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Domaine FL Update, February 2010
Domaine FL
This update relates to wines tasted in
February 2010.
For more on this domaine, including all my relevant tasting notes, see my Domaine FL profile.
Well, this is confession time. For too long now a handful of notes from the 2010 Salon des Vins de Loire have been lingering on my hard drive, advancing in age, sadly having never seen the light of day. Unhappy with the fact these vignerons poured their wines for me, and then never having managed to get around to publishing the notes I so diligently scribbled and then typed up (these days I have moved onto typing up as I go along - it is so much easier), I have been meaning to put them online for some time now. The main stumbling block has been a feeling that they were simply too dated.
What has spurred me on to publish these notes, especially those presented here, was the recent publication of the Decanter World Wines awards. I sit on the Loire panel with regular chairman Jim Budd, and during this year's judging there were two examples of Savennières that were particularly impressive. One was polished by wood, but with an elegant result, and as it turns out that was the 2009 Clos de Perrières from Château Soucherie. It picked up a silver medal, although I was pushing for gold, only to be outvoted by the rest of the panel. The other more minerally and expressive wine, which really impressed the entire panel, was the 2008 Savennières Chamboureau from Domaine FL. This was a clear gold medal winner, and by virtue of a unanimous decision it was subsequently elevated to a regional trophy. Well deserved too, in my opinion.
As it turns out, thanks to my regular visits to the Loire, I have tasted both of these wines before. And no, before you ask, I didn't recognise either, although it all seemed so obvious - especially the Soucherie wine - when the identities were revealed with the publication of the results last month. The Château Soucherie wine I tasted this year (profile and notes coming soon), but the Domaine FL wine was one of those tasted last year, my notes still languishing unseen. Realisation that more than a year on my very positive opinion of the wine had been confirmed tasting blind seems to have provided the impetus I needed to finally publish these notes. (3/6/11)
Domaine FL Update, February 2010 - Tasting Notes
The wines below were tasted in
February 2010. I present them in order of appellation, although on the day I
tasted the reds after the dry whites. All my tasting notes on Domaine FL's wines, including those below, are collated under my
Domaine FL profile. Click
to locate stockists.
Domaine FL Anjou Les Bergères 2007:
The nose here has a light character, rather herby and stony in style. The papery
side of young Chenin Blanc shows through here. There follows a soft and gentle
character on the palate, with some grip alongside the soft, clean, white stone
fruit. There is a nice structure to it, but it is relaxed rather than
compelling. 16/20
Domaine FL Anjou Les Bergères 2008:
This is certainly more expressive than the 2007 just tasted, showing a rather
richer and more rounded character on the nose, with some smoky and mineral
elements alongside the fruit. Fresh and yet more creamy on the palate, with good
substance here, also a much brighter and better defined style. This is really
good. 17/20
Domaine FL Anjou Les Cabernets 2007:
A blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine has a smoky, sooty
nose, with some appealing notes of tobacco, and suggestions of early maturity.
Elegantly textured, fresh and lively, with a very prominent acid backbone. This
is, admittedly, a little out of keeping with the rest of the wine. This is mot a
great wine, but it was a difficult vintage for the red varieties in my opinion.
14/20
Domaine FL Anjou Le Cochot 2008:
This is pure Cabernet Franc, grown on schist. Tasted directly after the 2007 Les
Cabernets, the contrast here is remarkable. A much deeper colour, a much more
youthful hue, with aromas of smoke and rubber. Good texture on the palate, with
soft and creamy fruit, although with rather forceful green-apple acidity. There
is a nice polish to the texture though, and overall there is some appeal here.
It needs a little time to integrate somewhat though. 14-15/20
Domaine FL Savennières Chamboureau 2007:
This has a soft and honeyed style on the nose with a suggestion of yellow plum
fruit with cream. Lots of substance here, an appealing palate, very fine and yet
grippy structure, with great acidity, firm and richly styled. This was the
Chamboureau Savennières I met at Derenoncourt's La Grappe tasting at Gazin in
2008 which has been re-labelled for FL. I have tasted it several times now; it
is consistently good. 17.5/20
Domaine FL Savennières Chamboureau 2008:
The next vintage. A vibrant and very precise character on the nose here, bright
and fresh. There is lots of flesh on the palate with well defined acidity and
also an appealing seam of minerality which really stands out. A good precision
here matching the suggestions on the nose, but it is also powerful, quite tense,
firm and very long in the finish. This is an impressive effort. 18/20
Domaine FL Savennières Roches-aux-Moines Chamboureau 2007:
This wine has a honeyed and gently minerally nose. And it has a lovely style on
the palate, all very polished and complete, yet with a defined, grippy, tense,
nervous and very stylish character. There is a very gentle shell around the
fruit. This is admirable and has good length too. Very good indeed. 17.5/20
Domaine FL Savennières Roches-aux-Moines Chamboureau 2008:
This is floral and aromatic on the nose, with some suggestions of white fruits.
Certainly it has style. The palate impresses more with a beautiful expression,
fine and full of tension and grip. A great character here, well framed, with
lots of substance, and some length too. This is aromatic and quite detailed. An
excellent effort. 18.5/20
Domaine FL Coteaux du Layon Les 4 Villages 2007:
This wine has a very pale green-gold hue, and a very gentle style on the nose,
with hints of white fruit and flowers. The texture on the palate is rather
light, soft and polished, not particularly well focused. Gentle as the nose
suggested, subdued acidity, soft, not showing any complexity. They are aiming
for a lighter style here, and they seem to have achieved that. 14/20
Domaine FL Quarts de Chaume 2007: This has a honeyed nose, with sweet
pastille fruit, and a gentle floral character similar to that seen with the 4
Villages. There is a little honeycomb and beeswax, gently presented, and on the
palate a soft layer of fruit, subtly focused, showing good substance here, and with a
good expressive character in the finish, fanning out nicely at the back of
the palate. From a very good vintage for the appellation this is certainly a
fair effort, but there are greater expressions of the terroir elsewhere.
17.5/20
