An End of Model Year Special

Touraine Pineau d'Aunis Rosé, Clos Roche Blanche 2008
$15. 12% alcohol. Nomacorc. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
Popped and poured as something to whet the whistles while friends and I cooked on a recent Friday night, this was actually the first chance I'd had to drink any of CRB's '08 rosé. It's a little late in the season, I know, but I'm all for drinking the pink stuff throughout the year, not just in the sultry months. It's not as if I stop eating vegetables and fish, cooking with fresh herbs or simply wanting to taste something bright and invigorating just because the mercury starts its ineluctable dive toward the freezing mark.


I did somehow manage to forget to snap a picture, though, so I've recycled my own photo of the '07 version, taken in the warmer months of last year. The pic would be even more useful had I a shot of the more recent vintage with which to compare it, as the 2008 is far lighter in color than the '07, its painfully pale pink core going to green and silver highlights nearer the edges of the glass. Correspondingly, this is also far less fruity than last year's model; rather, it's much more about texture than forward fruit, marked by the characteristic rasp on the tongue of Pineau d'Aunis, backed up by whispered suggestions of lime zest, rosemary and haricots vert. It may be tougher to enjoy with casual aplomb, but it's hardly without its usual interest and merit.

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Bark and Bite in the Touraine, or Clos Roche Blanche is The Schist

I was reading around my usual circuits of the blogosphere yesterday in search of a little inspiration and found it in the form of a rave from Mike Drapkin at The Schist. [Link now defunct, as is The Schist, I'm sorry to report.] The quest for what to open with dinner – grilled New York strip, a birthday treat from my wife – was complete. And while I could have opted for a special bottle of Barolo, Brunello or that old chophouse classic California Cab, what I opted for instead was Cabernet of a different ilk.


Touraine Cabernet, Clos Roche Blanche 2006. $16. 12.5% alcohol. Nomacorc. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
The label image above is borrowed from the 2005 vintage and Mike wrote-up the 2007. I went with the 2006, which just happened to be hanging out at home, waiting its turn in line. This is cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon, full of bark and bite. It’s a little darker and more brooding than the typically lean, light Cabernets of the Anjou yet is much brighter and snappier than the Cabernets we all know from warmer climes. More like a scrappy terrier or whip smart border collie than the muscular, sometimes plodding rottweilers and mastiffs of Bordeaux and Napa. Its nose is typical of Clos Roche Blanche in general, outdoorsy, animal and very forthcoming, pretty much brimming with fresh crushed blackberries and currants spiked with a sprig of bay laurel. The wine’s jagged texture requires food, its cool tannins standing out in stark relief to its bright, medium-bodied fruit. A match made in heaven for a rich cut of steak done black and blue, no. It worked well enough, though, that a second pour effortlessly found its way into my glass. And it’s a wine so loaded with life and character that I’d be happy to drink it on a regular basis, which seems to be a recurring theme with me when it comes to CRB.

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Soap, Bug Spray and Cracked Pepper

Some who don’t like it have found its flavors soapy. Some who do have likened its aromas to bug spray. One could easily go through life as a wine connoisseur and never encounter it. Yet after centuries of declining in favor it seems to be on the comeback trail, at least within a smallish circle of artisanal wine growers in France’s Loire Valley. It’s Pineau d’Aunis, also known as Chenin Noir.

Pineau d'Aunis on the vine.
(Photo by Danièle & Remi Loisel - Studio Amarante, courtesy of Domaine de Bellivière.)
It’s a vine the wines from which I’ve come to know only in the last couple of years. And it’s one for which I’ve developed a particular fondness, even if it’s not always easy to come to terms with the wines. As a variety, it’s grown in smatterings throughout the Anjou and Touraine and is sanctioned, primarily as a blending agent, in many of the region’s more flexible AOCs. If Pineau d’Aunis has found a particular niche, though, it’s in the relatively obscure AOC of Coteaux du Loir, situated alongside Jasnières on the banks of Le Loir (a tributary of La Loire) a few klicks north of Tours.

There’s something about Pineau d’Aunis that just screams out, “I’m from the Loire and I’m proud of it!” Lively, fresh and full of flavor though rarely heavy on its feet, it’s food-friendly, idiosyncratic and definitely not for everyone. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that it reminds me in many ways of a cross between Cabernet Franc and Gamay, two of the Loire’s more widespread varieties. Some of the peppery and herbal characteristics of Cabernet Franc are almost always in evidence, along with the bright colors and lively, red-fruited personality so typical of Gamay. Yet it’s all its own. When I think of wines made from Pineau d’Aunis, I think immediately of the scents of roasted strawberries and of freshly ground pepper. I think, too, of an aroma that some describe as pine forest yet that always reminds me somehow of fresh string beans – one of those strong, scent-driven memories the actual origin of which I’ve long forgotten. Even its texture seems unique, with a raspy delivery across the tongue that seems to stem not from tannins so much as from some latent energy captured and harnessed by the vine, delivered by the wine.

