French white wine values tasted in 2005

The selected French bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include five whites from the Pays Nantais.
 

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2005 (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
 

 Gros-plant - A.Michel Brégeon
2004 - 3.4 € - refreshingly pure - tasty, varietal, crisp

Where to purchase Bregeon wines
 

 Gros-plant - Luneau Michel et Fils
2004 - 3.5 € - shy aromas - the wine is crystal-clear on the palate, perhaps denser than Brégeon's but less intense, snappy, very short in the mouth
 

 Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie - A.Michel Brégeon
2003 - 4.8 € - grapefruit or orange dominate the nose - powerful and broad like a Chablis, less creamy though, grapefruit and orange, fresh, much alcohol

Where to purchase Bregeon wines
 

 Bourgogne-hautes-côtes-de-nuits - Robert et Raymond Jacob - [chardonnay]
2002 - 5.1 € - when two years old: the wine was unsatisfying, a toffee sensation dominated, concealing hollowness and alcohol
- now: the oak is well integrated, leaving a good impression - on the nose toffee dominates grapefruit - onctuous, grapefruit balances toffee, fresh, much alcohol

Where to purchase Jacob wines
 

 Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie - A.Michel Brégeon
1996 - 5.7 € - this wine is atypically powerful for a Muscadet, it firmly stands at its peak: there is no point in letting other bottles age any more - scents of apple, mushroom, seashell - intense in the mouth, with apple, hazelnut, and seashell, fresh - hazelnut - (you can compare this note with that of the same wine tasted two years earlier)

Where to purchase Bregeon wines
 

 Touraine - Clos Roche Blanche - n°2 - Sauvignon
2004 - 6 € - needs a day to open up, the intense fruitiness reminds of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, some flower and a little herbaceousness - aromas of white fruit and freshly cut hay - onctuous, fat but firm, fresh almond, cherry, crisp - (more difficult and less complex than the 2001 bottling)

Where to purchase Clos Roche Blanche wines
 

 Cheverny - Hervé Villemade - Domaine du Moulin - [60% SB, 40% chardonnay]
2004 - 6.5 € - Sauvignon Blanc flavours - aromas of exotic fruit and freshly cut hay - onctuous, dense, almond, fresh

Where to purchase Villemade wines
 

 Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie - A.Michel Brégeon - Liger d'Or
1997 - 7 € - the flavours in the nose and palate make me think of a Chablis twice as old - scents of apples cooked in the oven, and of peach - onctuous, with tiny gaz beads, apple, peach or nectarine, hazelnut, fresh, more alcohol than fruit, the sensation of broadness is due to alcohol and to little (residual) sugar, it hints at Vouvray, although this Muscadet burns the mouth less than Vouvrays - (you can compare this note with that of the same wine tasted two years earlier)

Where to purchase Bregeon wines
 

 Vouvray - François Pinon - [crémant, 'méthode traditionnelle'] - Sec - [chenin]
1996 - 7 € - refined and easy, very well-made - dry, fresh, less taste than the same bottling drunk three years earlier

Where to purchase Pinon wines
 

 Vouvray - Domaine Huet - [crémant, 'méthode traditionnelle'] - Sec - Brut
1999 - 10 € - toasted loafbread, coconut - foam, middle-sized beads, refreshing

Where to purchase Huet wines
 

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Tradition - [chenin, Demi-Sec]
2002 - 10 € - this wine is delicious now but should improve with age, it relaxes on the second day and becomes perfect - pear, apricot - velvety, citrus, quince, broad as suits a Vouvray but firm at mid-palate as often at Pinon's, this is due to an excellent acidity which dries the mouth, mellow, fresh

Where to purchase Pinon wines
 

 Vouvray - Domaine Huet - Le Haut Lieu - Demi-Sec
2003 - 15 € - like peeling a fresh almond, nectarine - onctuous, like peeling a fresh almond, nectarine, soft, fresh but less so than other vintages from Huet or Pinon, less structure

Where to purchase Huet wines
 
 

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