1919 Le Mont Moelleux, Domaine Huet
April 2009: the 1919 – burnished gold but still vibrant and youthful
The on-going Rudy Kurniawan trial for counterfeiting and fraud has been fascinating to follow. As someone who enjoys a glass or so of Loire wine from time to time, it has also been reassuring as well as highlighting another advantage of Loire wines: there are few if any fake old Loires! In contrast Laurent Ponsot (Domaine Ponsot) has suggested that 80% of old Burgundy are fakes. Doubtless in Bordeaux there are a significant proportion of counterfeit bottles of top old Bordeaux.
Although some producers may not always follow AC rules, I would be very surprised if there were many (any?) fake old bottles from fabled Loire vintages. No fakes to date because it hasn't been financially worthwhile and there isn't the same market in trophy wines as there is in Bordeaux and Burgundy. To date the only Loire domaine to my knowledge to have headlined an auction held by a major house is Domaine Huet in a sale organised by Christie's in 2004.
Following the success of that sale prices of old Huet wines rose considerably and they may be one of the very few Loire estates that might be attractive to counterfeiters.
Brief reflections on Rudy Kurniawan is my post on Les 5 du Vin this week.
June 2012: Line up in the cellars of Lamé Delisle Boucard: 1947 to 1893
No sign of Rudy here!
No sign of Rudy here!
Jim, first off, you're right on about the lack of financial incentive to fake Loire wines - which makes for a great incentive to drink them. Now a question: Both in France and the U.S. I've come across (and enjoyed) occasional bottles labeled "Vigneron Independent." Can you write about the the this marketing push? Who is eligible for membership, for example? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Frank. Absolutely agree that Loire wines are for drinking including those that need cellaring. For information about Les Vignerons Independants see here: http://www.vigneron-independant.com
ReplyDeleteWe are a group of wine students in Bordeaux, we created a amazing Blog about Loire Valley Wine, we wish we can help more and more people to know this magical wine region and let them understand the mystery of Loire wine. In our Blog, You can find appellation explication, food&wine matching, wine tasting suggestion, and all of information about Tasting Salon in Loire Valley.
ReplyDeleteYou will like it.
Enjoy it.
Loire Spectator
5alcolique@gmail.com
http://loirespectator.blogspot.fr
Loire Spectators I have now published this comment twice because it is good to see wine students creating a blog about the Loire. However, if you send me the same message again (or similar) I will treat it as spam.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your blog. It isn't amazing yet but may be in the future. Will be good to see you explore other parts of the Loire away from Sancerre and other grape varieties apart from Sauvignon Blanc.
Bonne continuation!