Kay Bixler
Kay Bixler
Joe, are there numerous lurkers contacting you or is it just one guy who is afraid to log in?
loire vintages pre-1989
- Thread starter vaughn tan
- Start date
I never joke on the internet or in my non-native language.
Post-bottling blending is a common method for many wines, not just Muscadet, and certainly not just by me. Some chateaux (though not all) in Bordeaux prefer reconditioning with a younger vintage than the freshest bottle of the same vintage, especially for the sweets. Young tannin can be jarring, even in small amounts, but acidity less so if it's done correctly.
Which is why it's important to look for wines, even if separated by decades, possessing a similar structural profile. What I look for is a bit of aromatic lift (for Muscadet, the lees-heavy cuvées are great because the creamy notes don't infantilise the wine), a sharper attack (acidity, acidity, acidity), and most importantly the illusion of peaks and troughs in the mouth (acidity, again, but also weight and texture). Mix, for example, the 2003 and 2002 L and it's a diminution of the parts in any proportion. I did not have the 1989 on release, but structurally the 2009 tastes like it will develop similarly, albeit with a higher plateau. That's an observation from many attempts at blending.
Champagne and sherry are two other wine types where post-bottling blending is immensely rewarding. I don't think I need to point out where lees-aged Muscadet, Champagne and flor-influenced wines coincide in terms of process and result.
You should look for this chap called Rudy, though, before it becomes too inconvenient to do so.
Post-bottling blending is a common method for many wines, not just Muscadet, and certainly not just by me. Some chateaux (though not all) in Bordeaux prefer reconditioning with a younger vintage than the freshest bottle of the same vintage, especially for the sweets. Young tannin can be jarring, even in small amounts, but acidity less so if it's done correctly.
Which is why it's important to look for wines, even if separated by decades, possessing a similar structural profile. What I look for is a bit of aromatic lift (for Muscadet, the lees-heavy cuvées are great because the creamy notes don't infantilise the wine), a sharper attack (acidity, acidity, acidity), and most importantly the illusion of peaks and troughs in the mouth (acidity, again, but also weight and texture). Mix, for example, the 2003 and 2002 L and it's a diminution of the parts in any proportion. I did not have the 1989 on release, but structurally the 2009 tastes like it will develop similarly, albeit with a higher plateau. That's an observation from many attempts at blending.
Champagne and sherry are two other wine types where post-bottling blending is immensely rewarding. I don't think I need to point out where lees-aged Muscadet, Champagne and flor-influenced wines coincide in terms of process and result.
You should look for this chap called Rudy, though, before it becomes too inconvenient to do so.
Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
Certainly not before breakfast, the most important meal of the day.
Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
Sharon ... you may have met your match ...
vaughn tan
vaughn tan
thanks. very useful. must mull on it. who—i almost don't dare ask—is rudy?
vaughn tan
vaughn tan
did he give specifics?
Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
For the answer, check out Kenny Rogers's "Rudy, don't take your love to town."
Sharon Bowman
Sharon Bowman
Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
What's the big deal? You don't see anyone going around saying "so and so is a typeface of knowledge."
Jonathan Loesberg
Jonathan Loesberg
Is that what you really meant? In that case, I take back the grammatical complaint and lodge a logical one? Why would you think that some other monocepage wine from a different area--say a 100% Viognier from CA--might also react that way?
David Witkowsky
David Witkowsky
An edition of Andre Simon's The Noble Grapes and the Great Wines of France I recently found offers generalizations of Loire vintages 1934 to 1958. I'm happy to share when at a computer, though, it appears to be irrelevant for that list.