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Florida Jim

Florida Jim
3,028 miles, later.
Sonoma, CA, to St. Petersburg, FL.

So, whad I miss, gang?

2005 Luneau-Papin, Muscadet Pueri Solis:
12% alcohol; smells close to corked; tastes similar; not much here for me although, with the proper food this is better than something that really is corked.

2002 Verget, Chablis Vaillons:
13% alcohol; rich on both the nose and palate with a full-ish delivery and good sustain. A damn nice wine and I| dont usually give Verget the props.

2004 de Vilaine, Mercury Les Montots:
12.5% alcohol; pretty green to start with but this came alive with a spicy corn dish. Probably less than what I want (at least, right now) but has its place.

2006 Overnoy/Houillon, Arbois-Pupillin (rouge):
12.5% alcohol; a savory and complex nose with a multi-layered, intellectually stimulating palate; works by itself and with almost any food. It is impossible to have too much of this in your cellar.

1999 Failla Jordan, Syrah:
13.2% alcohol; smells unripe; the palate is closer to ripeness but falls a little short until I have it with spicy sausage and red sauce over pasta then, it sings. An interesting wine that requires the right food in its absence, not pleasant.

2009 Foillard, Morgon Cote du Py:
13 % alcohol; sweet fruit on the nose and palate a bit too sweet for my companions but I thought it was fine; carried good fruit and some complexity but it doesnt scream Morgon at the moment. Hold.

2009 Brun, Cote de Brouilly:
12.5% alcohol; austere but open; brooding but enjoyable; this will never be my favorite but I will always be happy to drink it.

N/V Ducroux, Patience:
12% alcohol; if I understand correctly, this all press wine from the 2009 vintage; my friends love it I dont. Both thin and muted with a sort of weak, reduced flavor profile. Maybe in time . . .

Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
Stuff3,028 miles, later.
Sonoma, CA, to St. Petersburg, FL.

So, whad I miss, gang?

A lot of really sucky weather in California. And some conversation not worthy of the combatants. But all's well that ends well, no?

-Eden (I'd suggest that for the nonce you drink the Foillard and serve your friends the Ducroux. In a year maybe try switching them around and you're likely to discover that everyone will always be happy some of the time)
 
re: the verget vaillons: i've always looked for chablis to put away in the wineroom, and bought a case of this in my callow 'youth': it's been gone for a while now, and it was never promising, and never would have had me guessing that it was chablis--or that it would become something resembling chablis. to me, a spoof wine. guffens chutzpah laid bare here (as well as many elsewheres, including seriously prem-ox'ed 1995 grand cru valmur (when it was about 9 years old)). the emporer has no clothes and his fiddly bits are getting frost-bitten.
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
2006 Overnoy/Houillon, Arbois-Pupillin (rouge):
12.5% alcohol; a savory and complex nose with a multi-layered, intellectually stimulating palate; works by itself and with almost any food. It is impossible to have much of this in your cellar.

What with like a dozen or so cases coming into to the States and then having to fight off Ten Bells/TerroirSF/LOU (plus those here), I've amended your Overnoy note.
 
2005 Luneau-Papin, Muscadet Pueri Solis:
12% alcohol; smells close to corked; tastes similar;

I haven't had the Pueri Solis but I get that wheat-y smells close to corked thing with Muscadet sometimes. Damned frustrating and unnerving! (Especially when the wine isn't actually corked).
 
Jim, Welcome back to the East Coast...sounds like the rain and snow are wreaking havoc over a lot of California...
RE: 2002 Verget, Chablis Vaillons...I thought these were heavily oaked??...did he stop doing that at some point??....I have intentionally avoided this producer based on a bad experience with a mid-90's version that was "fit for a beaver"...
 
originally posted by lars makie:
originally posted by Florida Jim:
2006 Overnoy/Houillon, Arbois-Pupillin (rouge):
12.5% alcohol; a savory and complex nose with a multi-layered, intellectually stimulating palate; works by itself and with almost any food. It is impossible to have much of this in your cellar.

What with like a dozen or so cases coming into to the States and then having to fight off Ten Bells/TerroirSF/LOU (plus those here), I've amended your Overnoy note.
Truth.
 
