Closel and Evelyne de Pontbriand

M

Mike Evans

Mike Evans
Evelyne de Pontbriand, the charming proprietor of Domaine du Closel-Chateau des Vaults in Savennieres, returned to town almost two years to the day from her last visit. And, as has become my custom, I pulled a couple of her older wines to share.

We started with current releases, which included a library release of the 2005 Clos du Papillon. We also had the Brut Sauvage (a Crémant de Loire labeled as VdF, though I missed the reason) and the 2014 La Jalousie, but I didn't get a chance to take notes on them.

2013 Domaine du Closel-Chateau des Vaults Savennières Clos du Papillon - Honey, floral, a delicious fresh vine herbaceousness, and stone fruit, it is rich but well-balanced by acidity. It gets tarter with air and more minerality appears, it is perfectly tasty now but should reward at least modest aging.

2005 Domaine du Closel-Chateau des Vaults Savennières Clos du Papillon - Lanolin, minerals, and botrytis are joined by a little melon rind, it is sharp and precise on the palate, which seems incongruous based on the ample botrytis on the nose. It takes a little time to get used to, and is more linear and austere in style than the 2013, but is still quite nice.

2012 Domaine du Closel-Chateau des Vaults Anjou Une Emotion - Fresh and fruity, with a hint of savory vegetality. A tasty, easy-going wine.

Next we moved on to the older wines I'd brought. I had opened the same wines on her last visit, but the results were a little different. Evelyne had mentioned earlier in the evening that her mother let her take charge of the vinification of the 2001 vintage, but not the vineyard work, so the 2002 was the first wine that Evelyne supervised from bud break through bottling. The last 2002 I'd opened was quite disappointing, but this one was stunning. Also, it was fortunate that I brought two bottles of the 1996, as one turned out to be corked.

2002 Domaine du Closel-Chateau des Vaults Savennières Clos du Papillon - It started with honey, lanolin, flowers, and a little hazelnut, it showed a little oxidation, but seemed much more vibrant and fresh than other bottles. Minerality develops with air, followed by a pleasant brown sugar and hints of spice, with a great balance of richness and tartness. Totally different from the last bottle I opened, this was a sensational wine.

1996 Domaine du Closel-Chateau des Vaults Savennières Cuvée Spéciale Clos du Papillon - Much tarter and more linear than the 2002 Clos du Papillon, it needs air and still has ample life. With air it rounds out beautifully, but still holds on to a lot of verve, one of the best and freshest bottles I've had.

I threw in one older non-Closel LDM selection since the 2015s from Coudert have arrived recently and I thought it would be interesting for others to see how they can evolve, and fortunately the 2002 regular Fleurie didn't let me down.

2002 Coudert Fleurie Clos de la Roilette - Earthiness and leather dominate, but there is enough brambly fruit to keep it fresh and to offset the tannin. Quite pleasant and while I don't know if age has improved it, age has brought out an interesting and different character than it showed in its youth.

It was a great pleasure to see Evelyne again, she is so charming and full of grace. I look forward to her next visit.
 
Thanks, Mike. Great write-up. Evelyne is such a gem!

It does sound as though the 2002 Clos du Papillon is a little inclined toward prem0x, no? Especially given that the 1996 is fresher?

As for the Coudert, great call—fantastic wine, and so ageable.

What context were these tasted in? Just stand-alone, or with food?
 
Thanks, Sharon. It was an in-store, stand-up tasting with cheese and crackers, so pretty much stand-alone. The 2002 Clos du Papillon is definitely on the oxidative side, and the bottle I opened when Evelyne was last in town two years ago was never better than drinkable, and then only after getting some air.

The difference between the 2002 and 1996 in some ways mirrored the difference between the 2013 and 2005, as in both cases the former reflects a richer, more opulent style of Savennieres while the latter a more linear mineral-driven style. I should have mentioned in my original note that the 2013 includes some residual sugar, as Evelyne mentioned that it just refused to ferment dry.
 
Interesting notes, Mike. Thanks. I'm rather surprised to hear that you find the '05 more austere than the '13 as that's not my experience at all given the ripeness of the '05 vintage and how they were still heavily in the more oxidative style at the time. They were picking earlier with the '13 and it certainly was a more difficult vintage weather wise than '05.

The '02 was always a bit controversial as it was the first "great" vintage a lot of us had from the domaine that was firmly in their oxidative style and when they were picking later. As you may recall, there was a lot of concern about it pre moxing as it was showing relatively advanced and easy drinking at an early stage. Certainly delicious then, but nowhere near as taut as the '89 and '96, or even the '97, back then. Nice to see that it's still showing well.

Speaking of the '96 Cuvee Speciale Clos Papillon, that one has been a controversial. I know I and others felt it was "benchmark Savennieres" on release. Just an unbelievably intense, focused and utterly gorgeous wine. However, at about age seven or eight, that wine went into major pre mox. I was working at Garnet at the time and bought them on release and stored them lovingly, but since around '04/'05, all of my '96s of that bottling have been shot, as well as other bottles I've tried from other people. I even brought a bottle to Dressner's 25th anniversary party at Ten Bells in '09 to show some doubters what was going on and the bottle did indeed show pre moxed. Glad yours showed up to the promise it originally showed. I really wish that had been my experience. I should add the '89 of the same bottling has shown none of the problems as the '96 and has shown brilliantly every time I've had it. One of those left in the cellar!

Btw, if you haven't had the opportunity to try the '14 Clos Papillon, you need to. I find it their best one since the '96/'97.
 
originally posted by Brad Kane:

Btw, if you haven't had the opportunity to try the '14 Clos Papillon, you need to. I find it their best one since the '96/'97.
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I've bought some bottles of her 14 Jaulousie. Anybody had that? I visited in 02 BTW, a very generous and charming lady.
 
Sounds good. A lovely side of Atlanta! And nice to hear about the 02 Papillon. I remember the huge contrast between that and the 01, which was partially about the approach to the wine but also about the vintage. With age it's nice to see that the 02 can still show so well.
 
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