Following are notes on a pair of Pineau d’Aunis based wines I’ve recently explored (and here are thoughts from a few in the past). Let me know if you have any other favorites (or even less-than-favorites).


Coteaux du Loir "You Are So Beautiful," Nana, Vins et Cie (Nathalie & Christian Chaussard – Domaine Briseau) 2006 $15. 12.5% alcohol. Nomacorc. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
After a somewhat hit-or-miss experience with the Nana, Vins et Cie lineup at the recent Louis/Dressner 20th Anniversary tasting, I wanted to take a more comfortable sit-down with one of their wines. Goofy label aside, this was compelling wine. Medium-garnet color, even a little murky, in appearance. Strawberry and black raspberry preserves on the nose, with a definite streak of pepper and a smoky edge that faded with aeration. It's a touch animal in character, no doubt the influence of Malbec (Côt) in the blend. That raspy trademark of Pineau d’Aunis I mentioned above was out in force, making the wine bristle throughout my mouth. A revisit on day-two yielded a more soft spoken wine, with rounder, gentler fruit and slightly softer texture, but with correspondingly less vigorous aromas. Not my favorite, if only for a slight clumsiness, yet still a wine I’d happily revisit, especially given its $15 price point.

Touraine "L'Arpent Rouge," Clos Roche Blanche (Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet) 2007 $17. 12.5% alcohol. Nomacorc. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
This one… this one I loved. I’ve heard tell of bottle variation, always a risk with minimally sulfured wines such as those from Clos Roche Blanche, but this bottle was definitely singing. Much lighter in color than “Beautiful” but no less flavorful for its paler hue, this was just redolent of wild strawberries and black pepper. Very energetic in feel, this too had the rasp but was more graceful in its attack. Like a barber, proud of his trade, scraping your tongue clean with a freshly honed straight razor. My taste buds couldn’t help but stand up and take notice. Invigorating, refreshing and a joy at the table, it really came alive when paired with the Lindenhof Farm turkey pot pie I’d picked up earlier in the day at my local farmers market.

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Wines at the Beach

It should come as little surprise that my recent week off from work and a week away from the blogosphere hardly meant a week off from wine. However, in keeping with Brooklynguy’s recession busting advice – brew your own coffee, pack your own lunch – it did mean carting along some wines from the home cellar rather than exploring the downstate wine shops in search of new finds. It also meant a week of much more casual note taking than usual (which is to say none…) so the following quick write-ups are based mainly on raw impressions.

Traisental Grüner Veltliner “Hugo,” Weingut Huber 2007
$10. 12% alcohol. Stelvin. Importer: Boutique Wine Collection, Philadelphia, PA.
Certainly the beachiest of the bunch. Relatively generous yields show through in Hugo’s relative lack of concentration but I challenge you to find another $10 Grüner Veltliner that shows as much quality as this. Crisp, fresh and light, it bursts with flavors on the citrus and grassy side of the GV spectrum. Not at all vinous or serious, just a good, refreshing quaff and a worthwhile alternative for anyone tired of drinking inexpensive Sauvignon.

Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese, Carl Schmitt-Wagner 2005
$17. 9% alcohol. Cork. Importer: A Terry Theise Selection, Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY.
It was hard to pass up at the price but this is the second ’05 from Schmitt-Wagner that I’ve been a little under whelmed with in recent months. A soaked through cork hinted at the possibility of poor provenance, which may explain the dulled flavors of the wine. It wasn’t without appeal, showing pleasant, baked apple fruit. But its length was shorter, its acidity softer and its minerality less pronounced than I would have hoped. More than drinkable but less than memorable.

Touraine “Cuvée Gamay,” Clos Roche Blanche 2007
$16.50. 12% alcohol. Neocork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
After reading rave reviews about this from both Neil and Mike recently, I expected to be wowed. Instead, I was a little let down, a particularly coincidental experience as I’d just defended Clos Roche Blanche in response to Neil’s posting. High expectations are always hard to meet, so I should say that this was far from bad wine. It was just a touch flat, showing hints of the aspartame character I sometimes find in direct, simple Gamay as well as a touch of the plastic flavor I’ve found in some wines – is it just my imagination? – sealed with Neocork/Nomacorc. An off bottle? I’m not sure, but I’d love to see CRB (and other producers) switch to screw caps instead of synthetic stoppers.

Champagne Verzenay Grand Cru Brut, Jean Lallement & Fils NV
$40. 12% alcohol. Cork. Importer: A Terry Theise Selection, Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY.
Without question, this was the wine of the week. Even though the price has crept up closer to $50 in some markets since I purchased this, it’s still a damn good value in grower Champagne. Creamy, succulent and showing lovely phenolic concentration up front, it finished with a grippy, pithy twist of the tongue, showing fantastic acid backbone, even a suggestion of a little tannin. Flavors of yellow peaches led into fresh raspberries and cream. The finish brought a return to peaches along with red apples – the skins rather than the flesh. Really compelling bubbly.

