Philippe Alliet, 2009 Update
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.
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