Sancerre "Caillottes," François Cotat 2007

Today's object of vinspection is a wine I’d never before encountered until getting together with friends for dinner and a little tasting this weekend. As much as I like to share wisdom here regarding wines I’ve tasted year in and year out, sometimes it’s just as edifying and even more educational (for me at least) to record first impressions, maybe even open the door to dialogue with other readers and wine lovers.

Sancerre "Caillottes," François Cotat 2007
$36. 13.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Dionysos Imports, Manassas, VA.
François Cotat has been producing this cuvée since the 2005 vintage. Its fruit hails from Cotat's young vines grown in the flattish lands between Sancerre and Chavignol, where the soil is dominated by "caillottes," a rocky, chalk and limestone rich terroir with little in the way of what one would usually think of as topsoil.

2007 was a ripe vintage in the Sancerrois district and Cotat’s “Caillottes” shows it in its round, opulent mouthfeel and somewhat aggressive alcohol attack. While that roundness coats the entire palate, leaving a big impression, it also leaves a void right in the center, as if the wine grew up so fast that it never quite developed the strong core needed for good balance. Still, there’s a lot to like here: an intense impression of limestone-rich minerality, bolstered by flavors and aromas of key lime zest and a firm, mouthwatering clamp of acidity on the finish.

While this is not among the most finessed of Cotat’s wines, it’s still well-knit enough to present attractive possibilities on the table. I’d love to pair it with a well-aged puck of Crottin de Chavignol, or with a richly flavored fish with a beurre blanc sauce. Though I don’t think this vintage will ever find a perfect balance, were I holding any bottles I’d sit on them for another two or three years in hopes that it may develop greater harmony and integration.

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Pinot Noir de la Loire

I trust you'll all forgive me for taking a short break from Piedmont coverage. Since I returned home, I've been mixing things up a good bit (not a drop of Nebbiolo yet!) and thought I'd put in a good word for a truly pretty red from the Upper Loire that crossed my table earlier this week.

With apologies to the label designer and M. Boulay, those blasted oversized bottles (this isn't one of them) really do a number on other bottles' labels when they're squeezed into cellar bins that were never meant to accommodate their impressive girth.

Sancerre Rouge, Gérard Boulay 2007
$27. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: A Thomas Calder Selection, Potomac Selections, Landover, MD.
When last I wrote about Gérard Boulay, I mentioned that startlingly little information is available on the web regarding the man and his wines. Given that, perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise that my write-up of his '06 Sancerre rouge has proven to be one of the most frequently stumbled upon posts here at MFWT over the last year. I popped a bottle of his '07 Sancerre rouge a few days back and, though it may not have been quite so vividly fine as the '06, it was immensely pleasurable. Full of oh-so-pretty red fruit (sweet, with just the slightest suggestion of tart) and lively acidity, surprisingly forward yet finishing with a delectable nuance of bright minerality. Very food friendly and very, very approachable, it's hard to pass up right now though I suspect it will also prove interesting with a few years of rest in the cellar.

The title of today's post includes an intentional play on words on my part. Rhyming aside, it's meant to evoke the name of what's arguably the Loire's greatest wine grape, Chenin Blanc, which is locally known as Pineau de la Loire.

Though it will come as no surprise to many of you that are well versed in the lore of the Loire, as a wine retailer, I meet wine lovers everyday, at a variety of interest and knowledge levels, who are stunned to find that such a thing as red (and/or rosé) Sancerre exists. When, in answer to the inevitable question, I tell them it's produced from Pinot Noir, the response is most often one of pleasant surprise. And the most common question: what's it like?

Well, I don't sell this one but, if I did, my response should be obvious from the quick description above. Delicious. While it's considerably more expensive here on the east coast than on the west, Gérard Boulay's version is still a sound value at its price point in the $30 range, and very much worth seeking out.

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Five for Friday, Including Passing References to QPR and the Tyranny of the Tasting Note

For today, just a few notes and pics from a recent Friday get together. It had been too long, so I hope you’ll pardon my indulgences.

Rioja Gran Reserva “Viña Tondonia” Rosado, R. Lopez de Heredia 1998
$25. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: USA Wine Imports, New York, NY.
Drinking like your most comfortable pair of shoes feels, that pair you just can’t bring yourself to part with – soft, supportive, something you’d be happy to wear (or drink as the case may be) all day and just about every day. Showing medium, fully matured acidity, penetrating yet not at all forceful. Say what you will about the subjectivity of tasting notes (see the comments), this wine inspires them. A nose full of maple, orange confit and potpourri leads into a candied pecan driven flavor profile that persists and envelops the palate for minutes. Vanilla, pear, clove, peach, rose petals, winter melon… they’re all there. And the extraordinary QPR for a wine of this provenance and quality continues to astound me. Lovely stuff.

