So, I’m obviously not doing that hot a job at posting on a regular basis. I hope to turn that around now that we’re into the new year.
Over the holidays I had some very nice wines, not all of which I took tasting notes on. It wasn’t that convenient at table with family. We did share some nice Crozes-Hermitage, and I also opened a 2002 Brane-Cantenac Margaux on Christmas Day to accompany the goose we had for dinner. I thought it was a nice pairing.
New Year’s Eve started with a Lucien Albrecht 2007 Cuvee Henri Reisling that was really enjoyable with the scallops and lobster that we had for dinner. The wine had an almost green-gold cast in the glass, and a floral and green fruit nose. On the palate it was somewhat hard to describe. I think I picked up some mineral/stony notes along with continued green fruit. The floral didn’t seem to carry over – at least not to my taste.
From there we moved on to a Louis de Sacy champagne. I’d never tasted a Sacy before, and was pleased with it. I’m usually a Roederer man, and enjoy the crisp acidity of the Brut Premier. The Sacy had a completely different character which I really enjoyed. There was brioche, and I think even some milk chocolate. I’m not completely sure about the latter, but I definitely had a creamy flavor, and milk chocolate was what kept coming to mind – I imagine from the Pinot components that went into the blend.
I definitely need to do some work on flavor and aroma detection and identification. An aroma kit may be in my near future.
Since then, my record has been somewhat hot and miss. In early January, I enjoyed a 2007 Moulin-a-Vent from Domaine les fines Graves. It started with red cherry and spice notes, with maybe a hit of something animal or vegetal – I’m not sure which. Later I got flavors of dried fruits, more intense red fruits, and maybe even some tobacco. I found it to be very rich and interesting, and hard to describe. I’ll have to revisit this sometime in the future.
A little over a week later I had a 2004 Chateau Fontenil AOC Fronsac. I’ve been targeting Fronsac and Canon Fronsac in my Bordeaux tasting recently because they seem to have a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc than other AOCs. I discovered I really liked Cab. Franc when I started this tasting and learning endeavor thanks to a Bourgueil from the Loire. The Fontenil had cooked fruit, tobacco, and vanilla notes on both the nose and the palate. I also got some sweet spice after it had opened for a while, and a bit of chocolate as well. Not sure that I liked it as well as the Vrai Canon Bouche I had a few weeks ago, but I’d certainly have it again.
One I think I’ll pass on in the future was a 2008 AOC Cheverny from Domaine du Salvard. It’s a Pinot Noir/Gamay blend, and while acceptable overall, I wasn’t highly impressed. The lightness and, I imagine, inclusion of Gamay in the blend made it reminiscent of Beaujolais, but without any real character that would make it distinct. It was pleasant and fresh, and had nice cherry/berry flavors, but it’s not a standout for me.
One of the best of my recent purchases was a 2008 Saint Cosme AOC Cotes du Rhone Blanc. I couldn’t find info on the exact blend for this vintage, but if it’s similar to the 2007, it’s composed of Rousanne, Viognier, Marsanne, Clairette, and Picpoul de Pinet. I was really surprised and impressed with this wine. It had stone fruit (apricots, particularly) on the nose along with some floral and maybe a bit of mineral. I seemed to get more of the floral on the palate, and some creamy notes. On the finish and after I had some toasted nuts, and perhaps even some caramel. I liked the complexity and will definitely keep an eye out for this again.
Not sure what’s next. I probably need to add a bit more rigor or structure to what I’m buying and tasting as I continue to increase my familiarity with France’s regions. Maybe I should pick a region, focus some purchases on it; focus for a while then move on.
One thing I know I need to do is be less formulaic in my notes. I like the WSET structure – Appearance, Nose, Palate – but I need to add to that more of my reaction to the wine, how it works or not with what I’m eating, etc. There needs to be a bit more emotion, I think, to accompany the details.
