Cravant-les-Coteaux looking down from the limestone vineyards to the gravel ones on the plainGood posting from David McDuff (McDuff's Wine and Food Trail) on Chinons from the gravel vineyards laid down by the Vienne that make up a significant percentage of this appellation.
'They’re not generally the most serious or structured wines of Chinon. Rather, they’re more wines of ease and clarity – great with food and built for regular enjoyment. But when they’re on, they’re still serious in the way they express their origins. When I drink wines such as those above, it’s as if I taste blueberries, plums, cherries, cassis, and fresh, savory herbs that have all been muddled by and macerated with the very gravel of the vineyards from which they sprang. And it’s as if I can feel the texture of that gravel in the fine-grained tannins and cool texture of the wines.'
Complete posting here.
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Also a rather bizarre discussion thread on the winelovers' forum with assertions that Muscadet doesn't age blended in with claims that corkiness in wine doesn't become more apparent as the affected wine warm up and is exposed to the air. Both assertions en mon avis are nonsense.