Côtes du Jura, Jean Bourdy 2005
$26. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: A Thomas Calder Selection, Potomac Selections, Landover, MD.
Jean Bourdy’s Côtes du Jura Blanc is varietal Chardonnay, which is aged in old oak tonneaux for 3-4 years prior to bottling, yielding a slightly oxidative style. Bourdy recommends decanting the wine 3-4 hours prior to consumption but we weren’t nearly so patient. In spite of our quick pour and even following a very tough act, the wine was quite subtly delicious, showing an intensely mineral nose laced with apple and pastry nuances. Drinking it, I couldn’t help but ponder whether there are Chardonnay based wines produced anywhere else that show such nervy, crackling, tight wire acidity. Certainly not in Chablis. Maybe, just maybe, in the tautest examples of Côtes des Blancs Champagne. But even then, I’m not so sure. The wine continued to improve as it warmed toward cellar temperature (which is the recommended serving temp, by the way), letting the wine’s inherent core of sweet concentration unfurl.


Sancerre “Clos la Néore,” Edmond Vatan 2007
$55. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Wine Cellars Ltd., Briarcliff Manor, NY.
On this night, Vatan’s Sancerre – only a few ounces remained in a bottle opened the previous day – served as a quick segue before shifting into red gear. Very floral, bursting with aromas of lavender, Queen Anne’s lace and gooseberry pie. Maybe Sharon knows something I don’t (see her comments here), but this is really freaking delicious wine. Worth the splurge and, though I’ve never had what might be considered a fully mature example, reputedly quite worthy of cellaring.

Vallée d’Aoste Torrette “Vigne les Toules,” Les Crêtes 2006
$28. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Domaine Select, New York, NY.
Les Crêtes’ Torrette is a blend of 70% Petit Rouge – an heirloom vine, if you’ll forgive the term, native to the Valle d’Aosta – and 30% “other varieties.” Fermented in steel for a little over a week, the wine is then finished in older casks for about eight months before bottling. The wine reminds me very much of Freisa from the Langhe, barky in its aromas and texture and full of cinnamon, cocoa and huckleberry nuances, finished off with a slightly bitter edge. Very loamy, think of moldering forest floor. Raspy tannins and the slightest suggestion of a frizzante prickle make for a solid, rustic pleasure at the table. The QPR trend falls apart here, though; in the teens this would be a great value but in the high $20s I’m afraid it’s destined to be more of an occasional curiosity than a regular quaff.

Morey-Saint-Denis “Vieilles Vignes,” Jacky Truchot 2005
$45-ish. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA.
My friend Bill seems to have an unending knack for uncovering caches of Jacky Truchot’s Burgundies. This was a glorious bottle, more concentrated than the usual Truchot but that’s no doubt a natural outcome of the ’05 vintage. Loaded with savory, sweetly earthy umami characteristics yet equally bursting with black cherry fruit. Built to last, entirely in the vineyard rather than through any technique; immaculately balanced and, no matter how ripe and forward, entirely old school. Now if only I can convince him to part with a couple of bottles….

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Sancerre Rouge, Gérard Boulay 2006

Alarmingly little has been written about the wines of Gérard Boulay around the vInternet. Jim Budd sums the situation up succinctly: “Gérard Boulay [is] a very good Chavignol producer a little in the style of Cotat and… deserves to be better known.” Boulay has no website. The smattering of blog posts I stumbled across in the scope of my research included only glancing reviews of one or another of his Sancerres Blancs. One of the few really informative pieces I found comes from Jancis Robinson who, in writing of Boulay’s 2006 Sancerre “Les Monts Damnés,” includes some useful information about the estate and also takes some time to laud the efforts of the importer bringing Boulay’s wines into the UK market.

I must say I’m equally impressed with Gérard Boulay’s wine, and with my recent experiences with one of his US importers – Potomac Selections, based in Landover, MD. Their portfolio absolutely offers more to explore; however, their book is not available in PA, so I’ll have to make the occasional trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line to continue the exploration.


