Memories of Sussey Street from the Eighties when Vouvray was last fashionable. Flabby with a hint of liquorice, quite sweet.
Another so so from the wineonline.ie pot luck sale.
I guess we should be drinking this fresher rather than 5 years later.
Touraine
Joel Delaunay, Touraine, Sauvignon Blanc, 2012
This is another wine you could only get in Cellar Master, so perhaps Alan is curating for O’Briens now.
Well made, solid, typical agrume tang with a flinty tint.
Pricey at €14.99
Calvet, Touraine, Sauvignon Blanc, 2012
An homage to our trip to the Loire Valley – Calvet Touraine Sauvignon Blanc.
I was mildly surprised by the quality of this offering, probably because of the Calvet name on the bottle.
A typical Touraine; nice dry citrus tang, well balanced, nice aroma of ammonia cut grass.
Their 2013 vintage has won a medal at the Paris Agricultural Show and I look forward to tasting it.
Cuvee Pointe d’agrumes, Touraine Sauvignon, 2013
Cafe Sud in Tours: the Citrus Tip
A nice introduction to Tours and Touraine Sauvignon Blanc: tart, slight flowery nose, lots of Citrus and tropical flavours deserving of the Agrum descriptor.
An interesting companion to the ambitious menu in Cafe Sud.
Francois Xavier Barc has assembled an interesting clutch of “accomplices” – winemakers devoted to styles indigenous to the Loire Valley:
Tasting notes here: http://complicesdeloire.com/pointe-dagrumes-touraine
€23
Clos Roche Blanche, Sauvignon No 5, 2011, Touraine
We stayed in Chateau d’Artigny near Montbazon, once home to and fitted out by Francois Coty.
That night we dined in the plush l’Origan restaurant and had the mini tasting menu.
The friendly Maitre d’ recommended the No 5 Sauvignon over the No 2 and it was delicious.
A complex wine with lots of minerality, flinty, metallic well balanced with citrus and gooseberry notes, great blast of grass.
A rare find. Didier Barouillet is the winemaker at Clos Roche Blanche. Worth more investigation.
The bar service at Chateau d’Artigny is brutal but we met some nice Americans from Fargo and had a pleasant nightcap with them as a result.
Domaine du Haut Perron, Sauvignon, 2012, Guy Allion, Touraine, Val de Loire
We enjoyed this. Best described by Oxford Wines:
“Superb and concentrated old vine Sauvignon Blanc with aromatic flavours of gooseberry and limes intermingled with superb touches of wet stone minerality. Guy and Cedric Allion of Domaine du Haut Perron have 23 hectares of vines on the wonderfully exposed slopes of the Cher’s right bank in the Loire Touraine Appellation. The soils here are clay and limestone embedded with flint which is known as ‘Perruches’ in the area. These flint deposits give their wines their trademark crisp minerality”
They do need to degreek their website!
McConkey Wine 