Saturday afternoon I attended a fundraiser sponsored by Chambers Street Wines and Louis Dressner importers for Partners in Health. It’s been an annual event for a while and the past few years has been held at City Hall Restaurant on 131 Duane Street. The event was open to the consumer and ran from 1-5 and over 100 wines were poured, mostly French with some Italian. I have to admit I had a head cold and congestion which made picking up the aromas from the wines difficult so most of them came across as closed on the nose.
Whites
I tried a few Muscadet from a couple of producers, I usually think of Muscadet as light and crisp, something to drink young with oysters. I tried a few with some bottle age to them and was impressed with the results. The wines gained a creaminess and complexity as they aged.
Domaine de la Pepiere 2012 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie (Loire). Their basic wine, light yellow and easy to drink.
2012 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “Les Gras Mouton” (Loire). Single vineyard, light yellow with tight fruit, tart with lemon notes on the finish.
2010 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “Chateau-Thebaud Clos des Morines” (Loire). More body than the Mouton with good acidity.
2009 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “3” (Loire). Nice minerality with a mouth-watering finish.
Domaine Luneau-Papin, 2009 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “Le L d’Or” (Loire). Light peaches on the fruit with nice acidity on the long finish.
2005 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “Le L d’Or” (Loire). Great body followed by firm acidity with citrus and peaches on the finish.
Nusserhof 2010 Vino Bianco Blaterle. (Trentino Alto-Adige). An unusual wine, Blaterle is the grape varietal, yellow with some earth notes on the nose.
Maison Brulee Vin de France 2012 “Poussiere de Lune”. (Loire). Another unusual wine, an orange wine made with Sauvignon Blanc and was pale red with moderate body.
Reds
Alain Coudet 2012 “Clos de la Roillette” Fleurie (Burgundy). Cru Beaujolais, dark purple with a nose of warm, cooked fruit and crushed black berries and was tight with bitter red licorice on the finish.
Georges Descombes 2012 Brouilly (Burgundy). Cru Beaujolais, dark purple with dried mushroom and forest floor on the nose with crushed red fruit and a nice grip.
Cascina Tavijin 2012 Grignolino D’Asti (Piedmont). Very light red in color with a closed nose, more fruit than the color would suggest with good balance with notes of dark flowers on the finish.
Monte dall” Ora 2009 Valpolicella Classico Ripasso “Sausto” (Veneto). Medium red with silky medium fruit with bitter cherry notes on the balanced finish.
Poderi Sanguineto 2011 Rosso di Montalcino (Tuscany). Medium red with dusty, silky fruit with tart cherry notes on the nice balance.
Domaine Bernard Baudry 2011 Chinon “Les Clos Guillot”. (Loire). Dark red in color with dusty fruit and silky tannin with a firm grip.
Domaine Bernard Baudry 2011 Chinon “Domaine” (Loire). Dark red with notes of slate and crushed rocks on the fruit with velvet tannin at the end.
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