Loire Tasting

Loire Wine Region Tasting

Here is the Wikipedia page on Loire wines. Loire is one of my favorite regions especially for its sparkling wines which are a great alternative to the sparkling wines of Champagne. Loire fact: the Loire region produces the second most sparkling wine in France behind only Champagne. All of the following wines were sampled at a tasting at The Wine Warehouse (WW) on February 2, 2011. If you live in Tallahassee and are interested in any of the wines, you can find them there (WW prices shown). Last, although I have #4 as my favorite of the tasting, #5 is just as well made; I just thought #4 was more interesting, had more complexity to offer, etc. On to the wines....

The Whites

All of the whites showed elements of citrus, chalk and some amount of passion fruit.
1. '09 Les Hexagonales (Sauv Blanc), $12: Tart citrus passion fruit nose but not much sweetness. Medium acidity (read: not New Zealand SB acidity levels), some chalk, balanced. Short-med finish. 85-6
2. '09 Jardin de la Fruitiere (Melon-Chard blend), $9: Tart, passion fruit and small amount of anise. Sour fruit (I'm at a loss for an example here--any ideas?), chalk, balanced. 84-5

3. '09 Chardonnay de la Fruitiere, $10: Similar to 1 but more muted nose. More body than 1 & 2. Some/mild toast. Mild bitter (steel) finish. 84

4. '09 La Craie, Vouvray, $15: Similar nose to 1-3 with some honey; pleasant. Mild sweetness/honey, bigger body/more viscosity than 1-3. Lower acidity. Medium finish. 88. IMO, wine of the night...yes, I bought a bottle.

5. NV Louis De Grenelle, Samur Brute Rose (100% Cab Franc), $17: Strawberry nose muted. Fine bubbles, mild creaminess, focused body, balanced. 88 IMO, runner-up wine of the night.

The Reds

6. '08 Les Hexagonales (Pinot Noir), $15: Red fruit (cranberry), spice and mild oak. Near perfect Pinot nose. Somewhat flat (not enough acidity). Let down after such a nice nose. 83

7. La Claux Delorme, Valencay Rouge (Gamay, Malbec, Cab Franc, Pinot Noir blend), $15: Red fruit and... kitty litter (!) nose. Some pepper, mild green veg (raw collards) some oak. 85

8. '08 J. Merieau, Cot Cenit Visage (100% Malbec), $16: Super dry, tight prune brown leaves... bizarre nose! Dry but Not bone dry. This needs cellar/decanting time... or a blackened steak to reveal everything it has. 84

9. '09 La Paradou, Provance (Grenache), $12: Button mushroom, moist forest floor nose. Fruitest of all the reds. Acceptable everyday red. 85