A Visit to Jonathan Pabiot, 2017: Tasting Notes
I tasted from the 2016 and 2015 vintages, running from the 2016 entry-level cuvée, now renamed Florilège, to the top wines of 2015, up to the oak-influenced Eurythmie. The over-arching style of these wines in this vintage is an exotic fruit profile, combined with a softer backbone of acidity than is usual. This is a combination of the riper fruit, a consequence of the warmer vintage, combined with Jonathan’s tendency to restrict sulphur dioxide use, which means that one or two cuvées may undergo partial malolactic fermentation.
While I much prefer a firm acid definition in most of the wines I drink, and generally avoid white wines with an overt malolactic influence, I have always found the style chez Pabiot to stop short of this softer, blowsy style (as is also the case for some top wines in Savennières which undergo malolactic fermentation). In 2015, however, this style is fairly prominent. I still love the wines, because they have good minerality, and the flavour profile is quite remarkable, but if you are tempted to add any to the cellar be prepared for an exotic, perfumed, fragrant, floral and most importantly a softly structured wine. (28/11/17)
Please log in to continue reading: