Joel Stewart
Joel Stewart
'05 Lieu-dit Les Epinets, from Cave de Saumur
deep crimson, not quite opaque in the glass, violet on the rim. 13.5 abv. ripe, near acrid sweet perfumey nose with a big dose of stemmy greenness thrown in...with time rising bread yeast mixed with forest earth and mulch notes come and go, tobacco ash. i recognize the acridness, but the aromatic development over a day's time enthralls. the palate, on the other hand was off and running from the get go: fresh picked sour cherries on the attack, silky smooth mouthfeel with some weight behind it and hints of darker cabernet sauvignon-like notes building in the mid and giving the wine pleasurable length and structure. the flavors are shored up nicely with a super taut, nearly vibrating acidity that spreads out in waves before ultimately lifting into a lip smacking tobacco-y grip on the finish. what is left beyond that is a kind of "retinal image" on the tongue. very impressive and not bad for a spec buy for this cf neophyte. i'll get more. someone mentioned risotto and i thought immediately of this wine as a great pairing...will have to try, as I think the rich creaminess and the chunk of risotto screams for something with this cut and verve, while adding a subtle robustness of it's own.
deep crimson, not quite opaque in the glass, violet on the rim. 13.5 abv. ripe, near acrid sweet perfumey nose with a big dose of stemmy greenness thrown in...with time rising bread yeast mixed with forest earth and mulch notes come and go, tobacco ash. i recognize the acridness, but the aromatic development over a day's time enthralls. the palate, on the other hand was off and running from the get go: fresh picked sour cherries on the attack, silky smooth mouthfeel with some weight behind it and hints of darker cabernet sauvignon-like notes building in the mid and giving the wine pleasurable length and structure. the flavors are shored up nicely with a super taut, nearly vibrating acidity that spreads out in waves before ultimately lifting into a lip smacking tobacco-y grip on the finish. what is left beyond that is a kind of "retinal image" on the tongue. very impressive and not bad for a spec buy for this cf neophyte. i'll get more. someone mentioned risotto and i thought immediately of this wine as a great pairing...will have to try, as I think the rich creaminess and the chunk of risotto screams for something with this cut and verve, while adding a subtle robustness of it's own.