Kay Bixler
Kay Bixler
Drinking Claude Papin's wine can be difficult. Always the promise is there but often the wine is not in the mood. Then there are times like tonight where the wine is just gushing. The '97 Clos de Coulaine red is big, ripe, dense, fruit sweet, alcohol sweet and bottle sweet all at once. Just a hint of rust to remind me it's an Anjou, walls of fruit and stone and then a wash of fine tannin to clean up the berries and leaves. And yet with all it's bigness there is tone and, well, class. And not Donald Trump class, this is the real thing. Humble, dignified. Okay, now I'm getting all weepy . . .
Had some old Bordeaux last week.
1999 Lynch Bages and 1999 Leoville Barton can probably fit into the same tasting note. Both are closed up but have the potential for elegance, I think. Don't know much about the vintage but these wines are firm with just a little stuffing no harsh wood and some kind of indescribable intrigue.
1995 Chateau Cantemerle and 1994 Chateau Nenin can also be lumped together but under the same nasty oak heading. I remember liking the Nenin a lot ten years ago but have little hope for the rest of my stash. And not trying to get all .sasha on everyone but a 1966 Nenin was terrific recently. Guess things change over thirty years. The Cantermerle wasn't really so bad but just had that distracting wood patina.
One of the few wines I still buy blindly by the case, 2005 Doamine du Pavillon Cote Roannaise is a joy. Just a wonderful expression of the gamay grape. Unpretentious red wine goodness. Wish I could find more Cote Roannaise wine. The few I've had, this one and one from Alain Demon, have been terrific.
For whites the 2000 Clos des Briords is a show stopper. Ripe, buzzing, persistent wine. Drink and hold. A 2007 Bloomer Creek gewurztraminer is dense and mineral laden with real, ripe and refreshing fruit regardless of it's looming stature. Some metabisulfite stink but that should diminish in time. 2007 Veremonte sauvignon blanc from Chile was nice. Probably spoofed but very easy to drink and enjoy at a party.
Well, that's all the recent tasting notes I have for now. Thanks for reading.
Best,
Kay
Had some old Bordeaux last week.
1999 Lynch Bages and 1999 Leoville Barton can probably fit into the same tasting note. Both are closed up but have the potential for elegance, I think. Don't know much about the vintage but these wines are firm with just a little stuffing no harsh wood and some kind of indescribable intrigue.
1995 Chateau Cantemerle and 1994 Chateau Nenin can also be lumped together but under the same nasty oak heading. I remember liking the Nenin a lot ten years ago but have little hope for the rest of my stash. And not trying to get all .sasha on everyone but a 1966 Nenin was terrific recently. Guess things change over thirty years. The Cantermerle wasn't really so bad but just had that distracting wood patina.
One of the few wines I still buy blindly by the case, 2005 Doamine du Pavillon Cote Roannaise is a joy. Just a wonderful expression of the gamay grape. Unpretentious red wine goodness. Wish I could find more Cote Roannaise wine. The few I've had, this one and one from Alain Demon, have been terrific.
For whites the 2000 Clos des Briords is a show stopper. Ripe, buzzing, persistent wine. Drink and hold. A 2007 Bloomer Creek gewurztraminer is dense and mineral laden with real, ripe and refreshing fruit regardless of it's looming stature. Some metabisulfite stink but that should diminish in time. 2007 Veremonte sauvignon blanc from Chile was nice. Probably spoofed but very easy to drink and enjoy at a party.
Well, that's all the recent tasting notes I have for now. Thanks for reading.
Best,
Kay