French white wine values tasted in 2002

The selected French bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include ten Loire whites and four whites from the Côte d'Or.
 

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2002 (between April and December).The tasting notes are listed by increasing prices, with the following format:

Appellation - producer - plot or brand - variety
Vintage - approximate price - general impression - on nose - on palate - after swallowing
 

 Alsace-sylvaner - Stéphane Berg

1999 - 2.9 € - ripeness may not be complete but the flavours are fruity - a nose with plants, fern, lemon and lime - a palate showing apricot and pink grapefruit, lively, a smoked note - plant has the last word

 Bourgogne-aligoté - Robert et Raymond Jacob - [aligoté]

2000 - 3.5 € - nose dominated by apple, hint of pear - big until mid-palate, grapefruit, apple, minerally, does not show any of the Hautes-côtes-de-nuits (report below) onctuosity, and is not supposed to - short aftertaste, almond

 Muscadet - Domaine de la Pépière - Marc Ollivier - 'Domaine de la Pépière'

2001 - 4 € - delicious and stirring, complete - a modest nose, fruity with a plant hint, lychee, lively, minerally, smokiness - very fruity with a plant hint, light yet flavour-intense and lively, grapefruit, tiny beads of carbon dioxide, lively, dry and refreshing - smokiness, lime, short

 Bourgogne-hautes-côtes-de-nuits - Robert et Raymond Jacob - [chardonnay]

2000 - 4.3 € - oak discreet (contrary to the 2001 and the Ladoix) - not much nose, grapefruit - onctuous, big, dense, peach, nectarine, grapefruit, fresh, juicy, more refreshing than the Ladoix - grapefruit

 Muscadet - Marc Ollivier - Domaine de la Pépière - Clos des Briords - Cuvée Vieilles Vignes

1999 - 4.3 € - smoked and apple notes, hints of melon and flower - onctuous, the structure is solid yet reminds of a Chignin: intensity of flavour, tiny beads of carbon dioxide, grapefruit, smoked, minerally, the good acidity dries the taste buds - short persistance, should open up with years of cellar

 Muscadet - Marc Ollivier - Domaine de la Pépière - Eden

2000 - 4.5 € - has gained breadth during the year, sublimed: ethereal with not much grapes flavour - apple, nut - stands up straight, velvety, intense with grapefruit, lemon and almond, minerally, does not show the plant note of the 'Domaine' bottling, dries the palate - short

 Muscadet - Marc Ollivier - Domaine de la Pépière - Clos des Cormerais - Cuvée Vieilles Vignes - Vin élevé en fûts de chêne

1999 - 4.7 € - oak, brioche, pear, toffee - onctuous entry, pear, toffee, fresh, apple

 Alsace-pinot-blanc - Rabold - Côte du Bollenberg - Auxerrois (pinot blanc)

2000 - 4.7 € - not much nose, a hint of fruit - mirabelle, ample, aromatic, smoked ham - smoked, toffee, grapefruit, alcohol

6 rue Val du Pâtre, 68500 Orschwihr, tél: +33/3 89 74 10 18

 Alsace-muscat - Rabold

2000 - 5.6 € - a nose of muscat fruit and grapefruit - aromatic, onctuous, fresh - grapefruit

6 rue Val du Pâtre, 68500 Orschwihr, tél: +33/3 89 74 10 18

 Vouvray - François Pinon - (Sec-tendre) - [chenin]

2001 - 5.7 € - a nose dominated by vanilla (from staying in oak barrels) - oak/vanilla, onctuous, apple, peach, white nectarine, fresh - a persistance of apple and lime

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Sec - [chenin]

2000 - 5.7 € - at first the nose shows plant, dryness, grape, then fruitiness with grapefruit - the palate is intense, onctuous, with eating grape and almond - grapefruit dominates the long aftertaste

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Sec - [chenin]

1995 - 6.5 € - on the two first days: a nose with pear, mineral, flower, peach, mollusc - onctuous on the palate, with pear, peach, mollusc, palate-wide, fresh, stewed apricot, apple, smoked - smoked, stewed apricot
- on the third and fourth days: a nose dominated by apple and shellfish - pear, peach, toffee, mid-palate dry as apple juice, fresh, pure

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Tradition (Demi-Sec) - [chenin]

2000 - 6 € - less easy than the 2001, for the long haul - lime and apple - sweet from sugar, apple, more structure than the 2001, snappy and velvety, a pear texture with a minerally note - toffee, almond

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Tradition (Demi-Sec) - [chenin]

2001 - 6.5 € - easier than the 2000 - a nose with lime and sugar - onctuous, less palate-wide than many Vouvrays, fruity, pear, peach, white nectarine, pure, fresh, but less fresh than the 2000 and the 1993 - residual sugar

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Tradition (Demi-Sec) - [chenin]

1993 - 7 € - (tasted over three days) extensive aeration is due to the first-day lot - the apple nose is discreet - onctuous, peach, apple, dry in the mid-palate, white nectarine, pepper, mandarin, fresher than the 2001, raspberry, mineral

 Vouvray - François Pinon - [crémant, 'méthode traditionnelle'] - Sec - [chenin]

1996 - 7 € - yeast, toffee, biscuit, apple skin - weedy on entry, a fine fizz, apple, quite drying, toffee, fresh - grapefruit, green almond, toffee

 Ladoix - Robert et Raymond Jacob - [chardonnay]

2000 - 7 € - a nose typical of the area - onctuous, powerful, tasty but with fruit less apparent than in the Bourgogne-hautes-côtes-de-nuits, oak notes prevail, with a smoked hint

 Corton-charlemagne [grand-cru] - Robert et Raymond Jacob - [chardonnay]

1999 - 18 € - should be still aged, tasted after aeration in decanter, powerful - the nose is intense, with smokiness - the mouthfeel is silky, very powerful, a palate-wide impression, with grapefruit

When choosing wines, remember to buy according to your needs.