Last night I came home to find a bunch of littleneck clams in the sink.
Seemed like a good time to bring up the 1997 Luneau-Papin "L d'Or "
Muscadet. Beautiful crushed clamshell/mineral nose, light but clear
green apple and citrus fruit. Acidity is bright but not harsh, finish
has a nutty edge to it - the only real sign of age. The meal turned out
to be a clam chowder with leeks and bok choy (and a little tomato paste
and hot pepper), and the wine wasn't really a perfect match, but it did
ok. This is still available at Chambers Street and I'll get more next
time I'm in, but next time the shellfish are going in straight. B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of
consistency.

DaleW wrote:
> Last night I came home to find a bunch of littleneck clams in the sink.
> Seemed like a good time to bring up the 1997 Luneau-Papin "L d'Or "
> Muscadet. Beautiful crushed clamshell/mineral nose, light but clear
> green apple and citrus fruit. Acidity is bright but not harsh, finish
> has a nutty edge to it - the only real sign of age. The meal turned out
> to be a clam chowder with leeks and bok choy (and a little tomato paste
> and hot pepper), and the wine wasn't really a perfect match, but it did
> ok. This is still available at Chambers Street and I'll get more next
> time I'm in, but next time the shellfish are going in straight. B+

I just drank a bottle of the '04 Pierre de la Grange the other night,
alongside another bottle of the '04 Pepiere. All 3 of us preferred the
L-P, and that's no faint praise.

Mark Lipton

Hi,

I have been a great fan of Luneau-Papin since my first trip to the Loire. I
ended up with a bottle of the Dom. Pierre de la Grange and forgot about it
for one year. It was a 2001 that I uncorked in 2004. Was great.

Now I have some 2002 and 2004. Which do you think is the best moment to
drink them?

Thanks in advance,

S.

Santiago wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have been a great fan of Luneau-Papin since my first trip to the Loire. I
> ended up with a bottle of the Dom. Pierre de la Grange and forgot about it
> for one year. It was a 2001 that I uncorked in 2004. Was great.
>
> Now I have some 2002 and 2004. Which do you think is the best moment to
> drink them?
>
> Thanks in advance,

Santiago,
I don't think that there *is* a bad moment to drink either of them. As
I mentioned to Dale, a bottle of the '04 opened last week was showing
beautifully. Dale might be able to speak to its ability to age, but
it's quite lovely as a youth right now. I'd expect the '02 to be
equally nice.

Mark Lipton

p.s. I got to recently try the '04 Marc Angeli dry Chenin Blanc (Anjou)
-- great stuff!