Sarah Ahmed – The Wine Detective

Tom Ford’s movie, A Single Man, provoked charges of style over substance from some quarters,  prompting me to wonder if they’d prejudged the movie.  Sure, directed by the ex-Gucci man it’s a stylishly realised movie, but with a tremendous emotional charge.  So what’s this to do with wine?  Well this week I tasted two rather beautifully, if heavily, packaged Chinon wines from Domaine de Pallus (pictured – artfless soft focus all my own – apologies!).  Would the contents be as stylishly realised?  In short, yes and, in long hand, these are swoooooooningly delicious wines with melt in the mouth tannins á la Clos Rougeard, each weighing in at a modest 13%.

Domaine de Pallus Les Pensees de Pallus Chinon 2007 – a gorgeous nose and palate of crushed, fresh red cherry, with a core of sweeter, baked cherry stone, uplifted by floral, peony notes and underscored by smoke and gravel. The tannins are gossamer fine, the wine subtly persistent, with a wonderful mineral freshness to the finish – not so much fruity acidity as a gently mouthcleansing wash of minerals.  £12.75

Domaine de Pallus Pallus Chinon 2006 – on day one, this is darker and spicier with an inky violet undertow, hints of ripe clove/star anise and those melt in the mouth tannins.    By day two, it’s revealing crushed raspberries, even a subtle hint of blueberry. And the tannins have become even more mellifluous, the stone-washed fruit pelucid, with subtle spice and leather hints.  I savoured every drop of this sensual wine…£26.25

In no way confected, these are dry, grown up wines to decant and enjoy with food now or to cellar for the mid-term, maybe longer – difficult to know because winemaker Bertrand Sourdais’ first vintage only dates back to 2003.   His credentials are decidedly promising though.  After serving his apprenticeship at Mouton Rothschild then Leoville Las Cases, he returned to the Loire via Spain (Alvaro Palacios and Dominio de Atauta), as you do, to take over his father’s domaine.  His wines are well worth seeking out and are imported and sold retail by H2Vin, who incidentally also list Clos Rougeard.

Watch this space for more Loire recommendations.  I’ll be writing up highlights of the annual Salon in Angers over the next few weeks and the  samples I’ve been tasting for a couple of book contributions I’m working on this month.