Home > Wine Features > The 2009 Salon des Vins de Loire Top Ten
The 2009 Salon des Vins de Loire Top Ten
I've had no time to transcribe any notes from my the 2009 Salon and Renaissance tastings yet, but I have grabbed the odd moment here and there to reflect on the whole affair, and particularly to think back on some of the most memorable wines. Here, in no particular order, are ten of my favourites from the last few days. I'll add some proper notes on the wines below, and hundreds more, as I work through my scribblings in the coming weeks.
I've included wine-searcher links, but as always with the Loire these wines can be too difficult to track down...that is particularly true with very recent vintages, which won't have been released yet, or wines like Pithon-Paillé's 2006 Anjou Belargus des Treilles which is for family members only! (6/2/09)
Antoine Sanzay Saumur-Champigny Cuvée L'Expression 2007
A young grower (right) who has managed to inject this wine with the sort of
silky elegance you find at Clos Rougeard
(this wine is a selection from Les Poyeux), but with
fabulous freshness of fruit too. This is very classy stuff indeed.
Philippe Alliet Chinon
Coteau Noiré 2006
Not a wine new to this site, as I tasted this at the domaine when I visited in the summer of 2008,
alongside others from the vintage. It is tighter now, but still showing the
power and concentration of a vin de garde.
Pierre Luneau-Papin Muscadet
Sèvre et Maine sur lie Le L d'Or 1982
Many of the viticulteurs bring an older bottle or two alongside the embryonic
samples, this year from the 2008 and 2007 vintages. Pierre-Marie Luneau, manning
the stand here, was no exception, bringing not only this aged vintage of Le L
d'Or, but also the 1989, 1997, 1999 and more, as well as several vintages of
Excelsior.
Pithon-Paillé Anjou Bellargus
des Treilles 2006
Sadly no longer for sale, but for the personal consumption of the Pithon and Paillé
families. But I include it here as the quality is high, and the freshness
invigorating, and you may still find some bottles somewhere; this is a new style for Jo Pithon and Joseph Paillé and their
respective wives/partners, and the wine shows the potential of the youthful
2008s, which I also tasted.
La Taille aux Loups
Montlouis Sec Rémus 2002
There was a full range of Jacky Blot's Montlouis wines from the 2007 and 2008
vintages on show, and this older vintage showed what they might become with time.
Wonderful stuff indeed. He also showed a number of wines from
Domaine de la
Butte, including a mini-vertical of his top Bourgueil cuvée, Mi-Pente,
from 2002 through to 2007.
Ferme de la Sansonnière La Lune Vin de France 2007
No agrément? No problem for Angeli (left), self-styled paysan solidaire.
Denied the appellation, he has bottled his would-be Anjou under the Vin de France
designation. Big, rich, grippy and substantial, this is one white wine to be reckoned with.
Domaine de la Louvetrie
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie Le Fief du Breil 1996
Served from a magnum by Joseph Landron himself, this fine, honeyed, minerally
wine showed just how well Muscadet can age (in case the 1982 from Luneau-Papin,
above, was insufficent to convince).
Huet Vouvray Le Haut Lieu
Demi-Sec 2008
Barely fermented, this and the Le Mont Demi-Sec showed what fabulous things
were possible with the 2008 vintage. Equally stunning was the 2008 Clos du Bourg
Première Trie, and the sec wines from this vintage are no slouches either.
Alphonse Mellot Sancerre
Rouge Génération XIX 2006
How can you make red Sancerre this good? Forget New Zealand, if the wines of
this estate are anything to go by, the new go-to-place for Pinot Noir after
Burgundy is firmly in the northern hemisphere.
Henry Pellé Menetou-Salon
Les Blanchais 2007
Not the greatest Sauvignon Blanc of the tasting, but an object lesson that
dedicated producers can make delicious wines in lesser appellations, and good
value is a welcome side effect. Move over, Pouilly-Fumé.
