Month: November 2018

Ver Sacrum Monastrell Chacayes 2016

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn MonastrellLeave a comment

2018-11-20 Ver Sacrum Monastrell Chacayes 2016.jpg

Saint Peter: All you ever do
is try to be silly by including
me in your wine notes. Stop it.
OTWN: I can’t find any one else
WORTHY of ridicule.
SP: How about politicians, economists,
spiritual leaders and charlatans?
OTWN: They’re not worthy.
SP: CEOs, bankers, FOMC members,
sommeliers?
OTWN: Not worthy.
SP: Then I’m honored.
OTWN: You can thank the Catholics.

This has to be the best
“surprise to the upside” wine
that I have ever had.

I had to double check the
bottle label to be sure that
this is a RED and not rosé.

I MAY HAVE had a PN that was this
pale but this is much more
insanely wonderful.

This is like sweet rose water,
only it’s not sweet.

Crisp and tart with maybe
SOME tannins.

My guess is that IF it spent time
in oak, it was a brief time and the
oak was quite old.

I’ll try to check this out.

Meanwhile, the “PN perfume” that
I love becomes a FLAVOR in this wine.

Flummoxification.

Saint Peter: What happened to YOU?
OTWN: My head came off.
SP: How?
OTWN: I tried the ARG Monastrell
and before I knew it…
SP: Say no more. Say no more.
OTWN: Huh?
SP: If you don’t mind having a NDE,
we can screw it back on and send you back
to Earth.
OTWN: Can I take that case of
Ver Sacrum with me?
SP: Sure, sign here.
OTWN: A CONTRACT?
SP: What option do we have?
OTWN: Let me check your…

Day Two…..

If I didn’t know better, I would
accept that this wine was
high-altitude-
or-otherwise-stressed PN.

But REALLY GOOD.

I’m spellbound.

GOD: You have defied me and
tasted of the grape.
EVE: I wasn’t thinking.
G: I’ll have to think up
an appropriate punishment.
E: How about marriage?
G: Great, I’ve created a
comedienne.
E: Just kidding. Do you want
his rib back?
G: Stop it. I’m thinking
about making you drink fermented
grain.
E: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
G: OK. I’ll save that for later.
E: So what then?
G: Let’s drink this Monastrell and
be friends. Call Adam.
E: He’s busy.
G: Doing what?
E: He was listening to the snake
when I left him. I told him to not
come home until the snake quit
talking.
G: Good Heavens!
E: That’s what I told him,
but he’s hardheaded.
Are you going to pour or what?
G (aside): Poor Adam.
E: I heard that.
G: Jesus save me.
E: Save that for later too.
Pour already.
I gave the snake only a
few talking points.

DID I MENTION THAT THIS
WINE IS INSANELY GOOD???

Saint Peter: You are charged
with making fun of our “creation”.
How do you plead?
OTWN: Patuxently.
SP: You’re headed for trouble.
OTWN: I bought CORNER INSURANCE.
SP: Let me see your contract.
OTWN: Here.
SP: Ah yes, you’re covered.
Follow the signs to the 45th
parallel. You’ll find EVE doing
her stand up routine and
serving Monastrell.
OTWN: Great. Hang in there.
SP: Say what?
OTWN: I’m sorry. Have a nice day.
OTWN (aside): Saints!
SP: I heard that.
OTWN: God bless ’em.
SP: Thank you brother.
OTWN: Maybe WE should team up
and serve Monastrell.
SP: Don’t be silly.
OTWN: I’ll need instructions
for that.

One incarnation later…

Saint Peter: OMG, it looks like
you starved to death!
OTWN: I did.
SP: What happened?
OTWN: I became a vegetarian.
SP: What did you eat?
OTWN: Wine.
SP: Didn’t you know that you
needed solid food?
OTWN: Yes, but the corks were
indigestible.
SP: Well, the good news is that
you don’t need ANY nourishment now.
OTWN: Wait a minute!
SP: It’s OK, libations are
considered “spiritual” here.
OTWN: Thank Heavens!
SP: That’s the point.

If you are still reading this
“missive” then EITHER you
are a really silly person OR
you REALLY LIKE WINE and are
interested in SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

READ THIS…

https://www.brazoswine.com/wine/ver-sacrum-monastrell-chacayes-2016

C-O-N-C-R-E-T-E E-G-G
A-N-D N-O O-A-K

How divinely inspired is that?

Hang in there.

Domaines Sumeire Les Nageurs Rosé Cotes de Provence 2017

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn RoséLeave a comment

2018-11-18 Domaines Sumeire Les Nageurs Rosé Cotes de Provence 2017.jpg

I assume that the winemakers were
fish in a previous incarnation.

Due to circumstances beyond
my control, my brain hurts
and I haven’t even started
to drink this morning.

I decided that today was a good
day for ANOTHER rosé, opened the cooler,
and discovered THIS WINE.

Just a few days ago I was “daydreaming”
about about Provence rosé as I drank
that SA Cinsault rosé.