Sancerre Rouge, Gérard Boulay 2006
$27. 13% alcohol. Cork. A Thomas Calder Selection, Potomac Selections, Landover, MD.
Gérard Boulay owns and farms nine hectares of vineyards in Chavignol, most of them planted on the chalk and limestone rich Kimmeridgian “terre blanche” soils for which the area is best known and from which some of the best wines of Sancerre stem. Boulay’s neighbors in Chavignol include Edmond Vatan and the Frères Cotat; like them, he works his vines and earth completely by hand and makes his wines with minimal manipulation, ambient yeast fermentation and only the smallest possible doses of sulfur dioxide.

Boulay’s 2006 Sancerre Rouge shows the elegance of the vintage. Entirely transparent in the glass, pale at the rim and light ruby at its core, the wine brims with sinewy cherry pit fruit, a suggestion of cola (without the sweetness that often accompanies it) and a furry, herbal aroma – sage, perhaps. There’s a spice cabinet element on the nose; I’m guessing this sees partial aging in older barrels (as do some of his whites), though I have no hard data to support that feeling, just my gut reaction. It’s one of the more forward-fruited Sancerres Rouges I’ve had – there’s no lean, green machine here – yet it’s still entirely finesse-driven wine. I found background aromas of lime rind, acidity that’s at once gentle and slightly tangy, and the expected minerality of classic Sancerre, even if it didn’t jump out and beg to be noticed.

The wine sallied effortlessly into its second day, maintaining its fresh structural aspects and revealing rounder aromatic and flavor components. Orange peel and sandalwood on the nose; dried cherries and raspberry confiture on the front and mid-palates; cranberries and apple sauce on the finish. Lovely stuff. A shockingly good match with lightly steamed (and pristinely fresh) broccoli, of all things. And relative to its peers, quite a sound value.

Lucie and Gérard Boulay in their plot of the “Clos de Beaujeu.” The image is borrowed, with my thanks, from Polaner Selections (another of Boulay’s importers), as is this well-worn quote from Monsieur Boulay himself, “C’est la nature qui fait le vin.”

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Xmas Eve Loire-apalooza

The big holiday feast this year was on Christmas Eve, thanks to the hospitality of our dear friends Bill and Kelly. Is there a better way to come together with loved ones than by sharing in some great food and wine?

Montlouis-sur-Loire Brut, François Chidaine NV. $23. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
Over the last few years, I’ve noticed some pretty distinct bottle variation with Chidaine’s Montlouis Brut. I’m not sure what to chalk it up to, though my gut is that it’s mainly a function of disgorgement date vs. consumption date. As the bottle is not marked, at least not obviously, with any lot or disgorgement information, I can base this only on my non-scientific observations of cork behavior. I tend to have preferred the bottles with some spring left in their stoppers – suggesting a younger wine with less time on the cork. Whatever the case may be, this was a particularly good bottle. Signature Chenin aromas of clover honey and green fig were in force, accentuated by scents of freshly toasted white bread. Bone dry but with an enchantingly soft, lingering mouthfeel.

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie, Domaine des Trois Toits (Hubert Rousseau) 2007. $16. 12% alcohol. Nomacorc. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, New York, NY.
This was my first encounter with the Muscadet of Hubert Rousseau, a relatively new addition to importer Neal Rosenthal’s portfolio. The Domaine des Trois Toits (“house of the three roofs”) is located in La Nicollière, just south of the city of Nantes. This is flinty yet fleshy, yeast enriched Muscadet that finishes with a mouthwatering twist of bitter lemon oil. Young and tasty, with exceptional length. It not only paired beautifully with oysters but also revealed an extra layer of salinity and savor when matched with a simple appetizer of oil-poached Spanish tuna belly.

Sancerre “Clos la Néore,” Edmond Vatan 2007. $55. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Wine Cellars Ltd., Briarcliff Manor, NY.
The answer to Saturday's bonus point question. Pungently mineral and painfully young Sancerre, brimming with lime pith and chalky aromas. Maybe the most complete bottle of Vatan’s “Clos la Néore” I’ve yet to drink, displaying really fine flavor and structural delineation with less funk and greater purity than in the past few vintages. I’d love to revisit it in five and ten years (and two, seven, three, eight…). Wines that provide this clear an expression of place, of terroir, are all too few and far between.


A little East Coast/West Coast Oyster Mash-Up. Which wine worked best…? Sometimes there’s merit to a cliché. All of the first four wines worked in their own way but the Muscadet stole the day. A phenomenal pairing.

