Sunday, May 24, 2015

Pierre Bise Clos du Coulaine Savennieres, 1998

This is my third or fourth try of this wine, and it still puzzles me. The color is a deep, old gold, much more mature than much older Loire Chenin Blancs I have had. Compact smells of somewhat funky Chenin Blanc--honey, spices, stale lemon curd. Has substance but no freshness. (I know, it's a 17-year-old white wine, but I am comparing it to other wines from the region, including the 2001 Pierre Bise Anjou Blanc--a wine that cost less than half as much and is still drinking beautifully.) Full bodied and tannic for a white wine with a firm finish. Okay, but it doesn't thrill me as other mature Savennieres have.

I have read reviews of this and other Clos du Coulaine wines from the late 1990s from writers I trust. There is little comparison between what they report and what I have tasted from these wines. I suspect this batch may have been exposed to too much heat during transport or storage.

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