Steve,
Not any oak in this one that I could discern - why do I think that they don't use wood?

"Nonce;" only Eden.

BTW, I stopped at a fastfood place in Mississippi and heard a girl behind the counter speak with a southern drawl - I almost cried. CA is wonderful but I am southern even if I can't speak like that.
Warmth in the wind, humid air, the small of the forest/garden and that lovely lilt from the lips of a beautiful girl-child. Sweetness is . . .
Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:

2006 Overnoy/Houillon, Arbois-Pupillin (rouge):
12.5% alcohol; a savory and complex nose with a multi-layered, intellectually stimulating palate; works by itself and with almost any food. It is impossible to have too much of this in your cellar.

In fact, it's impossible to have any of it in your cellar.

You may want to don your flak helmet as you re-enter the forum now.
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
In fact, it's impossible to have any of it in your cellar.

Ney, ney, I say.
I acted with haste when it became available in the states and do have a few bottles in the cave.
Not impossible - then.
Best, Jim
 
So is the purchasing window for Overnoy/Houillon Rouge really that narrow. After tasting it, I am always on the lookout to get some, but it seems to never be available. Do you guys generally know when they ship it to the US?
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
So is the purchasing window for Overnoy/Houillon Rouge really that narrow. After tasting it, I am always on the lookout to get some, but it seems to never be available. Do you guys generally know when they ship it to the US?

I used to just keep an eye on the inventroy at Chambers Street.
However, the most recent vintages have come in such small quantities that it has been allocated.
The 2006 vintage came in sufficient quantity that I was able to get several bottles.
Best, Jim
 
The Ducroux Patience is a pressed wine from the 2007 vintage. It needs some time as the CSW website suggests.

The Foillard isn't so much sweet as it has candied fruit - a fatal flaw as far as I am concerned. This was my third time to drink this wine. I only drank a small taste to confirm that it was the same as the two previous times. I don't believe that a wine with candied fruit can improve over time.

The Verget still has some years to improve and has great fruit but no wood. I bought 2+ cases of this for $19 per bottle a year ago. I had the same impression of Verget as an over-oaked wine, but took a risk on this based on comments on this board that Verget doesn't use oak. Out of 22 bottles there have been 3 bottles with premox; otherwise it has been consistently good

The Fallia Jordan was a 1998 and from the Que Syrah vineyard,

This was the second time that I had had the Luneau-Papin, and it was consistent both times. There is a flavor there that is a bit off-putting, but I don't believe it was corked.
 
I know everything about the Overnoy/Houillon wines.

The quantities are tiny. Truly tiny.

Basically, they are not available.

I wish we could get more but there is worldwide demand.

Someone should find a grey market source, or get Sharon Bowman to buy for you in France and hold them for you.

Short of that, I'm very sorry.
 
originally posted by Joe Dressner:
I know everything about the Overnoy/Houillon wines.

The quantities are tiny. Truly tiny.

Basically, they are not available.

I wish we could get more but there is worldwide demand.

Someone should find a grey market source, or get Sharon Bowman to buy for you in France and hold them for you.

Short of that, I'm very sorry.
What's her haircut?
 
originally posted by Bill Bounds:
The Foillard isn't so much sweet as it has candied fruit - a fatal flaw as far as I am concerned. This was my third time to drink this wine. I only drank a small taste to confirm that it was the same as the two previous times. I don't believe that a wine with candied fruit can improve over time..

I think you're placing a lot of importance on an imprecise word like 'candied'.

I don't claim to know the future for this wine and I am far from an expert, but I have had it three times as well and wouldn't describe any of them as candied. For what that's worth.

Sure it's ripe, sure it's big for the idiom. But as it cools down it slims down and I certainly don't see any fatal flaws at the moment.

But you may be right. We'll have to wait and see.
 
I hadn't realized that the Overnoy/Houillon wines were that scarce. The poulsard I drank tasted like nothing I've ever had before. Knowing how hard they are to find, I certainly appreciate even more now the opportunity to drink such an inimitably delicious wine.

I admit, I still don't fully grasp terroir, but this wine certainly made me think I did while I was drinking it.
 
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