Salon des vins des vignerons independants
On Saturday 31/10, we went to a salon with some friends and tasted the afternoon away! I won’t be able to tell you exactly how each smelled and tasted, because we had so many, but I will try to tell you a little about each wine that we tried.
2007 Pouilly Fuisse from Bourgogne; Domaine les Vieux Murs; scents of grilled almonds, hazelnut, and white flowers.
Grape variety: Chardonnay
2006*/2007 Coteaux du Layon from Loire Valley in the Anjou district; scents of honey, fig, and acacia.
Grape variety: Chenin Blanc; harvested when affected by noble rot, very ripe, or sun-dried on the vine
Side note:Two villages within the Coteaux du Layon area form their own respective AOC – Bonnezeaux and Chaume. I have tasted these two wines, and they are really amazing!
2008 Beaujolais from Bourgogne; Very light-bodied red wine with relatively high amounts of acidity.
Grape variety: Gamay, which has a thin skin and few tannins.
2007 Monbazillac from Sud-Ouest; scents of honey, vanilla, apricot, and orange
Grape varieties: Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle; affected by noble rot
2007 Minervois from Languedoc-Roussillon; scents of citrus and flowers; generally dry and sharp, but I thought this one tasted like prunes!
Grape varieties: Bourboulenc, Grenache, Macabeu, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Vermentino
Jura: This region is located between Burgundy and Switzerland; we tasted two Juras that day, but I wasn’t a fan of them, so I didn’t keep any notes; it was too dry for me; the wine is described as having scents of hazelnut.
Grape varieties: Savagnin, Poulsard, Trousseau, and Chardonnay
Sancerre from Loire Valley; smelled like peaches, but was a little dry
Grape variety: Sauvignon
2006/2008* Jurancon Moelleux & Jurancon Sec from Sud-Ouest; the vin moelleux has the aromas of pineapple and mango; I wasn’t really a fan of the vin sec
Grape varieties: Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, and Courbu; affected by noble rot
2008 Coteaux de l’Aubance <<La Selection>> from the Loire Valley
2008 Coteaux de l’Aubance <<Les Violettes>> A sweeter tasting wine, but I preferred la selection
Grape variety: Chenin blanc; affected by noble rot
2006* Graves from Bordeaux; Chateau Simon; aromas of flowers, lime, passion fruits, and apricot
We also tasted a Sauternes, from the southeast corner of Graves. This wine is described as having aromas of honey, dried pineapple, and nuts
Grape varieties: Sauvignon, Sémillon, and Muscadelle; the Sauternes grapes are affected by noble rot before being harvested
2007 Coteaux du Layon*; Domaine de Clayou in St Lambert du Lattay
2008 Tavel Cuvee Raphael from Southern Cotes du Rhone; Very dry with flavors of spice and berries; A bit too strong for me, but it comes highly recommended, so I might give it a try again in the summer.
Grape Varieties: Mostly Grenache with smaller amounts of Cinsault, Syrah, Clairette white, Clairette rosé, Mourvèdre, Picpoul, Calitor, Bourboulenc, Mourvèdre, and Carignan
2007 Lirac Blanc Cuvee Raphael from Southern Cotes du Rhone; Has notes of acacia, lime, and fennel, with fragrances of white peaches, apples and exotic fruits; Too dry for my tastes; Andy quoted it as being “tingly”.
2005*/2007 Vouvray from the Loire Valley; Domaine Champalou Les Fondraux vin demi-sec; has notes of honey, nuts, ginger, fig, apples, and white flowers.
Grape variety: Chenin Blanc
Pauillac & Margaux from Bordeaux: we only tasted the Pauillac, which has aromas of black currant and cedar; the women at the stand were a little snooty, so we wandered off while our friends tried the Margaux, which has aromas of red fruits, coffee, and truffles.
Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot
2007 Mercurey rouge & 1er cru rouge from Bourgogne; Les Crets; this wine tasted very tart, peppery, and fruity; it was fun to taste the difference in the wines, but I didn’t really like them too much; scents of red fruits and violets
Grape variety: Pinot Noir
2005 Chaume 1er Cru from the Loire Valley; Domaine de la Roche Moreau vin moelleux; described as having scents of soft spice, pineapple, apricot, and strawberries
2005 Quarts de Chaume from the Loire Valley; Domaine de la Roche Moreau; described as having notes of fresh white flowers and mint with the impression of ripe fruits.
I accumulated a lot of this info just searching wikipedia and this one fantabulous site:
http://www.terroir-france.com/wine/index.htm
We ended up buying 3 bottles of Chaume, 3 bottles of Vouvray, and 1 Jurancon, and our friends bought 6 bottles of Coteaux du l’Aubance. Not sure how much you care about that, but in a way, I guess they ended up being our favorites. I also tried *starring* the wines that I preferred or in some cases my preferred vintage.