French white wine values tasted in 2005

The selected French bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include five whites from the Pays Nantais.

This page skips the tasting notes of the wines that are not imported into the USA. The complete page of french wine values can be found here.
 

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2005 (between April and December).
 

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

2003 - USD 11 - grapefruit or orange dominate the nose - powerful and broad like a Chablis, less creamy though, grapefruit and orange, fresh, much alcohol

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

1996 - USD 12 - this wine is atypically powerful for a Muscadet, it firmly stands at its peak: there is no point in letting other bottles age any more - scents of apple, mushroom, seashell - intense in the mouth, with apple, hazelnut, and seashell, fresh - hazelnut - (you can compare this note with that of the same wine tasted two years earlier)

 Touraine - Clos Roche Blanche - n°2 - Sauvignon

2004 - USD 13 - needs a day to open up, the intense fruitiness reminds of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, some flower and a little herbaceousness - aromas of white fruit and freshly cut hay - onctuous, fat but firm, fresh almond, cherry, crisp - (more difficult and less complex than the 2001 bottling)

 Cheverny - Hervé Villemade - Domaine du Moulin - [60% SB, 40% chardonnay]

2004 - USD 13 - Sauvignon Blanc flavours - aromas of exotic fruit and freshly cut hay - onctuous, dense, almond, fresh

 Muscadet-de-sèvre-et-maine-sur-lie - A.Michel Brégeon - Liger d'Or

1997 - USD 14 - the flavours in the nose and palate make me think of a Chablis twice as old - scents of apples cooked in the oven, and of peach - onctuous, with tiny gaz beads, apple, peach or nectarine, hazelnut, fresh, more alcohol than fruit, the sensation of broadness is due to alcohol and to little (residual) sugar, it hints at Vouvray, although this Muscadet burns the mouth less than Vouvrays - (you can compare this note with that of the same wine tasted two years earlier)

 Vouvray - François Pinon - [crémant, 'méthode traditionnelle'] - Sec - [chenin]

1996 - USD 14 - refined and easy, very well-made - dry, fresh, less taste than the same bottling drunk three years earlier

 Vouvray - Domaine Huet - [crémant, 'méthode traditionnelle'] - Sec - Brut

1999 - USD 19 - toasted loafbread, coconut - foam, middle-sized beads, refreshing

 Vouvray - François Pinon - Tradition - [chenin, Demi-Sec]

2002 - USD 19 - this wine is delicious now but should improve with age, it relaxes on the second day and becomes perfect - pear, apricot - velvety, citrus, quince, broad as suits a Vouvray but firm at mid-palate as often at Pinon's, this is due to an excellent acidity which dries the mouth, mellow, fresh

 Vouvray - Domaine Huet - Le Haut Lieu - Demi-Sec

2003 - USD 26 - like peeling a fresh almond, nectarine - onctuous, like peeling a fresh almond, nectarine, soft, fresh but less so than other vintages from Huet or Pinon, less structure

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