Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
As is often the case in these days of wild excess, I fted the One Year Anniversary of Wine Disorder by celebrating more than once. I also thought it was piquantly apropos to do so with two wines imported by Louis/Dressner but weirdly.
One is from Pierre & Catherine Breton.
One did not exist yet when I got it.
Both are missing something.
2003 Breton Bourgueil Franc de Pied - First time I had this, I thought it had escaped 2003-itis. It was deep and fresh, with grippy Bourgueil dirt. Flash forward, what, three-four years, and oops, the cork is soaked all the way to the top. Where did I get this bottle? Aug? It couldn't be them. It wasn't me. But blame aside, the heat-invoking vision of a wet, red cork was an augury of the wine's taste on the palate. For 2003 had gotten its revenge, here. There was still a good Bourgueil and cabernet franc earthy-underbrush aspect, but a kirsch-type heat was perceptible. And, alas, the finish had a touch of the prune to it. This was not helped by the fact that the wine was probably consumed a little too warm.
2007 Baudry Chinon Blanc (barrel 1) - Now, let's forget my mishmash description of a visit to Baudry's domain last summer.* It's not often that VLM gets a really good foothold, but he was right to question my statements on Baudry's whites. A year later, of course, it is resoundingly clear to me that this, drawn from an "oxidative," older-vines (dixit B. Baudry) barrel of two (the other being reductive and young) was not the Croix-Boisse white (whose vines are far too young even for the most laxist interpretation of "Vieilles Vignes"), but rather the simple Domaine white. Mea ex post facto culpa. Anyway, I had had the 2006 Croix-Boisse white a week or two ago, and it was great to drink, wonderfully complex, avoiding the pitfalls of some flab in '06s. This '07, though, was an uncertain little thing. I had had higher hopes for it; it walked out like a shaky-legged foal. Maybe it does need the younger vines juice to shore it up, to set up an equilibrium.
There you go; BB was right. Thank god no one listens to me, anyway.
*See Wine therapy.
One is from Pierre & Catherine Breton.
One did not exist yet when I got it.
Both are missing something.
2003 Breton Bourgueil Franc de Pied - First time I had this, I thought it had escaped 2003-itis. It was deep and fresh, with grippy Bourgueil dirt. Flash forward, what, three-four years, and oops, the cork is soaked all the way to the top. Where did I get this bottle? Aug? It couldn't be them. It wasn't me. But blame aside, the heat-invoking vision of a wet, red cork was an augury of the wine's taste on the palate. For 2003 had gotten its revenge, here. There was still a good Bourgueil and cabernet franc earthy-underbrush aspect, but a kirsch-type heat was perceptible. And, alas, the finish had a touch of the prune to it. This was not helped by the fact that the wine was probably consumed a little too warm.
2007 Baudry Chinon Blanc (barrel 1) - Now, let's forget my mishmash description of a visit to Baudry's domain last summer.* It's not often that VLM gets a really good foothold, but he was right to question my statements on Baudry's whites. A year later, of course, it is resoundingly clear to me that this, drawn from an "oxidative," older-vines (dixit B. Baudry) barrel of two (the other being reductive and young) was not the Croix-Boisse white (whose vines are far too young even for the most laxist interpretation of "Vieilles Vignes"), but rather the simple Domaine white. Mea ex post facto culpa. Anyway, I had had the 2006 Croix-Boisse white a week or two ago, and it was great to drink, wonderfully complex, avoiding the pitfalls of some flab in '06s. This '07, though, was an uncertain little thing. I had had higher hopes for it; it walked out like a shaky-legged foal. Maybe it does need the younger vines juice to shore it up, to set up an equilibrium.
There you go; BB was right. Thank god no one listens to me, anyway.
*See Wine therapy.