Home > Vintages and Regions > Loire > Loire Update: Philippe Alliet

Philippe Alliet Update, February 2009

The fact that the wines of Philippe Alliet were the first I tasted at the 2009 Salon des Vins de Loire says something about the regard with which I hold this domaine. For me, Philippe Alliet is appellation leader in Chinon, an accolade that he might share with Cravant neighbour Bernard Baudry, although the two certainly make a very different style of wine. Baudry's style is perhaps more elegant, a touch more ethereal, perhaps more typical of the region, a more delicate intertwining of fruit and stone, whereas Alliet's wines are more substantial. There is a little Bordeaux influence here, and with low yields and plenty of oak the result are bigger wines that simply demand time in the cellar. In fact, during my time at the 2009 Salon I learnt that one tasting colleague thought that the wines were a little too big. That's not my opinion, and despite the style I don't think these have moved out of the spectrum readily identifiable as Chinon.

Something else I have learnt about Philippe Alliet during recent months is that he is notorious for not turning up to appointments. This doesn't surprise me; when I visited during the summer of 2008 (when I photographed this attractive press and flower bed, right, outside his property in Briançon) he was nowhere to be found, despite me having arranged the meeting only a few days beforehand. After a telephone call to his mobile, which his wife Claude answered, she came down to meet me. She was clearly very much a part of the domaine (her hands bore the dirt of work in the vineyard) and her knowledge of harvest, yields, élevage and so on made Philippe's presence rather unnecessary. This is good, because at the 2009 Salon Philippe was again nowhere to be seen; I believe he is not really a talkative character, and this sort of event probably just doesn't appeal.

As for the wines, 2007 was a more difficult vintage especially for the red wine appellations of the Loire. Nevertheless both of Alliet's wines from this vintage and also those of Baudry showed very well, although in a vintage such as this I think Baudry's approach may work better. As for the two from 2006, these were much tighter and ungiving compared to my tasting at the domaine last year. The quality is there, though, but they are wines that shouldn't be opened in the next few years as they seem to me to be increasingly backward; perhaps they are closing down somewhat? (10/2/09)

Philippe Alliet, February 2009 - Tasting Notes

The wines below were tasted in Angers at the Salon des Vins de Loire in February 2009. All had been decanted. All my notes on the wines of Philippe Alliet, including those below, are collated under my Philippe Alliet profile. Click to locate stockists.