Champagne Brut “Réserve,” Bérèche et Fils NV. $45. 12% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
We now interrupt this broadcast for a brief Champagne interlude. I’ve really been digging the Champagnes of Bérèche et Fils of late. The 10-hectare estate is based near Ludes, on the Montagne de Reims. Young Raphael Bérèche, who worked his first harvest at his family’s estate in 2000 and took responsibility for winemaking in 2004, appears to have great things in store. He’s converting the property to biodynamic farming and fermenting his wines on their native yeasts, with all cuvées seeing at least partial oak elevation. The Brut Réserve is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier (I don’t know the percentages), which includes about 25% reserve wine. It opens with a lush frontal assault, contrasted in fine balance by an incredibly dry attack on the finish. Rich notes of brioche and fresh hazelnuts dominate the nose, while notes of ripe melon and citrus confit emerge from the wine’s sweet, generous mid-palate.

Savennières, Domaine des Baumard 1996. $25. 13.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Ex-Cellars, Solvang, CA.
A bit of a shock after a flight of young wines and not a little weird. Funk covered rocks come to mind – what “eau de toad” might taste like if someone were to bottle such a thing. All of that said, this is still enticing wine, sour and rich at once. Savennières may just be capable of producing the broadest aromatic range in the wine world, or at least the most unusual range. In this bottle I found baked gooseberries, almond paste and lavender, along with something – that sour/rich component – that I can only describe as caramelized yuzu. This is starting to show some oxidative development but still suggests further potential to come. I’m dying to put together a horizontal tasting of ’96 Loire Chenins….

Time to dig into Bill’s delicious pulled smoked pork shoulder also meant it was time to switch into red gear.

Vin de Table Mousseux “Le Vinsans Ricard,” Domaine Ricard NV. $22. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
Though perhaps not as exuberant as when I last wrote this up (tasted with the same group of friends and family, by the way), this is still damn tasty stuff. Varietal Gamay – at least in this rendition of Vincent Ricard's “Le Vinsans Ricard” – made in the méthode l'ancienne. Juicy, crackling and refreshing, loaded with lively cranberry and raspberry fruit; it seemed tailor made to our pulled pork and slaw sandwiches.


Côtes du Forez “La Volcanique,” Verdier-Logel (Odile Verdier & Jacky Logel) 2007. $13. 12% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Wine Traditions, Falls Church, VA.
More Loire Gamay and another very cool wine, even if a little less friendly to the sweetness of the pork than Ricard’s bubbly. This is explosively mineral, black fruited Gamay – crunchy, rustic, viscerally fresh and laced with the scent of black pepper. Produced, as the name of this cuvée suggests, on volcanic soils in the Côtes du Forez, an area in the foothills of the Massif Central in the far reaches of the Upper Loire, where Verdier-Logel is considered the leading estate.

For the cheese course, a return to white was in order. And I’m in full agreement with The VLM as to the suitability of Loire Chenin, and Vouvray in particular, in such a situation.
Vouvray “Clos du Bourg” Sec, Domaine Huet 2005. $40. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, NY, NY.
By far the tightest wine of the night. This showed earthy mineral character in spades, with a muted core of beeswax and pear-driven fruit. Already subtly delicious, but barely hinting at what’s to come. If you’re holding any, stash it away for a rainy day a few (or many) years down the road.

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Notes from a Sunday: Memorial Weekend Edition

In between the two sessions of grilling covered in my last post, I accepted an invite from friends for a slightly different vein of Memorial weekend dining. Bill was planning to roast a leg of lamb from the highly acclaimed Jamison Farm. I was only too happy to oblige in helping to put a dent in said leg. As it turned out, he also had his mind set on pulling corks from a few heavy hitters and some bottles with sentimental associations. We actually dove straight into a Grand Cru Chablis. After a cursory taste, however, we opted to retreat temporarily toward something simpler, certainly of interest but a touch less daunting as an aperitif – and no cork involved.

Pfalz Weißer Burgunder Kabinett trocken, Weingut Münzberg (Lothar Kessler & Söhne) 2006
Along with their full range of other specialties, the Kessler sons, Gunther and Rainer, turn out pure, vibrant examples of Pfalz Weißer Burgunder (aka, Pinot Blanc) from their family estate, Weingut Münzberg. There’s an aspect right up front in this wine that The VLM and, apparently, David Schildknecht, writing about Weißer Burgunder in general, both nailed: creamed corn. While I’ve cited that flavor in a negative context in a past tasting note (on Tocai, not Pinot Blanc), here it’s an integral part of the wine, forward at first but eventually fading and intertwining with the wine’s more elegant facets. Those facets of elegance are expressed by the white peach and yellow apple fruit and the fine mineral character that emerge with aeration. There’s an overall impression of medium acidity and clean, crisp framework. The integrated nuance of corn adds freshness as well as a sweet, starchy flavor snap, which is finished off by a tactile suggestion of white grape skins. A good quaffer and quite food friendly, it’s only a shame that it no longer sells for the $15 price tag of a couple of years ago. $20. 12% alcohol. Vinolok. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.

