Good news! Or is it bad?

[Cliff]

2002 Domaine du Closel Savennires Clos du Papillon - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennires (5/12/2009)
It opens with what has become the all too familiar deep gold. Looks alarming. But wait, it's not dead. In fact, it's quite good, sound, nice, with bracing acidity, unlike the last several from the case, which were inching steadily towards the grave. What gives?

 

[Kay Bixler]

The wine was closed, now it is opening up again. Enjoy!

 

[Cliff]

I've still got a couple more. Hope you're right!

 

[Rahsaan]

originally posted by Kay Bixler:
The wine was closed, now it is opening up again

If true, that means the new techniques are leading to wines that have shorter shutdown periods. Will see what that means for maturity/flavors/complexity/longevity, etc. Either way, nice that Cliff had a fun bottle.

 

[Cliff]

Amen!!

 

[Jeff Connell]

What are the new techniques? How do they lead to shorter shutdown periods? And what do you think this will mean for maturity/flavors/complexity/longevity, etc.

 

[Rahsaan]

originally posted by Jeff Connell:
What are the new techniques?

When I visited way back in 2005 Mme de Jessy claimed that starting with the 2002 vintage they began picking fruit later/riper, going for more barrel aging on the lees, more battonage, and I'm sure there were other changes as well.

As I understood it, the goal was to get a wine that was more approachable young. I have no idea of the chemistry behind why this would lead to a shorter shutdown period but to the extent that the wines are softer and have a less fierce structure, it makes sense to me.

Surely others here know a lot more details about what is going on at the estate?

 

[Kay Bixler]

I heard the 2002 is drinking well.

 

[Jay Miller]

I've also experienced bottle variation, albeit between the 2 bottles I put away which is not a significant sample. But one was heading over the hill and the other was young and vibrant.

 

[Brad Kane]

My experience has been as others have said. Delicious now, but seems to be prematurely aging.

 

[MarkS]

I've had 2 good bottles within the last year, with that same deepening gold colour, but the wine itself was fresh, good, at the peak of maturity Savennieres. Boffo!

 

[Cliff]

I have had five or six in the past couple of years. They all have the same color. They all seemed prematurely advanced, and the previous few seemed to be progressively falling apart -- until this one. It doesn't have the sort of depth or complexity I would hope for from a good year, but it was fresh, lively, and interesting. Go figure.

 

[SFJoe]

I have several of these, will have to pull a bottle to try.