Except when they're awesome, which is 99% of the time. Like last night. My mother's two sisters were in town and the older one had met Eric the last time he was in NC and as an avid gardener was enthralled with Eric's ideas about viticulture and loved the wines. To honor that spirit we had the following with dinner.
2012 Texier Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Blanc: clear floral nose with yellow stone fruits(is that a thing? it should be, I have a sense image in my head what that would be like). As the wine opens up it get's more lush but without losing its balance. This is pretty open for this wine and I can't think of a better Chateauneuf Blanc currently being made. Man, Eric is good at marketing.
2011 Texier Brézème "Domaine de Pergaud Vieille Serine": we decanted this upon arrival and set into it about an hour or so later. Deep garnet robe that still was transparent. The nose had a whiff of olives and a sense of meat more than an actual meatiness. There is an unknown dark fruit down there (I say "down there" because I really get a sense of depth with this wine) as well as more savory, animal and mineral notes. There is a sense of something deeply feral being tamed, something that tugs at the reptilian brain rather than the cortex. Another classic Texier marketing ploy.
2012 Texier Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Blanc: clear floral nose with yellow stone fruits(is that a thing? it should be, I have a sense image in my head what that would be like). As the wine opens up it get's more lush but without losing its balance. This is pretty open for this wine and I can't think of a better Chateauneuf Blanc currently being made. Man, Eric is good at marketing.
2011 Texier Brézème "Domaine de Pergaud Vieille Serine": we decanted this upon arrival and set into it about an hour or so later. Deep garnet robe that still was transparent. The nose had a whiff of olives and a sense of meat more than an actual meatiness. There is an unknown dark fruit down there (I say "down there" because I really get a sense of depth with this wine) as well as more savory, animal and mineral notes. There is a sense of something deeply feral being tamed, something that tugs at the reptilian brain rather than the cortex. Another classic Texier marketing ploy.