Chinon “Les Picasses,” Olga Raffault 2002
$20. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
We took this and the Lallement to dinner at a Rehoboth restaurant called Nage. My wife summed it up something like this: “That Champagne was delicious. This is… hmmm… hmmm… this is good wine.” The young sommelier, who had never tried Chinon before, found it sour. You know what? They were both right. Leaner and quieter than I expected and, yes, even a little sour on the finish but an excellent food wine. Red currant, black tea, thyme and olive characteristics were carried on a narrow frame. Delicate tannins, high acidity and a little on the austere side, albeit quite supple in feel. This one requires some devotion but is worth the effort.

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A Natural Pair from the Touraine

If, as a friend recently quipped, $20 is indeed the new $12, then that never ending search for every day wine values continues to lead this taster to the Loire more regularly than any other wine region. Even though the good old $9-12 Muscadet is starting to become an endangered species, there’s still a ton of great stuff in the under-$20 range to be found along the Loire’s 630-mile path. I carted two examples along for the ride to a new BYO in my neighborhood just a few nights ago.


Touraine Sauvignon “No. 2,” Clos Roche Blanche 2007
$16. 12.5% alcohol. Nomacorc. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
The more I drink from Clos Roche Blanche, the more I'm convinced that proprietor Catherine Roussel and winemaker Didier Barrouillet are producing some of the best values in the wine world. Period. Their “No. 2” is a lovely example of the purely fruit-driven side of Loire Sauvignon Blanc. Very clean aromas border on the tropical. Lime juice and tonic drive the middle of the palate, while peach skin and ripe gooseberry flavors liven up the edges. Texturally, it’s round right up front, even a little pillowed, but its acidity vibrates through on the finish with a buzz that makes the mouth water. I drank this over the course of four days – something I rarely do – and, while the acidity had faded somewhat on day four, its fruit held up admirably. Adept with food and certainly viable as a sunny day quaff.

Touraine “Le Vilain P’tit Rouge,” Domaine Ricard 2006
$18. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
The ’06 version of “Le Vilain” is a blend dominated by Côt, to the tune of about 90%, rounded out by a dash of Cabernet Franc. It’s shed a bit of its baby fat since I last tasted it – and become all the more interesting, if perhaps a tad less friendly, for the change. The Malbec (called Côt in the Loire) makes a clear statement via a nose full of wild, gamy red and blue fruits accented by a touch of smoke. Those aromas translate to similar flavors on the palate, backed up by a solid arc of acidity and tannins that are cool, firm and slightly tangy. More sour than bitter. This cries out for food – think duck or roast pork – and should do interesting things in the cellar over the course of the next five years or so.

Don’t let the cutesy label scare you away. I can’t say there’s no eye to marketing in its design. Mainly, though, it just captures young vigneron Vincent Ricard’s wry sense of humor and strong attachment to making expressive, natural wines. I’ve written about the story behind its name in the past, so I won’t make this post any longer by repeating it here.

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Loire Valley Wines… Let Me Count the Ways

Diversity. Character. Expression.

Sounds like it could be a commercial slogan for just about any high market product, no? Add food friendliness to the list and you have four of the many reasons that I love Loire Valley wines. Those factors are all captured in a delicious wine from the Touraine that I enjoyed with dinner this week. It may be my favorite rosé of the year (at least so far).


Touraine Pineau d’Aunis Rosé, Clos Roche Blanche 2007
$15. 12% alcohol. Neocork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
Diversity? Where else are Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Côt, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc grown right alongside local oddities like Pineau d’Aunis and Menu Pineau? Character? This is seriously distinctive wine that couldn’t come from anyplace else. Expression? The varietal character of Pineau d’Aunis shows through, even in a rosé, where grape variety can often be innocuous. Loire terroir is also expressed; even with the assertive personality of Pineau d’Aunis, there’s still an aspect of delicacy at play, largely thanks to light, refreshing acidity. Food friendliness? I’d be happy to drink a glass of this on its own but, for many, this might demand food. I enjoyed it with a very simple dinner – turkey burgers and a salad – but I could envision this pairing well with anything from poultry to sausages to grilled seafood.

There’s a remarkable match between the wine’s color and one of its dominant flavor elements: watermelon rind. Think of the pale pink watermelon pith left just above the pale green/white of the rind itself. Add to that a generous dash of cracked black pepper and slightly raspy texture and you’ve got a good sense of the wine. It’s rustic and a little awkward but extremely charming, all the same. Air contact and the concomitant slow rise in temperature bring out aromas of fallen leaves and potpourri. If forced to draw a parallel, I’d think of it as a cross between Cabernet Franc and Syrah, though what it really reminds me of is the Fer Servadou, aka Mansois, native to Marcillac in Southwest France. At $15, this is also a welcome example of the fact that many Loire wines continue to provide not just great character but also great value.

