stuff. A/A-. Tasted 9/01
1989 Domaine du Closel- Savnnieres, "Cuve Isa," Moelleux
Pretty tight on the nose. On the palate its lightly sweet with plenty of vibrant acidity. Has some interesting spice, mineral and dark honey components, but the wine is a bit awkward and shy at the moment. There are good things lurking in the shadows, but the wine needs some age to loosen things up. Low A- with room for improvement.
1959 Gaston Huet- Vouvray, "Le Haut-Lieu"- Moelleux
After going through a number of off bottles of this wine with some NY regulars over the past couple of years, we finally got a bottle that was on. Light amber color with a stunning nose that offered an aroma for everyone. Marmalade, marzipan, honey, tea mineral and apricot aromas billowed out of the glass. Still shows plenty of sweetness, but its by no means dessert level. Quite youthful and perfectly balanced with grilled apricot, marzipan, tea and mineral flavors that dazzle. Truly mouth-filling and with an endless finish. Clearly something to write home about. Solid A.
The following Bise wines sparked a little controversy. They looked older than they should have, leading to questions about storage since Yixin purchased them at auction, but I felt they showed wonderfully and in fairly typical in your face Bise style.
1996 Chteau Pierre Bise- Coteaux du Layon- Beaulieu, "LAnclai"
Light amber color that is darker than I remember this wine being in the past. Rich, effusive apricot and mineral aromas. Thick and rich on the palate with like flavors as aromas. The grapes in 96 lacked botrytis, so theres a certain purity to the wine that botrytis-rich 95s and 97s lack. Thats not to say its better, just different. What makes the 96s better than say the 97s in my view is the terrific acidity which keeps everything nicely balanced. I find the 97s from Bise to be a bit on the cloying side, with the exception of the LAnclai. In any case, this wine is delicious, though the Les Rouannaires bottling remains my favorite 96 Bise. Solid A-.
1995 Chteau Pierre Bise- Coteaux du Layon-Chaume
This wasnt my bottle, but this was the first bottle of Loire Chenin Blanc I ever purchased. The manager in the store I worked in at that time was and is a huge Loire fanatic and he was going on and on about this wine and how great 95 was in the Loire, so I ended up buying a couple and socking them away. The wine was the same light amber color as the 96 LAnclai with just as buoyant a nose, but the aromatics here are dominated by botrytis and tropical fruit. Thicker and richer than the 96 with a smidge less focus, but still very nicely balanced. Decadent botrytis, hay, pineapple and apricot and mineral flavors. While not as precise as the 96, I like this a tad better. Ive always been a sucker for the 95s in the Loire because they combine both botrytis with balance, whereas the 96s show balance with no botrytis and many 97s show botrytis with not so good balance. Call this one a Low A.
1996 Chteau Pierre Bise- Coteaux du Layon-Rochefort, Les Rayelles
Lighter than the previous two wines, though still a little darker than I recall it being. Much more mineral driven than the other two wines with marzipan and pineapple on the nose and palate. Shows that 96 acidic verve, though lacks a little of the oomph of the previous two wines. Still, lovely stuff. A-.
Our resident wine-hating whippersnapper, Yixin, was in town this past weekend, so a few folks here got together to toast his still functioning liver.
Apparently, unbeknownst to me the theme was bring whatever reds will horrify Brad as with the exception of the falling apart 94 Pesquera Crianza I brought, all the reds were Loire Cabernet Franc, or Red Burgundy.
The dessert wines made up for it, though, so Ill just post my notes on those. The first two wines, however, are wines I had this past September that I finally got around to writing up as they fit in with the dessert wines.
