Monday, July 14, 2008

A great 2003 saves a night of crap

Had a chance to have dinner with good friends Matt and André. Very OK steakhouse fare, but great company.

Henriot Champagne Brut
Total crap. When people say Champagne blows, this is what they have in mind.

2003 Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan
After a great bottle of 1998 I had recently, I had high hopes for this, despite the vintage. I mean, great growers make good wines in all vintages, right? Well, this was all fluffy and even a bit lactic. The fruit was all outsized and crude. Could never really get into it, not could anyone else.

2003 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux
Well thank god for the Foucault brothers. I have always found that the Foucaults and the Bretons do very well in hot vintages compared to some of their neighbors. Pierre Breton once told me he thinks it has to do with how he has been farming and how deep the roots get and how the rock under the vineyard keeps the parcel cool (that is for his exquisite Perrieres). I think this is particularly true for Saumur, whose wines start off blockier than their Bourgeuil cousins. This wine was rich, but not blowsy and retained its shape and even stretched out a bit as it opened up, which is always a good sign. Excellent length, depth, and cut. I’m not always a huge fan of the Poyeux as it is quite expensive and, given limited resources, I prefer to spring the extra dough for the Bourg. In this vintage, the Poyeux is just fantastic. I buy as much Foucault as I can. You should do the same. On pre-arrival at Chambers. I bet Rockss and Douche didn’t tell you that, did he?

4 comments:

Florida Jim said...

VLM,
I find lots of folks love these wines and I don't. Its the damn oak; it may not be overwhelming but its more than enough which is too much for me.
And that's as to both the Poyeux and the Bourg.

It may integrate in time but I don't have that kind of time.
Best, Jim

Lyle Fass said...

04 is a great vintage for Nady and the gang. There, I told you.

the vlm said...

Jim-

We've talked about this one before. I don't dislike oak so much, especially used well and of high quality. The problem is that both the nous and the supply is limited.

Now spoof, that sets me on fire...

the vlm said...

Lyle-

Once again jumping on the vlm-tr bandwagon. I've been consistently yodeling the praise of the 2004 vintage for central reds, potentially a better vintage than 2005.

Who turned you on to the greatness of 2004 Croix Boisée?