French white wine values tasted in 2005

The selected vibrant bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include five whites from the Pays Nantais.

Gros plant — A.Michel Brégeon

— 2004 — refreshingly pure - tasty, varietal, crisp

Gros plant — Luneau Michel et Fils

— 2004 — shy aromas - the wine is crystal-clear on the palate, perhaps denser than Brégeon’s but less intense, snappy, very short in the mouth

Muscadet de sèvre et maine sur lie — A.Michel Brégeon

— 2003 — grapefruit or orange dominate the nose - powerful and broad like a Chablis, less creamy though, grapefruit and orange, fresh, much alcohol

Bourgogne hautes côtes de nuits — Robert et Raymond Jacob — [chardonnay]

— 2002 — when two years old: the wine was unsatisfying, a toffee sensation dominated, concealing hollowness and alcohol
- now: the oak is well integrated, leaving a good impression - on the nose toffee dominates grapefruit - onctuous, grapefruit balances toffee, fresh, much alcohol

Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie wine label Muscadet de sèvre et maine sur lie — A.Michel Brégeon

— 1996 — this wine is atypically powerful for a Muscadet, it firmly stands at its peak: there is no point in letting other bottles age any more - scents of apple, mushroom, seashell - intense in the mouth, with apple, hazelnut, and seashell, fresh - hazelnut - (you can compare this note with that of the same wine tasted two years earlier)

Touraine wine label Touraine — Clos Roche Blanche — n°2 — Sauvignon

USD 14 — 2004 — needs a day to open up, the intense fruitiness reminds of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, some flower and a little herbaceousness - aromas of white fruit and freshly cut hay - onctuous, fat but firm, fresh almond, cherry, crisp - (more difficult and less complex than the 2001 bottling)

Cheverny wine label Cheverny — Hervé Villemade — Domaine du Moulin — [60% SB, 40% chardonnay]

— 2004 — Sauvignon Blanc flavours - aromas of exotic fruit and freshly cut hay - onctuous, dense, almond, fresh

Muscadet de sèvre et maine sur lie — A.Michel Brégeon — Liger d’Or

USD 15 — 1997 — the flavours in the nose and palate make me think of a Chablis twice as old - scents of apples cooked in the oven, and of peach - onctuous, with tiny gaz beads, apple, peach or nectarine, hazelnut, fresh, more alcohol than fruit, the sensation of broadness is due to alcohol and to little (residual) sugar, it hints at Vouvray, although this Muscadet burns the mouth less than Vouvrays - (you can compare this note with that of the same wine tasted two years earlier)

Vouvray — François Pinon — [crémant, ’méthode traditionnelle’] - Sec — [chenin]

USD 15 — 1996 — refined and easy, very well-made - dry, fresh, less taste than the same bottling drunk three years earlier

Vouvray wine label Vouvray — Domaine Huet — [crémant, ’méthode traditionnelle’] - Sec — Brut

USD 18 — 1999 — toasted loafbread, coconut - foam, middle-sized beads, refreshing

Vouvray wine label Vouvray — François Pinon — Tradition — [chenin, Demi-Sec]

USD 18 — 2002 — this wine is delicious now but should improve with age, it relaxes on the second day and becomes perfect - pear, apricot - velvety, citrus, quince, broad as suits a Vouvray but firm at mid-palate as often at Pinon’s, this is due to an excellent acidity which dries the mouth, mellow, fresh

Vouvray wine label Vouvray — Domaine Huet — Le Haut Lieu — Demi-Sec

USD 24 — 2003 — like peeling a fresh almond, nectarine - onctuous, like peeling a fresh almond, nectarine, soft, fresh but less so than other vintages from Huet or Pinon, less structure

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