On the 23rd of July Charmaine Cockhead came and presented her “Bastille Day” tasting of French wines to us. We love having Charmaine at Vats, because her tastings are fun and extremely interesting, not to mention filled with wines that we would not normally be able to taste. This tasting was an extremely good example of that! The tasting order, comments of the tasting and the average scores of the wines are as follows:
Charles Roux Blanc de Blancs Brut NV (Veuve Ambal)- Crémant (90% Chardonnay & 10% Aligoté)
Colour- light green, with a golden tint, fine to medium mousse. Nose- citrus, golden delicious apples, orange blossoms, brioche. Palate- crisp acidity, creamy mouth feel, soft, sherbet, Granny Smith apples, orange, pineapple, pear.
Score- 16.35.
2. Domaine Germaine Bourgogne Aligoté 2022
Colour- light green, with a golden tint. Nose- wheat, honey, toast, candied pineapple, spice, cloves. Palate- crisp acidity, honey, citrus with lime, lemons and oranges, canned pineapples, honey on the finish.
Score- 16.18.
3. La Maison Ogier Cotes du Rhone Artesis White Blend 2022 (Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Viognier)
Colour- light green. Nose- terpene, floral with Jasmine, orange, citrus, lemon. Palate- crisp acidity, creamy mouth feel, nuts, lemon, orange, lime, with a lime cordial finish.
Score- 16.64.
4. Maison Louis Latour Valmoissine Pinot Noir 2022
Colour- light garnet heart, gradating to a light pink rim. Nose-farmyard, stinky, strawberry, black berry and cherry, salty. Palate- crisp acidity, soft but firm tannins, strawberry, plums, black cherry, soft mouth feel, with black cherry and plums on the finish. The comment from tasters was that the wine needs time to develop, as it is still too young.
Score- 15.86.
5 E.Guigal Cotes du Rhone Red Blend 2020 (50% Syrah, 40% Grenache Noir, 10% Mourvèdre)
Colour- deep inky red, with no gradation to a clear rim. Nose- smoke, leather, red and black cherry, spice, musk, plums, Nougat. Palate- crisp acidity, soft tannins, spice, honey, plums, black cherry, Nougat, olives, well structured.
Score- 16.91.
6. Schroder and Schyler Saint Estephe Private Collection Red 2014 (50 % Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot)
Colour- inky dark red heart with almost no gradation to a garnet rim. Nose- cedar, chocolate, black cherry and berries, pencil shavings, dried forest floor, mint, caramel, toffee. Palate- crisp acidity, firm but soft tannins, cassis, black cherry and currants, tobacco, mushroom, toffee, caramel, chocolate.
Score- 17.09.
7. Chateaux Jany Sauterne 2022 (90% Semillon, 5% Sauvignon and 5% Muscadelle)
Colour- light green, with a tinge of gold. Nose- violets, pineapple, Limoncello, apple, honey. Palate- crisp acidity, spice, nuts, citrus with grapefruit, Limoncello, apple, honey, caramel and honey on the finish.
Score- 16.46.
A very interesting tasting, to say the very least. Lots of wine that we would normally never have an opportunity to taste, thanks so much Charmaine! Also thanks for the amazing information of the farms, their terrior and the areas that the wines came from. Many of our tasters had never tasted these wines before, or wines from these areas. A truly great wine experience, presented by an amazing presenter. Top wine was the Saint Estephe Private Collection Red, followed by E.Guigal Cotes du Rhone Red Blend and the La Maison Ogier Cotes du Rhone Artesis White Blend. Thanks once again to Charmaine for such a lovely tasting!
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