Grolleau, Clau de Nell, Anne Claude Leflaive VdP du Val de Loire 2011 - 12.5% abv (Demeter)
Personally, I've tasted through as much Grolleau as I have Kopi Luwak coffee. Never! Or perhaps unwittingly... Most blurb is dismissive of the grape to the point of it only being fit for grubbing up, or finger-points to the other more famed guise, Rosé d'Anjou. Can one make a silk purse from a sow's ear? One only has to look at the creativity of the one donning the Chef's toque. In this case winemaker Sylvain Potin under the ownership of Anne Claude Leflaive and Christian Jacques.
Clau de Nell Grolleau is a) low cropping at 30hl/ha b) made of 60-90 year old vines c) Demeter (bio) certified d) spends 12 months in 5 year old Burgundy barrels e) comes from grit and red silex over tufa soils f) is a delicious match for game birds, white meats, beetroot and goats cheese tatin (to give a drift).
Unfined and unfiltered, the wine is opaque with a garnet core to a pink rim, has a moderate viscosity with a surprising staining of tears. A youthful aromatic nose is redolent of blackberries, wild strawberries, red liquorice, violets, heather and wet soil.
Medium bodied with a moderate acidity, the primary fruit shows a touch of hollow in the mid-palate, lean and linear, the tannins reveal good ripeness and form a good chain strung with bramble and red fruit, more Gamay-like than possessed of Pinots' subtle charms. Point of note - worthy of decanting at least an hour before gustation, the wine comes around and reveals greater generosity with ferrous notes.
I'd regard this as a touchstone to the wonderfully versatile rouge of the Loire, from an estate that is only going to up its' game. Point of difference includes the fact that it's a lesser-known grape, is highly cuisine friendly with a malleable medium body, and is a leading example of the varietal from a top producer at a price that rewards.
http://www.claudenell.fr/eng/chap1_m_eng.php
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