Brad
1959 Gaston Huet- Vouvray, "Le Haut-Lieu"- Demi-Sec
Light golden color. The nose offers up nuts and minerals with the faintest hint of apricot. The wine gets off to a relatively slow start on the palate. It seems a little soft at first and fairly easygoing. Air really helped it coalesce and with time it really started to shine. Theres a terrific mlange of apricot, marzipan, mineral and lemon skin. Well balanced and fairly dry with a touch of honey. The finish is the wines real strength as it shows a rush of flavor and brilliant intensity that keeps building. Plenty of life ahead of it. Solid A-. Tasted 9/01
1959 Domaine des Douveliers (Claude Pinon)- Vouvray
A golden color thats a little darker than the Huet. Theres no sweetness indicator on the label, but it tasted sweeter than the Huet Demi-sec, but not so much. Seems to be in that nether region between Moelleux and Demi-Sec. Some pleasantly funky earth aromas with grilled stone fruits. On the palate its much chunkier and not as polished as the Huet, but its showing much more youth. Delicious older Vouvray stone fruits, nuts and lots of earth. Finishes with a burst of juicy acidity suggesting that this wine still needs time. Delicious stuff. A/A-. Tasted 9/01
1989 Domaine du Closel- Savnnieres, "Cuve Isa," Moelleux
Pretty tight on the nose. On the palate its lightly sweet with plenty of vibrant acidity. Has some interesting spice, mineral and dark honey components, but the wine is a bit awkward and shy at the moment. There are good things lurking in the shadows, but the wine needs some age to loosen things up. Low A- with room for improvement.
1959 Gaston Huet- Vouvray, "Le Haut-Lieu"- Moelleux
After going through a number of off bottles of this wine with some NY regulars over the past couple of years, we finally got a bottle that was on. Light amber color with a stunning nose that offered an aroma for everyone. Marmalade, marzipan, honey, tea mineral and apricot aromas billowed out of the glass. Still shows plenty of sweetness, but its by no means dessert level. Quite youthful and perfectly balanced with grilled apricot, marzipan, tea and mineral flavors that dazzle. Truly mouth-filling and with an endless finish. Clearly something to write home about. Solid A.
The following Bise wines sparked a little controversy. They looked older than they should have, leading to questions about storage since Yixin purchased them at auction, but I felt they showed wonderfully and in fairly typical in your face Bise style.
1996 Chteau Pierre Bise- Coteaux du Layon- Beaulieu, "LAnclai"
Light amber color that is darker than I remember this wine being in the past. Rich, effusive apricot and mineral aromas. Thick and rich on the palate with like flavors as aromas. The grapes in 96 lacked botrytis, so theres a certain purity to the wine that botrytis-rich 95s and 97s lack. Thats not to say its better, just different. What makes the 96s better than say the 97s in my view is the terrific acidity which keeps everything nicely balanced. I find the 97s from Bise to be a bit on the cloying side, with the exception of the LAnclai. In any case, this wine is delicious, though the Les Rouannaires bottling remains my favorite 96 Bise. Solid A-.
1995 Chteau Pierre Bise- Coteaux du Layon-Chaume
This wasnt my bottle, but this was the first bottle of Loire Chenin Blanc I ever purchased. The manager in the store I worked in at that time was and is a huge Loire fanatic and he was going on and on about this wine and how great 95 was in the Loire, so I ended up buying a couple and socking them away. The wine was the same light amber color as the 96 LAnclai with just as buoyant a nose, but the aromatics here are dominated by botrytis and tropical fruit. Thicker and richer than the 96 with a smidge less focus, but still very nicely balanced. Decadent botrytis, hay, pineapple and apricot and mineral flavors. While not as precise as the 96, I like this a tad better. Ive always been a sucker for the 95s in the Loire because they combine both botrytis with balance, whereas the 96s show balance with no botrytis and many 97s show botrytis with not so good balance. Call this one a Low A.
1996 Chteau Pierre Bise- Coteaux du Layon-Rochefort, Les Rayelles
Lighter than the previous two wines, though still a little darker than I recall it being. Much more mineral driven than the other two wines with marzipan and pineapple on the nose and palate. Shows that 96 acidic verve, though lacks a little of the oomph of the previous two wines. Still, lovely stuff. A-.