My recent „Happening Now
Tastings“ haven't been all too blissful! I very much hope today
I'll be a little bit more lucky!? This time I am off to Loire region,
to the East, more precisely to Sancerre, to Sancerre Rouge … - I am
afraid?! At least the producer is highly regarded as one of the grand
masters of Sancerre wines - … Sauvignon Blanc wines. His name:
Gérard Boulay from the lil' village of Chavignol. This Chavignol is
also the very name of today's Pinot Noir. The vines for this Sancerre
Rouge were cultivated on limey clay (organic, … - not the clay, of
course). The outcome of these village vineyards was fermented for
approximately 18 days and aged, without sulfuring … - oh oh, for 16
months in 30 % new barriques. Fining or filtering weren't on the
agenda either. Well, forgive me for those
irresponsibly confusing … - comments. After writing this
introduction am not quite sure were this is heading. I am just a bit
afraid this “Happening Now Tasting” might get a little bit
“difficult” again. Anyway, let's see how this Sancerre Rouge Chavignol
2009 from Domaine Gérard Boulay is performing …
5:39 pm (just opened)
Colour: interesting hue;
largely very transparent and surprisingly dark garnet colour; no
substantial discolourations
Nose: a bit weird at
start; savage, maybe a bit grungy, definitely a bit more than
slightly glue'y (13,5 %), besides that I am getting hints of dark
berries (mildly boiled), indications of oak, some black olives (?)
and diffuse sweaty animal odour; at the moment special, crude, mostly
cool -apart of the dark berries – and still a bit out of balance
Taste: even a bit more
weird; right after popping the cork a bit very nervous and rustic,
kinda malty, dominated by mostly brown (and a bit pulpy) fruit,
traces of eucalyptic freshness plus sturdy smoke (perhaps even a bit
meaty), downright imprinted by the local soil (at the moment in a
rather harsh way), quite tannic and very well equipped with plenty of
acid, actual length seems fine; this one needs more than just some
integration time; I am afraid it is demanding a two or even three day
tasting session.
7:11 pm
Nose: luckily the glue'y expression
vanished, right now there is more smoke and smoked meat, even some
musk is evolving, the dark berries are still present although a bit
shy and still mildly boiled, all in all it is appearing substantially
more balanced, however still very rustic and peasant'ish
Taste: not as nervous as 1
½ hours ago, there is balance is on the horizon; the fruit flavours are seeming more
fresh and less brown, there are obvious characteristics of Pinot - of
lean, cool-climate, smoky and fresh Pinot – evident. Still pretty wild, rustic and
crude and full of deep mineral footprints, abrasiveness and astringency
has eased as well
8:55 pm
Nose: fruit fragrances
(still mildly boiled ones) are gaining ground, arising herbal
attributes as well (mostly juniper, black pepper and fennel), musk and meaty smoke impression is consistent, at the moment there
might be a few steely characteristics, too; overall more
approachable, complex and balanced, however still a bit rough
Taste: gaining more
precision, length and depth, the actual flavours haven't changed so
much; I think this is about to enter an enjoyable, pretty balanced
and very lively phase, a minor hint of alcohol might be in the
starting block (we'll see); still nowhere near elegance or
transcendence, but a lot of character and very “reasonable”
profundity
9:56 pm
Nose: seems pretty steady
at the moment; well, the musk – which I wasn't tremendously fond of
– is declining
Taste: same here, no
mentionable movement; maybe a bit more playful; alcoholic aromas are
still in the cage – I hope they will remain there
11:13 pm
At the moment in a really
good phase; flavours are pretty much the same and not so far away from a state of harmony; still a rather juvenile wine with a quite a lot to potential
to evolve; anyway - I better save my final impressions for tomorrow. A bit sleepy ...
7:55 pm (the day after)
Today the Boulay Pinot is
stronger on the herbal, hint'ishly herbaceous and even a bit spicy
side. The actual style is the same. Still rather rustic, rough,
crude, a bit acidic, slightly boiled, surely soil driven and far away
from elegance or aristo-pinot-sophistication. I kinda like this Pinot
style now and then. However perhaps not too often. For me a downright
decent **** and still rather juvenile Pinot Noir with distinct
Sancerre Rouge characteristics. In a not so distant future there
might be even more than just decent quality to this one. However I am
sure this stuff ain't something for a broad palatal strata. Therefore
it is simply too rough and demanding. One final marginal and very
important note: Do something about this poor cork quality, please! It is a
shame to put something like this in bottle neck of such a wine!
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