François Pinon, 2017 Update
François Pinon is without a doubt one of my favourite vignerons working in the Vouvray appellation today. Although for a long time I found it very difficult to actually buy the wines to cellar and drink myself, due to very poor distribution in the UK, whenever I had the opportunity to taste them I was always impressed by their incisive definition and quality. And as the availability in the UK improved (although I should confess many of my wines I bought during my increasingly frequent visits to the domaine) the wines gradually began to stack up in my cellar.
In view of this I had hoped to publish an amalgamated tasting report, featuring notes on wines tasted with François and his son Julien (pictured together, above) when we met back in February, along with notes on some of the older wines now piled up in my cellar. As it happens I simply haven’t had time to pull the corks on my own bottles (so many wines, so little time), and so what I publish here is a combination of notes from my meeting with François earlier this year with just a few home-made notes on recently tasted sparkling cuvées. The only older wine featured here is a 1996, poured by François. I will publish my notes on older wines from my cellar, including various moelleux cuvées from the 2003, 2002, 2000, 1996, 1995, 1993, 1990 and 1989 vintages, when I eventually get around to actually tasting them.
The Wines
I have brought together all my notes on the sparkling wines, and I kick off with the no-brainer 2014 Brut, which is all sweet fruit, flowers and acidity, followed by the surprising charm and appeal of the 2012 Brut, from what was not the easiest of vintages. Go for the 2014 in preference if you have the choice, although I would not dissuade anybody from buying and drinking the 2012. Equally charming were two bottles of the non-vintage (although in fact they are both 2011) Brut Non-Dosé. François has a rolling programme of disgorgement, keeping the bottles on the lees for as long as possible, preparing just a small number of bottles for sale every two months. I present two notes, one on a bottle from my cellar which spent two years sur lattes, followed by a near-enough three more years in bottle, the second on a recently disgorged bottle which passed four years sur lattes. The latter was certainly superior.
