Thursday, December 29, 2005

2004 Pascal & Nicolas Reverdy Sancerre "Les Coutes" (Loire, France)

Outstanding Sauvignon Blanc from the chalky soil of the upper Loire. Pale gold/straw color with greenish glints. Gorgeous (and textbook) nose of flowers, citrus, grapes and chalky minerals. Even a peachy-appley component is there. In truth, the nose immediately transported me to France (I drank a lot of Sancerre, both white and red, in Paris in '85). None of the overly-herbal, grassy or even "cat pee" scents that some folks mistakenly think Sancerre is supposed to have. Only unripe Sancerre has that sort of funky stuff going on.

In the mouth, bright, vibrant appley-mineral flavors prevail, with lemons and steely minerals on the finish. Dry as a bone, yet round and soft in the mouth. In short, ripeness, concentration, and balance are all present. Superb. 91. Was $19.99 at Spec's Warehouse on Smith.

PS -- How many Sancerre wine families are named Reverdy? Must be at least a dozen.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Casagrande,

I really enjoyed your Sancerre description. I too look for the Reverdy name when buying Sancerre - it seems that there are more and more ( I only knew of Jean, a nice French name ). I'll add Pascal & Nicolas to my list of relatives...

Keep the Sancerre flowing in the New Year.