1934 Domaine René Couly, Couly-Dutheil Chinon

The labels are recent as the wine was almost certainly stored in a limestone cellar without a label

It was a great privilege to be at yesterday's vertical of Chinons covering vintages from 1934 through to 2005 held at at the Château du Rivau and many thanks to those Chinon producers who provided some of their precious old bottles to taste. Definitely the most extraordinary wine was the 1934 Domaine René Couly. Although not the best wine I tasted in this vertical, it was remarkable for its longevity – this was no faded ghost at the feast of Chinons! Wisely the tasting started from the oldest to the youngest so this 1934 was our first wine.

The 1934 still vibrant and a good colour

What was immediately striking was how vibrant and relatively youthful the colour of the 1934 was. I'm sure that if served blind no-one would guess that this is a 77 year-old wine. Of course a little bricky but not brown. The aromas were spicy, fungal – mushroomy in an attractive sense with touches of sous bois, sweet evolved fruit on the palate finishing with quite marked acidity. Ready to drink now, this 1934 could be kept longer, unlike some of the later vintages (subject of another post/s.)

Pierre Couly (Pierre and Bertrand Couly) gave us flowering and vintage dates for all the wines. The 1934 vintage started on 6th October, which, although it would be considered late today, was around the normal time to start in those days. It certainly wasn't a late vintage.

This bison, from the trophy room at the Château du Rivau where we had dinner on the Thursday and who expressed some clear reservations about the possible condition of the 1934, was happily proved to be mistaken.

A tanned looking Christophe Surget, export manager for Couly-Dutheil, with 2005 Clos de l'Olive

Tuesday was the annual Thorman Hunt tasting held in the traditional surroundings of the Merchant Taylors Hall in the City of London. Entirely appropriate surroundings for the traditional values Thorman Hunt & Co Ltd, who concentrate chiefly on shipping French wines, although they do bring in some from Italy and a few from New Zealand, California, Australia as well as Massaya in the Lebanon's Bekaa Valley – partly French owned of course. There is nothing flashy about the company but they do have some excellent names in their portfolio such as Alain Brumont (Madiran/ Pacherenc), Charles Hours (Jurançon), Yves Cuilleron (nothern Rhône), Vincent Girardin (Meursault), Vincent Durreuil-Janthial (Rully), Jean Durup, and Christian Moreau from Chablis.

With best part of 450 wines available to taste and arriving later than I hoped, I only had time to concentrate on the Loires starting with Joseph Drouard's Muscadets (Domaine des Hauts Pemions in Monnières). The 2009 seemed quite lean and minerally at the moment, while his 2010 Muscadet La Hallopière was attractively youthful – floral and lemony.  

2005 Clos de l'Olive

Next a short range from Couly-Dutheil, presented by a tanned looking Christophe Surget – a few days recently in Martinique or was it the position of my flash that gave him such a healthy glow? Amongst the wines the 2010 Blanc de Francs (white made from Cabernet Franc) was showing well as was the 2009 La Baronnie-Madeleine (Chinon) with its sweet opulent fruit. The 2008 Clos de l'Echo and the 2005 Clos de l'Olive showed the contrast of the two vintages. The 2005 with rich, sweet, ripe fruit reflecting the sunshine of 2005, while the 2008 Echo, admittedly three years younger, a more classic Loire expression perhaps and quite tight and austere at the moment and, as one would expect, clearly needs more time in the cellar.

2008 Les Cormiers

Jean-Pierre Chevallier's Les Cormiers, Saumur Blanc, Château de Villeneuve is always a reference for Loire Chenin. The 2008 is wonderfully clean and precise with weight balanced by its minerality. Can be drunk now but I expect it to take on further complexity with age. J-P's 2009 Saumur-Champigny has only recently been released. It is still quite tight – needing more time, so instead look for his 2008, which is drinking beautifully at the moment.

Other wines to be covered in next post.     

