Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Thursday 8 September 2011

Dirty Dozen tasting: some Loire wines


Half of the dozen importers were showing some Loire wines at yesterday's tasting. To respond to Chris Kissack's comment, I'd better start with H2Vin. On this occasion they were showing just two. Firstly the 2010 Les Roses du Clos (£8.00), AC Touraine from Xavier Frissant. Attractively mineral and long, Les Roses du Clos is made from Fie Gris (Sauvignon Rose/Sauvignon Gris). This has a delicacy that many Touraine Sauvignon Blancs do not have and once again underlines the lunacy of the INAO's plans to ban 100% Fie Gris from the right to the Touraine appellation.

2009 Génération X1X, Sancerre, Alphonse Mellot 
 
Les Alphonses' barrel fermented Génération Sancerre Blanc (£26.50) is far from your typical crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Rich, weighty, concentrated and long it gives more than a nod in Burgundy's direction. Its concentration in part reflects the warm summer of 2009 but also that the Mellot's along with many vignerons with vines around Sancerre town and Bué were severely hit by hail that year.   

2 comments:

Chris Kissack said...

Thanks Jim. Just two wines....a bit of a shame. I like the Burgundy reference - I thik the common terroir shared by Sancerre and Chablis produces a lot of similarities between the two appellations.

Jim's Loire said...

Thanks Chris. I agree over the similarities, although in this instance given the richness and the winemaking I was thinking more Côte d'Or for the Gen XIX.