Having recently returned from a week's outing to Great Smoky Mountain
Nat'l Park, Jean and I were invited out to dinner at a friend's house.
With a dinner of grilled skewered prawns and kielbasa we opened two
bottles from home:

2008 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet SeM "Clos des Briords"
nose: shy, minerals, limes
palate: tight, tart, reticent fruit

2001 Edmunds St. John Syrah "Wylie-Fenaughty Vyd" El Dorado County
nose: dark, briery berry fruit, a hint of smoke
palate: smooth, supple, rich, firmly acidic

Despite having read good things recently about the '08 Briords from
usually reliable sources such as (the good) Jay Miller, I found the wine
on this night to be quite shut down relative to what I expect from this
bottling. I will keep my hands off my remaining stash for quite some
time, methinks.

The ESJ Syrah, OTOH, had no such problem and was really in top form.
I've been following this wine since about 2005, having been introduced
to it by Rahsaan Maxwell in Berkeley. During this time, it has rounded
out and softened somewhat, developing a few non-primary characteristics
and is now drinking fabulously. I see no problem letting this wine age
another 5-10 years, though, and would not be surprised if it could go
twice that distance. Will it get better? I'm not sure that it will,
but I wouldn't bet against it, either.

Gratifyingly, both wines went well with the food.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Mark Lipton > wrote in news:i230uq$bbs$1
@speranza.aioe.org:
>
> 2008 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet SeM "Clos des Briords"
> nose: shy, minerals, limes
> palate: tight, tart, reticent fruit

I haven't tasted Dom. de la Pépière, but assuming that I am making a
generalization, 2008 is not a great vintage for Muscadet because of the
very difficult conditions with frost and hail. For many Muscadet growers,
it was a disaster.

As a wine drinker, I like 2007 (more mineral) and 2009 (riper) more than
2008.

s.