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The Cream of the Loire 2004: Mini-Profiles
As
you may already be aware, my Loire trip earlier this year was peppered with
visits to a select group of vignerons, including such Loire luminaries as
Bernard Fouquet, Florent Baumard and Catherine Champalou. But these prearranged
visits were not the only sources of tasting experience. Just the week before
leaving for France I had met Claude Papin in London and tasted yet more of his
fabulous wines. And during my Loire break I didn't let a single tasting
opportunity slip by, be it in a restaurant, around the barbecue or simply
relaxing in the evening.
My first visit to Chateau Pierre Bise was a memorable one, one that I will never forget. Even though Papin and I spent several hours together, however, I was still surprised when he picked me out of a crowd with a cheerful cry of hello, almost a year later. Clearly Papin has a very good memory for faces. Fresh tasting notes for Chateau Pierre Bise, and a solitary new tasting note for Nicolas Joly, who I also visited in 2003, have been added to these profiles:
In addition to these tastings, there were a number of other solitary bottles encountered during my trip. Some of these producers were new to me, but some - such as Domaine Vacheron - were like visiting old friends, wines that I first encountered years before I knew of Coteaux du Layon or Vouvray. The following producers were all brief parts of my 2004 Loire trip:
- Philippe Delesvaux
- Domaine Deletang
- Domaine de l'Ecu
- Chateau d'Epire
- Henri Pellé
- Chateau de Tracy
- Domaine Vacheron
The profiles are brief, but I feel this is appropriate. If there is one vigneron here that cries out for further investigation, it is Philippe Delesvaux. If the wine tasted here is what he can turn out in a weak vintage, I would simply love to taste something from 1997, 2002 or 2003. (5/8/04)
This series, The Cream of the Loire 2004, focuses on a small selection of the best Loire vignerons. I visited these domaines, and tasted their wines, during a visit to the Loire Valley in 2004. Articles in this series include:
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