Dégustation des Vins de Touraine – Val de Loire

Dégustation des Vins de Touraine – Val de Loire

Mercredi, 7 Juin 1995

1992 Cuvée « Vieilles Vignes », Philippe Alliet, Chinon

Nez fume, frais, vif, jolie acidité et fruits expressive. Bien fait.

1993 Cuvée de la Roche, Domaine du Colombier, Chinon

Gorgeous expression of terroir: argilo-calcaire … damp, salty, smoky, fresh.

1993 Reserve Stanislas, Le Moulin a Tan, Pierre Sourdais, Chinon

Fresh, lively acidity, bright fruit … slightly brooding. Nice.

1990 Château de Chenonceau, AOC Touraine

Un nez du miel, de l’amande et des abricots, les tous soulignés avec un note du sel de la mer, ce que lui donne sa personnalité aussi originale. En bouche, la texture ressemble a un jus de fruit et bascule entre l’austérité et l’abandonne. Une finale longue et alcoolique du rhum blanc.

This is the wine of one of the most fairy-tale-like of the fairy-tale châteaux of the  Loire Valley. Vignobles planted in 1547 by Diane de Poitiers and later embellished by the châtelaine Catherine de Médicis. 

2002 Silex, Didier Dagueneau

2002 Silex

After having the 2008 in Paris, I intentionally went and bought the 2002 at the Caves de Taillevent and brought it home to see if my impressions would change once I had the wine with some age on it. But no. This is a very pretentious wine. In general, I am a huge fan of oaked Sauvignon blanc (which Bordeaux does so much better than the Loire Valley – try Pessac-Leognans for good examples). I much prefer that style to the horrendous cartoon characters of grassy herby sauvignons. But this wine is all style and no substance. Flashy. I know that its creator, Didier Dagueneau, was a much-loved and respected maverick, but I just do not agree about the fuss made over this wine. It is hailed as having great complexity. It does not: it simply has a lot of stuff going on, but these things are not integrated. It talks too much. It is hyper. It is a busy wine but not a complex one. The initial attack is very appealing: a gout de vas reminiscent of aged Chablis and its earthy lees. But the grapefruit-flavoured yeasts and other tropical fruit flavours stick out like a pastiche, like something stuck on with glue as an afterthought. The oak is too dominant, there is a lack of acidity, the finish is short and the overall effect is disappointing.