jamie goode's wine blog: Organic white Minervois

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Organic white Minervois

An interesting white that I wanted to blog about. It was a sample sent some time back, and rather frustratingly I have no recollection of who it was sent by, although I'm pretty sure it wasn't a major UK retailer - perhaps direct from the domaine.

Le Moulin des Nonnes Cuvee Ines Blanc 2003 Minervois, Languedoc, France
A blend of 50% Roussanne, 40% Grenache Blanc and 10% Muscat a Petits Grains; organically grown grapes. A deep colour, this has a beguiling minerality to the ripe, melony fruit. It's from a hot year, but it combines ripeness with a lovely mineralic freshness, with the result that it's a fat wine walking the line of overripeness but just staying on the right side. You've got to be in the mood for this sort of white, which with its declared 14% alcohol packs a bit of a punch, but it does it very well - creditably, the oak is barely noticeable, which allows the fruit the spotlight. It's the beatifully perfumed nose that wins it for me. Very good/excellent 90/100

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4 Comments:

At 2:13 PM, Anonymous Alex Lake said...

I've had the straight version of this wine from Swig in the past (and I love it) dunno if they're in the habit of sending you samples?

Happy New Year

 
At 11:05 PM, Anonymous Doug said...

I like this recommendation. I've tasted the wine in Minervois last year (God, is it last year already?) and it impressed me.

I'm pretty sure Noel Young wines ship this and possibly the Flying Corkscrew.

It's got great balance; they block the malo on the tank-fermented portion of the wine to preserve the acidity and the oak lifts rather than obtrudes. Roussanne, I believe, is such an under-rated grape variety and gives blends more structural integrity than the low acid Viognier, for example, whilst Grenache Blanc tends to express the garrigue-and-spice nature of the terroir.

 
At 7:18 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

Thanks for the comments Doug and Alex. Both Noel Young and Flying Corkscrew stock the 2004, which I'm guessing may be a step above this 2003, so I intend to check it out.

 
At 6:06 PM, Blogger tim worth said...

We also stock the 2004

Worth Brothers Wine Merchants
The Cellars
Cathedral House
Beacon Street
Lichfield
Staffs
WS13 7AA

www.worthbrothers.co.uk

 

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