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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.

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2005 (between April and December). The tasting notes are listed by increasing prices, with the following format:

Appellation – producer – plot or brand – variety

Approximate price — vintage — general impression – on nose – on palate – after swallowing

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 labelMuscadet 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 labelTouraine — Clos Roche Blanche — n°2 — Sauvignon

6 € — 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 labelCheverny — 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

7 € — 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]

7 € — 1996 — refined and easy, very well-made - dry, fresh, less taste than the same bottling drunk three years earlier

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

10 € — 1999 — toasted loafbread, coconut - foam, middle-sized beads, refreshing

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

10 € — 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 labelVouvray — Domaine Huet — Le Haut Lieu — Demi-Sec

15 € — 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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