French white wine values tasted in 2006

The selected French bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include Muscadet and other summer wines.
 

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2006 (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
 

 Muscadet de sèvre et maine sur lie - Luneau Michel et Fils

2005 - 3 € - pure - joyful, tiny gas beads, fresh

 Gros plant - A.Michel Brégeon

2005 - 3.5 € - bacon, apple - onctuous, alcohol modest, fresh - apple skin

 Muscadet de sèvre et maine sur lie - Cormerais - Domaine de Mauperthuis - Domaine de Mauperthuis

2004 - 3.7 € - our standard representative of the Muscadet production, apparent winemaking from run-of-the-mill grapes - faint lichee, a hint of scallop - velvety, with beads, faint lichee, a hint of scallop, more alcohol than fruit, refreshing, does not show the acidic stiffness of some Muscadets

 Muscadet de sèvre et maine sur lie - Girard - Le Fleuron de la Rebourgère

2005 - 4.3 € - standard Muscadet - fresh

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

2005 - 4.7 € - a superb match to raw oyster shells - an elegant nose of lime, litchi, and peach - velvety, light but very savory, apricot, redcurrant, brine, a vegetable note, no minerality, tiny gas beads, less structured than Brégeon, less lively yet crisp and fresh - less persistence

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

2005 - 4.8 € - should benefit from ageing - peach, apple, chais, intense - onctuous, peach, dries the palate, fresh, more winey than Pépière - citrus zest

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

2005 - 5.5 € - grapefruit, fresh - grapefruit, the liveliness is drying the mouth, crunchier than the the 2001 vintage tasted at age 2 - grapefruit

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

2003 - 6 € - a weak nose of frozen grapefruit - toffee, intense flavour but light body, fresh - bitter-orange (the balance of fruit and onctuosity is the same as in the 1999 bottling tasted at the same age, the oak treatment is as refined)

 Touraine - Clos Roche Blanche - n°2 - Sauvignon

2004 - 6.6 € - onctuous, freshly cut hay, a hint of a little red fruit, fresh

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

2001 - 7 € - a very intense nose akin to a Chablis twice as old : with seashell and hazelnut - very slightly sweet, intense flavours of nectarine, litchi, apple, apricot, and citrus zest, fresh - peach skin

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Brut 'méthode traditionnelle' - [Chenin]

[2004] - 7 € - does not show the toffee note of the 1996 version - subdued nose - peach, toasted loafbread, less wide than the Chidaine, drying (from acidity), fresh

 Alsace - Schaeffer-Woerly - Riesling

2004 - 8 € - well made, very enjoyable - nectarine, lichee, mango - aromatic with nectarine, lichee, mango, smokiness, almond, onctuous throughout while remaining fresh

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Sec - [Chenin]

2005 - 8 € - very natural - citrus, minerally, a hinty of fresh herb - onctuous, very intense, pear, nectarine, wide, minerally, fresh, very pure, more drying than the 2000

 Montlouis - François Chidaine - Méthode Traditionnelle - Brut non-millésimé

[2004] - 9 € - small beads, velvety, nectarine, wide, fresh, toasted loafbread

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Tradition - [Chenin]

2005 - 9 € - keep it in a remote corner of the cellar - ripe peach - onctuous, peach, sweet, fresh

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