1990 Clos de l'Echo

 

Last night at the RSJ Restaurant there was a dinner and tasting of Chinons stretching from 2009 back to 1990.

Aperitif

2009 Sauvignon Blanc Domaine de Bablut, Vin de Pays 

Tighter, more mineral and refreshing but less opulent and exotic than it was last year.  

2009 Domaine de la Perrière, Baudry-Dutour
This is Baudry-Dutour's easy drinking cuvée from gravel vineyards close to the Vienne. Attractive red fruits with refreshing acidity.   

 

2009 Chinon Beaumont, Catherine and Pierre Breton

From vineyards on the undulating clay and limestone slopes around Beaumont-en-Vèron. This had considerably more weight than the Perrière – partly due to the different terroir but also from doubtless lower yields. With black fruits and spice, soft tannin, the Beaumont is drinking well now but can be kept for a good five years. I have been critical of some of the Breton wines but this 2009 was showing well.   

These two wines were served with a balontine of foie gras & confit of duck with fruit chutney.

Then onto two vintages of Baudry-Dutour's Vieilles Vignes
2006 Vieilles Vignes Domaine de la Perrière, Baudry-Dutour

2002 Vieilles Vignes Domaine de la Perrière, Christophe and Jean Baudry

These, which come from gravel vineyards, showed the importance of vintage in the Loire. The 2006 being fuller and richer with plum and liquorice flavours reflecting the good summer of 2006, which was potentially a very good vintage until the rain and the onset of rot at vintage time meant that the grapes had to be hurriedly gathered in. However, there are some very good 2006s, if not quite at the level of 2005. 

2002 was one of those Loire years when September and October saved the vintage after a poor summer. Sunshine and an easterly wind allowed the grapes to ripe and the drying conditions concentrated the grape juice. Less concentrated than 2006 and more in the red fruit spectrum with more present acidity. Like many 2002s it has lovely balance.

Both cuvées are aged in barrique. The 2002 was made before the creation of Baudry-Dutour in 2003.

1999 Coteau de Noire

Next up two wines from Philippe and Claude Alliet. Philippe is a cousin of Christophe Baudry and he set up his domaine in 1985 and is widely acknowledged as one of the top Chinon producers.

1995 Vieilles Vignes

1999 Coteau de Noire, Philippe Alliet

1995 Vieilles Vignes, Philippe Alliet 

The Alliets acquired the Coteau de Noire in the early 1990s. On the steep limestone coteau a little to the east of the town of Chinon, the 1999 comes from vines of less than 10 years old and is all the more impressive for this. Elegant concentration, structure and length, this is another example of how well the rather unregarded 1999 vintage is now showing.

Without food the 1995 Vieilles Vignes (from vines on gravel) shows some of the angularity that has been typical of this vintage with present tannins and acidity. With food the sweet, evolved fruit comes through.  

1990 Clos de L'Echo, Couly-Dutheil (in magnum)

When this was first opened we were rather concerned that this might be past it, initially light and quite bricky in colour this developed in glass with attractive and charming sweet fruit with a touch of rather grainy tannins. Given that the storage conditions for these two magnums of Clos de l'Echo had not been the best, they were showing pretty well. Doubtless any examples of the 1990 stored at Couly-Dutheil's cellars in Chinon would be more youthful. 

Served with braised veal, mashed potatoes, carrots, spinach, red wine jus.

B-D's Chinon Blanc is closed with a screwcap

2009 Chinon Blanc Baudry-Dutour

We created some controversey at the end of the evening by deciding to serve this with the cheese – a Brie de Meaux. Tasted blind few people I fancy would pick this out as Chenin Blanc – many would opt for Sauvignon Blanc with its zippy, grassy, citric fruit although in the finish it does have that characteristic touch of bitterness typical of many Chenins.

Along with a number of the assembled company I thought it went well with the cheese bringing out the wine's fruit, while others thought that it didn't work at all and were rather aghast at the idea of serving white wine with cheese.