Chablis Grand Cru “Les Clos,” Vincent Dauvissat 2005
Right out of the barrel, so to speak, this showed classic Dauvissat flavors of lemon rind dusted generously over white river stones that have yet to be polished to complete smoothness. Along with good persistence, there’s a very sapid wood element, already well integrated. In fact, as far as integration goes, I was surprised at how well this terribly young wine was showing already. Plenty of lime pith and mineral laced fruit on the palate. I got the sense as the wine warmed and aired a bit that, wrapped up by its currently gripping acidity, there’s a richer, more voluptuous wine waiting to emerge. At this point in its evolution though, I was surprised by its overall lack of concentration and muscle. Very good wine but not clearly elevated above or differentiated from Dauvissat’s Premier Cru offerings. Price unknown; currently sells online for $125-225. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL.


What goes well with purple fingerlings? Truchot's Gevrey-Chambertin worked out quite nicely.
Gevrey-Chembertin Premier Cru “Aux Combottes” Vieilles Vignes, Jacky Truchot-Martin 2003
Even though I sold Truchot's Burgundies for a short period many years ago, I owe the majority of my more recent experiences with Jacky Truchot’s wines to Bill; he’s got to be one of the now retired producer’s biggest fans. This one was a showstopper. Say what you will about the ripe-fruited or even atypical aspects of 2003 Burgundy, here the quality of the vintage brought sheer loveliness into play. Immediate impressions were of pickled plums and Christmas spice cake, with signature Truchot aromas of wild cherries and clay lurking beneath. There was another element that took me a few moments to nail down: sarsaparilla (sasparilla, if you prefer). Really beautiful wine. Silky, fine tannins, balanced acidity, sweet, nuanced fruit; it had the whole package and then some. I hope, for Bill’s sake, not mine, that he has more of this stashed away for another day. Price unknown; most likely $70-100. 11-14% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Weygandt/Metzler, Unionville, PA.

Sancerre “Clos la Neore,” Edmond Vatan 2006
After the Gevrey-Chambertin and a wonderful plate of roast lamb, fingerling potatoes and sautéed chard, I’ll admit to having a hard time giving Vatan’s Sancerre the attention it was due. Good company and good food put it into perspective as something that was opened just for pure enjoyment – not that the other wines weren’t as well. What I can say is that Vatan’s Sancerre is like few others. It lacks the fresh, fruity attack of lemon and grapefruit tones of much other Upper Loire Sauvignon. However, it makes up for that with intense stoniness – more round than racy – a highly perfumed aspect of lime oil and muscular, fleshy acidity. The wine’s intense physiological extract suggests both very old vines and very low yields. Though I’ve never had a mature bottle, I expect that this could get very interesting with age. Regrettably, if my understanding is correct, 2006 was Vatan’s last vintage. It’s not cheap for Sancerre but, if your budget allows, it would be worth snagging a bottle or two while the possibility of doing so remains. $49. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Wine Cellars Ltd., Briarcliff Manor, NY. “Acquired from a Private Collection.”

Loazzolo “Piasa Rischei” Vendemmia Tardive, Forteto della Luja 2003
Given that fresh berries are coming into season, it seemed to make sense to open something sticky as accompaniment. Mr. and Mrs. Bill visited Forteto della Luja on their honeymoon and haven’t stopped raving about the Scaglione family’s wines. Loazzolo is a small DOC zone situated in the Langhe hills near Asti, Alba and Acqui Terme. The single vineyard “Piasa Rischei” is a blend of 95% Moscato and 5% Passula, one of several wines produced at Forteto della Luja but the only one that falls under the Loazollo DOC. It’s not just a late harvest wine but also a long harvest wine; picking begins in late September and continues into November. At each tri, harvesters select only fruit that is showing early signs of being affected by botrytis. About 15% of the fruit goes through the passito process, being partially dried on canvas mats.

The end result is a still wine with surprising density and concentration. Given the relatively dark flavors and lower than typical frizz of their Moscato d’Asti, which I’d tried on an earlier occasion, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Ripe, musky melon and honeyed peach fruit intermingle with the golden aromas of autumn leaves in a dry forest. Sweet, loamy and spicy, this was as contemplative as it was easy to enjoy at the end of a lovely evening. Price unknown. 11.5% alcohol. Natural cork. Purchased in situ.

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