French white wine values tasted in 2003

The selected French bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include four bottlings from Burgundy and five Muscadets.
 

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2003 (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
 

 

b Bourgogne-aligoté - Robert et Raymond Jacob

2001 - 4 € - nose dominated by grapefruit zest - grapefruit, fresh, short

 

Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie wine labelb Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie - Domaine de la Pépière - Marc Ollivier - Clos des Briords - Cuvée Vieilles Vignes

2001 - 4.5 € - aroma of northern fruit - round on entry, with beads or carbon dioxide, fresh but less snappy than Brégeon 2001 (to be also compared to the 1999 vintage tasted in 2002)

 

Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie wine labelb Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie - A.Michel Brégeon

2001 - 4.8 € - more vigorous than Clos des Briords 2001 - lichee and iodine - a palate intense, beaded, lively

 

Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie wine labelb Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie - Marc Ollivier - Domaine de la Pépière - Eden

2000 - 5 € - a weak nose - on the palate: hazelnut, no taste from grape! velvety, full and easy, fresh but lacking in sharpness (for a Muscadet), stands up straight but has declined (compared to the same vintage tasted one year earlier)

 

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

2001 - 5 € - manipulated - oak dominates the palate, not much stuff, wide and fresh, fruit not ripe

 

Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie wine labelb Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie - A.Michel Brégeon

1996 - 5.1 € - more complex than 2000, 2001, or 2002 - shell, lichee, apple, green grapefruit - even more intense than 2000, 2001 and 2002, seashell, lichee, apple, green grapefruit, fresh - long, lime, seashell

 

Touraine wine labelb Touraine - Clos Roche Blanche - Sauvignon - n°2

2001 - 5.8 € - a great purity - a varietal nose with exotic fruit (starfruit), a minerally note, and a hint of oxidation - the variety also shows in the mouth, grapefruit, zest, pear, apple, plant, almond, very intense, a minerally note, fresh with a straight hint - persistent, sandwich bread

 

Côtes-de-provence wine labelb Côtes-de-provence - Château de Pourcieux - M. d'Espagnet - [rolle]

2001 - 6.5 € - fat, a green note is not a problem, it shows the incomplete ripeness of the grapes, fresh, short

Le Château, 83470 Pourcieux, tél. +33 (0) 4 94 59 78 90

 

b Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie - A.Michel Brégeon - Liger d'Or

1997 - 6.6 € - a forceful nose, with grapefruit and apple - onctuous, with enormous intensity, the palate reminds of a ten-year-old Chablis, tropical fruit (with a hint of residual sugar), grapefruit, minerally, apple - tropical fruit lingers

 

b Sauvignon-de-saint-bris - William Fèvre

2001 - 7 € - a nose minerally, with peach, watermelon, red fruit, fresh-cut hedge - fruit explodes in the palate, intense, harmonious, minerally, peach, watermelon, grapefruit, lime, dense but short, fresh

 

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

1993 - 9 € - the nose minerally with citrus zet - the palate: with apple, onctuous (moelleux), wide, dry (from acidity), mandarin orange - citrus zet (steady but more mineral and less fruity than the same vintage tasted one year earlier)

 

b Chablis - Vignoble Dampt - Vieilles Vignes - [chardonnay]

2001 - 9 € - very agreeable - intense, pear, apple, flower, honeysuckle, mildew - onctuous, fatter than other Chablis, grapefruit, apricot, apple, mildew, balanced with a moderate acidity (for a Chablis), a smoky note - toffee (you can compare it to a Ladoix tasted at the same age)

 

b Chinon - Bernard Baudry - Croix Boissée [tuffeau blanc] - [chenin]

2001 - 14 € - grapefruit, herb tea, flower - grapefruit, herb tea, flower, palate-wide but fresh (more so than a Vouvray)

 

Quarterly additions

New tasting reports are put on-line every June, September and December. You will be emailed at the date of issue if you . (There currently are 1181 subscribers.)

  .
    .
  Top of page

 

  .

US flag
US version
of current page

(skips wines
not imported into the USA)

  Types of wine

  |  About  |  
 
© 2001-2008 by Félicien Breton

Die Internet Explorer!