{"id":257,"date":"2018-06-12T18:21:17","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T18:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/?page_id=257"},"modified":"2018-06-12T18:21:17","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T18:21:17","slug":"tasting-notes-wines-of-the-loire-presented-by-trevor-elliott-awe-25-april-2018","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/?page_id=257","title":{"rendered":"Tasting Notes: Wines of the Loire, presented by Trevor Elliott AWE, 25 April 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of more local presenters, Trevor lives in Gosport and is an expert on wines of Madeira, on which he has written a definitive book. A retired head-teacher, he has had a long-term interest in wine and the wine business and we were lucky to have him present an eclectic and somewhat unusual\u00a0 look at wines from and around the Loire Valley. This relatively cool region of France probably has more variation in its wines than anywhere else in the country. It has nearly 70 Appellations along the river, stretching almost to the Northern Rhone.<\/span><\/p>\n

2014 Cr\u00e9mant de Loire Brut, The Society\u2019s Celebration, Gratien and Meyer<\/strong>\u00a0 (Wine Society \u00a312.95) Predominantly Chardonnay with a little Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc\u00a0 and Cabernet Franc, and slightly pink, this sparkler was made by the<\/span> traditional method for the Wine Society. \u00a0Fragrant nose, fruity rather than biscuit, and with a light mineral finish, a good and typical \u201cnon-Champagne\u201d. Very good value.<\/span><\/p>\n

2014 Muscadet S\u00e8vre et Maine, Le Clos du Ch\u00e2teau L\u2019Oisini\u00e8re<\/strong> \u00a0(Wine Society \u00a312.95)\u00a0 Not the zing I expected from a typical Muscadet,\u00a0 with surprising bottle-age, not a \u201csur lies\u201d\u00a0 and, for me, not a lot of structure either. \u00a0Made from very old vines and only in better vintages. \u00a0More complex than the usual quaffing wine, some liked the style, some did not \u2013 for me, not sure.<\/span><\/p>\n

2016 Menetou-Salon, Morogues, Domaine Pell\u0117<\/strong>\u00a0 (Wine Society \u00a313.50) For a varietal Sauvignon Blanc, very little of the typical nettle\/gooseberry. From a very ripe Season, and a big producer, this wine has a rich apricot and citrus peel-like palate and plenty of acidity and minerality \u2013 at 14% alcohol, some thought it a bit unbalanced, a very full taste.<\/span><\/p>\n

2014 Saumur Champigny, Clos de Cordeliers, Domaine Ratron<\/strong> \u00a0(Wine Society \u00a310.50) This one divided us! Dark red with good structure and subtle, slightly dusty tannins, some thought it had a poor nose and a rather thin palate. I liked it but it had some of the Cabernet Franc characteristics (touch \u201cgreen and stalky\u201d) that not everyone likes. Not the best CF we\u2019ve ever tasted.<\/span><\/p>\n

2016 Sancerre, Les Champs Clos Caves des Vins<\/strong>\u00a0 (Sainsburys, \u00a313.00) Trading a little on the name, this 100% Pinot Noir lacked the clear PN characteristics I would have expected, nevertheless a pleasant somewhat rustic and fruity wine, maybe a bit overpriced for the style, which had more the character of a local wine. Noticeable tannins and very dark red, maybe over-extracted? Might be better served chilled.<\/span><\/p>\n

2016 Touraine, \u201cLe B\u0117cassou\u201d, Domaine de Echardi\u00e8res, Luc Poullain<\/strong>\u00a0 (Wine Society \u00a38.95) For a mainly Gamay-based wine (70% Gamay, 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Malbec), a very dark colour. A muted nose (no Beaujolais bubble-gum here!) and with good richness and mouthfill, I thought this was good value at this price.<\/span><\/p>\n

2016 C\u00f4te Roannaise, \u00c9clat de Granite, Domaine S\u00e9rol<\/strong>\u00a0 (Wine Society \u00a39.95) Another Gamay, this time 100% and definitely not Beaujolais in style.\u00a0 Grown on the granite soil of the Eastern Loire, a lot more body and minerality than the previous wine, quite acidic but with good mouthfill\u00a0 despite only 12% alcohol. Bit short on the palate but would go very well with foie gras etc. Good value.<\/span><\/p>\n

2015 C\u00f4teaux du Layon, Sr. Auban, Vin Biologique, Domaine Cady<\/strong>\u00a0 (Wine Society \u00a313.50) At last a Chenin Blanc a from the famous Layon area. Botrytis on the grapes comes through on the nose, quite a light wine with lychees on the palate, not rich like Sauternes, typical of the Cote du Layon. Very good value if you like the lighter style of sweet wine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, something of a mixed bag of wines. For me the disappointing thing was that we saw little of the quality that good Cabernet Franc offers, especially from the Chinon region, nor much of their lovely dry Chenin Blanc wines. Definitely an interesting tasting, which suggests that this is a region we should revisit soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

John Harris<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of more local presenters, Trevor lives in Gosport and is an expert on wines of Madeira, on which he has written a definitive book. A retired head-teacher, he has had a long-term interest in wine and the wine business and we were lucky to have him present an eclectic and somewhat unusual\u00a0 look at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-257","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258,"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/257\/revisions\/258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brockenhurstwineclub.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}