Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
Yesterday afternoon, the lure of the unknown radiated from Chambers Street and its eponymous Wines store. A seismic epicenter, for the nonce. I could not not wend my way over there and see* just what David Lillie had gotten his hands on and was offering the public by way of direct import.
I saw them.
Favorites:
2000 Brgon Muscadet Svre-et-Maine Gorgeois - now, I have a reputation for roundly scoffing at those who claim Muscadet can replace any appellation of whites from the other side of France (say, south-east of Sens and north-west of Bourg-en-Bresse); yet my palate was bestilled upon tasting this Gorgeois, which is clearly misspelled, because damn, it's gorgeous. And, you know, in a pinch... I mean, not that I get in a pinch and run out of white B... but well, anyway... Made on granite soil and bottled only in 2004, this is heady stuff and as unlike garden variety Muscadet as a snail is unlike a black pencil eraser. Long, tangled, complex, noble of brow, yellow. A thing of which I would like to drink more.
2005 Pierre Frick Pinot Blanc Classique - how the prejudices crumble. Not only was this surprisingly un-sweet, it had both a light floral touch and good structure and weight, fine persistence. Balanced and persuasive.
2005 Mayragues Gaillac Blanc Sec - 100% Mauzac. I felt a twinge of trepidation, as that scrabbly southwestern grape and I see at somewhat narrowed eye-to-eye. (OK, I overstate; I am not really the cpage-hater I am painting myself to be, though it does make for a good story, road to Damascus and all that. To continue:) This was very white-Bordeaux on the nose, with a tiny accent of old oak. On the palate, though, it bloomed out into a completely different flower, with a good bitter-pith backbone I associate with Mauzac but lovely ripe lemon and apple and some nuttiness.
NV Mayragues Vin de Table de France Brut de Mayragues - a mthode ancestrale bubbly made from 100% Mauzac. This, with its lazy bubble (and lower atmospheres than champagne and mthode champenoise fizz), was slow and happy on the palate, like a turtle sitting contentedly in the sun. Somewhat lavish, despite zero dosage, it was round, fruitful, good, made to quaff.
Afterward, the only thing to do was scoop up some bottles and head off to a restaurant that allows corkage. Which is indeed what occurred.
*I know, you see with your eyes, not with your palate. But this is what people like VLM call literary license.
I saw them.
Favorites:
2000 Brgon Muscadet Svre-et-Maine Gorgeois - now, I have a reputation for roundly scoffing at those who claim Muscadet can replace any appellation of whites from the other side of France (say, south-east of Sens and north-west of Bourg-en-Bresse); yet my palate was bestilled upon tasting this Gorgeois, which is clearly misspelled, because damn, it's gorgeous. And, you know, in a pinch... I mean, not that I get in a pinch and run out of white B... but well, anyway... Made on granite soil and bottled only in 2004, this is heady stuff and as unlike garden variety Muscadet as a snail is unlike a black pencil eraser. Long, tangled, complex, noble of brow, yellow. A thing of which I would like to drink more.
2005 Pierre Frick Pinot Blanc Classique - how the prejudices crumble. Not only was this surprisingly un-sweet, it had both a light floral touch and good structure and weight, fine persistence. Balanced and persuasive.
2005 Mayragues Gaillac Blanc Sec - 100% Mauzac. I felt a twinge of trepidation, as that scrabbly southwestern grape and I see at somewhat narrowed eye-to-eye. (OK, I overstate; I am not really the cpage-hater I am painting myself to be, though it does make for a good story, road to Damascus and all that. To continue:) This was very white-Bordeaux on the nose, with a tiny accent of old oak. On the palate, though, it bloomed out into a completely different flower, with a good bitter-pith backbone I associate with Mauzac but lovely ripe lemon and apple and some nuttiness.
NV Mayragues Vin de Table de France Brut de Mayragues - a mthode ancestrale bubbly made from 100% Mauzac. This, with its lazy bubble (and lower atmospheres than champagne and mthode champenoise fizz), was slow and happy on the palate, like a turtle sitting contentedly in the sun. Somewhat lavish, despite zero dosage, it was round, fruitful, good, made to quaff.
Afterward, the only thing to do was scoop up some bottles and head off to a restaurant that allows corkage. Which is indeed what occurred.
*I know, you see with your eyes, not with your palate. But this is what people like VLM call literary license.
