Loire Valley

• Bourgueil
• Jasnières
• Muscadet
• Mont Louis
• Sancerre
• Saumur
• Savennières
• Touraine
• Vouvray

This one is chugging along.  Perhaps a bit shut down from a bottle a few months ago, but it might have just been the bottle, night or me.  Still an outstanding bottle of wine.  Opened for friends who like to cook but at not into wine.  Come to think of it, the glasses were small and shallow and that may have been an issue as well.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has sea air, slight orange peel and honey.  On the palate, this is off dry.  It has a slightly viscous texture.  Honey, slight ginger, salinity, minerals and slight citrus.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  Went great with

I brought this to dinner with a couple that usually take a small pour of my whites and move quickly on.  Not this time.  They both went back for seconds, which is of course, the best compliment to the wine.  Really in a good place, but it is Chenin Blanc, so it has a long life ahead of it.  Light golden in color.  The nose has a lovely salinity along with some apricots and orange peel.  Also a slight metallic minerality (in a good way).  On the palate, be forewarned, this is sweet.  Probably a bit more than off dry.  But it is lovely and deft and light on its feet.  The orange peel comes th

Pop and pour, this is in a good place right now.  Light golden in color.  The nose has a nice salinity with some orange peel.  On the palate, this is barely sweet.  It has an almost dry pineapple quality if that makes sense.  Underlying minerality with a touch a salt (and yes, salt is also a mineral).  Good finish.  This is close to peak but will continue to morph and mature.  No hurry on well stored bottles.  Went well with cheeses.  

This is 100% Sauvignon Blanc from the Lorie Valley in France.  Yellow/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a nice minerality with crushed shells.  Slight grassiness.  On the palate, this is slightly oily with nice minerality.  Clean finish.  This is a solid wine that is a very nice value at $13.  It will drink well on its own or with lighter foods.  

This is from a region typically more known for their whites.  The owner of this winery is the son and nephew of the owners of Clos Rougeard, a "cult" wine in the Loire Valley.  This is Cabernet Franc from old vines.  It is a very nice wine.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose has a slight barnyard with cherries, black licorice and slight hay quality.  On the palate, concentrated cherries.  Nice layering as this unwinds in the glass.  It has a soft texture but at the some time intense.  Long finish.  Certainly not over ripe, this wine will work better with food.  It would be interesting to try

This bottle was quite good.  There are some reports about the prematurely oxidizing or at least ageing quickly but this was the first time trying this vintage.  It is quite a deep golden color but that is not unheard of for Chenin.  The nose is very nice with aromas of pears, orange peel, slight copper note and a bit of honey.  Full bodied and slightly viscous.  Also slightly oily in texture.  Lots of great minerality with some background orange and pear.  Long finish.  This has a slight perception of being sweet but it seems dry.  Good acidity.  This worked great with some hummus and also

This a very nice value in Cabernet Franc made from biodynamically grown grapes.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is nice.  2010 was a warmer vintage and that matters for Cab Franc.  If under ripe, it can be a bit green.  Very nice black cherry fruit along with some cigar tobacco.  On the palate, this has a nice texture.  The black cherry fruit carries thru.  Good acidity.  There is some forest floor which is nice.  This begs for food and worked well with middle eastern fare.  Good finish.  Drinking well now but should cruise thru the next ten years.  

This is delicious if young today.  Just a wonderful dessert wine.  And a wine that will out live all of us.  This is Chenin Blanc at its best.  Light golden in color.  The nose has ocean air, some crushed shells, orange peel and honey.  With air some poached pear notes emerge.  On the palate, this is slightly viscous.  It is sweet but short of cloying.  Enough acidity to balance.  Flavors of honey and baked apples.  Long finish.  Delicious in small amounts.  This goes well with ripe cheese or a savory cake.  

Deep golden in color.  The nose shows some slight oxidation but not a lot.  Some apple cider notes but also fresh pears.  On the palate, this is just barely sweet.  The apple cider carries thru as does the pears.  Good finish.  So the big question is whether this was a pristine bottle.  At age 13, it probably should have been a bit fresher.  On the other hand, it was varietally correct.  It seems this was close enough that it is within the variance of a 13 years old top Vouvray.   All in all, this should have been better but it was still very good.  

2003 was an extremely hot vintage across all of Europe.  The heat had two different effects on the vines.  Some of the grapes got withered and raisened from the heat.  Other vines just shut down an the grapes never got fully ripe.  And, a few places thru a combination of luck, micro-climates and hard work in the vineyard made good wines.  This wine seems to have a bit of all three of those.  Still, at age 15, it is drinking very well.  Medium deep golden in color.  The nose is sugary with apricots.  On the palate, this has nice apricot fruit.  Slightly sweet.  Not a lot of depth or complexi