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A Few Under $20 Gems from the Loire

The occasional Riesling or Burgundy aside, I’ve been on a huge Loire kick of late. Starting just prior to the last episode of WBW that focused on French Cabernet Franc, running straight through my rather prolix three part story of a visit to Chinon, and continuing right into dinner last night, the wines of the Loire have been keeping me coming back for more. I’m sure the beauty of the region and the experiences recalled from my last trip there have something to do with it. It also doesn’t hurt that the Loire seems to be the hottest bed of innovative and natural wine growers in France. Many Loire wines tend toward naturally low alcohol levels. And it remains one of the few regions where some seriously high quality, age worthy wines can still be found for under $20 a bottle. Above and beyond all of that, I think it’s the incredible diversity and the vibrant, food friendly nature of the Loire’s best wines that really keep me captivated.


Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie "Le Fief du Breil," Domaine de la Louvetrie (Jo Landron) 2004
Jo Landron is one of the champs of the natural wine movement in the Pays Nantais, the region at the mouth of the Loire, near the Atlantic seaboard and synonymous with the wines of Muscadet. His 2004 “Le Fief du Breil” is showing just great right now. Its intense, almost saline mineral extract, combined with a marrowy, leesy influence in the mouth made me think of a soft pretzel taken straight from the oven and thrown onto a platter of oyster shells. This is classically crisp and fresh, yet it’s no lightweight. Bracing acidity combines with the wine’s physiological density to provide some serious palate impact. This has a long life ahead of it.

Here’s a side note of potential interest. If you’re keen to find wines made from organic fruit and feel more secure with produce that is certified organic (as opposed to being farmed organically but without certification), then take a look at the small print in the photo of Landron’s label. “Vin Issu de Raisins de l'Agriculture Biologique, Certifié par ECOCERT” means literally “wine issued from organically grown grapes, certified by ECOCERT.” ECOCERT is one of France’s primary organic certification bodies. $14. 12% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Martin Scott Wines, Lake Success, NY.

Chinon, Domaine Bernard Baudry 2005
Speaking of modestly priced wines worthy of a spot in your wine closet, the basic 2005 Chinon from Bernard Baudry is a great candidate for mid-term cellaring; that said, it’s hard to pass up enjoying it now. It reminds me an awful lot of the Chinon “Les Graves” of Fabrice Gasnier. That’s a good thing, not just because Gasnier’s basic cuvée is among my long-standing everyday favorites, but also because the similarity speaks to the clear, true expression of terroir in both producers’ wines. Baudry and Gasnier are both located in Cravant Les Coteaux, one of Chinon’s sub-regions located just to the east of the city and just north of the banks of the Vienne. Here again, it’s worth studying the information on Baudry’s label:


Cabernet Franc
Graviers 80% et Argiles de Coteaux 20%
Sols travaillés sans utilisation de désherbants et d'engrais chimiques.
Vendange manuelle
The geological makeup, 80% gravel and 20% argile/clay soils, is pretty much identical to that of the vineyards from which Gasnier’s “Les Graves” is produced. Baudry’s wine is a touch more muscular but both share leafy aromas, hints of red cassis and cherry fruit, crackly acidity and lots of texture. Not big, bold tannins. Just lots of fine grain that gives a really invigorating mouth feel. These wines demand food with their texture. And they blossom in the presence of food, ranging anywhere from salmon to pork and poultry, and from sausages to a local goat’s milk cheese like St. Maure de Touraine. $17. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY.


Touraine "Cuvée Côt," Clos Roche Blanche 2005
My first encounter with the “Cuvée Côt” from Clos Roche Blanche was at François and Manuela Chidaine’s wine shop, La Cave Insolite, during a visit there in early 2004. I brought a bottle home with me, the 2002 I think, and ended up not opening it for quite a while. When I finally did, it made my top-ten list for the year. Just delicious, characterful wine. I’m not sure the 2005 is quite as captivating, though it may get there with time. Either way, it’s tasty as can be right now. Classic Loire Côt (Malbec) aromas of hickory smoked bacon, huckleberries and fresh horse poop. Like with the Chinons above, there’s a nice spine of zesty acidity. The mouth feel is rounder, with broader, rustic tannic impact. This is the bottle I enjoyed with dinner last night, a simple plate of pasta with a tomato and mushroom sauce. Not culturally synchronized, I know, but actually not a bad match. It would be even better with those same mushrooms along with some caramelized onions served over a roast loin of pork. $17. 12% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections, New York, NY.

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