Unbelievable.

I didn’t know I had this one.

My wish was for something
“a little drier” than the
SA wine.

Check.

As “luck” would have it, this wine
has a respectable amount of
Cinsault in it.

https://www.elixirwinegroup.com/france-1/domaines-sumeire-2017-rose

In a nutcase, the wine is just
STUNNING.

Every rosé that I drink reduces
my tolerance for BOLD reds.

I don’t like being “confined” but
that’s just the way it is.

Maybe the middle is “more comfy”
than the extremes.

BOLD whites.
PALE reds.
ALL rosés.

And a light meal.

How delicious is that?

Quite.

Y mañana, lo mismo.

Hang in there.

La Rioja Alta “Viña Alberdi” Reserva Rioja 2011

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn RiojaLeave a comment

2018-11-16 La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi Reserva Rioja 2011.jpg

Saint Peter: You look sad.
OTWN: I’m dead DUDE.
SP: What was your top card?
OTWN: Queen of Hearts.
SP: Normally that’s good.
OTWN: I traded it away.
SP: Go stand in the corner.
OTWN: But they’re drinking Rioja
over there.
SP: It’s all you can drink, no cover.
OTWN: Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!
SP: Not again?

I TRY to avoid the OAK, but
it’s HARD.

I should NEVER take home a
RESERVA no matter what the
experts say.

It’s just me.

The wine is wonderful.

I just don’t need no stinkin’ OAK.

Now that I’m thinking about it,
I would like to taste some
Rioja Nouveau.

I would miss the vanilla, but
at least I could taste the wine.

This one is “tolerable” in the
OAK department and “pleasurable”
in the VANILLA department.

I’m having trouble “sensing” the
wine because it is SO GOOD.

Dark red fruit.

Silky smooth vanilla.

Just enough OAK to get your
attention.

A favorite in purgatory.

I would never drink another
Rioja if it weren’t for the fact
that I won’t quit till I find
one that hits my bull’s-eye.

Saint Peter: You’re sober, what happened?
OTWN: I found the perfect Rioja.
SP: Really? I thought you were born after
HIS time.
OTWN: I was, another earthling made it.
SP: So why didn’t you continue drinking
other wines?
OTWN: I died when I took my first sip
of the perfect Rioja.
SP: Have you been talking to The Devil?
OTWN: How would I know?
SP: Well he’s… Oh, just go stand in
the corner.
OTWN: But I’m sober!
SP: Here, take this Crianza. It’s
not OAKy enough for US.
OTWN: Oh-oh.

Hang in there.

Radley & Finch Summer Sessions Cinsault Rosé 2018

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Cinsault, Rosé, UncategorizedLeave a comment

2018-11-14 Radley & Finch Summer Sessions Cinsault Rosé 2018.jpg

I’m tasting the grapefruit-
honey-almond thing in this
one I think.

I can never remember the ingredients,
but this reminds me of a Scorpion mixed drink.

The goofy label and the fact
that this comes from SA had me
skeptical that this would be
“good enough”.

It’s good enough.

Delicious in fact.

The ALC is way down there at a
dancing-in-the-street 12% so
I assumed that there might be a
little sugar in there.

Maybe, but it doesn’t distract.

I’m pretty sure that this is
my first Cinsault rosé.

Now I’m wondering if “The French”
might make Cinsault rosé and if it might
be “drier”.

Let’s see what we can find in
“The Languedoc”.

OK, so that was a “no-brainer”.

Now I have something SPECIFIC
to shop for.

If I can remember.

Wife: Are you talking to yourself
again?
OTWN: No, Binks is channeling
a South African Sommelier.
W: You shouldn’t keep listening
to that dead Weimaraner.
OTWN: But she has great insights.
W: Like what?
OTWN: Like shopping for rosé
in Provence.
W: I’m already packed.

I should be able to remember this now.

Right Binks?

Hang in there.

P.S.

As it turns out, just four days
after drinking this wine, I had
a Provence rosé that I didn’t know
I had in the cooler when I was
drinking this one.

Pretty nice.

Brokenwood Semillon Hunter Valley 2015

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn SemillonLeave a comment

2018-11-09 Brokenwood Semillon Hunter Valley 2015.jpg

This one doesn’t have
much of that “oiliness”
that I associate with
Semillon.

The sensation is more
like a “smoothness”.

And it doesn’t get in the
way of that wonderful
citrus acidity.

Since this wine has a
10.5% ALC level, I wonder
if they “pick the grapes
early” or something.

I’ll have to study up
on Hunter Valley.

This will do…

https://www.wineaustralia.com/what-s-happening/stories-of-australian-wine/december-2016/australian-semillon-the-sleeping-giant-of-australian-wine

One amazing THING that I’m
experiencing in this one
is the “subtleness of flavor”.

There’s plenty of flavor.

It just doesn’t bash you
over the head.

Pick your flavor quality.

You’ll probably find it here.

Amazing.

Maybe this is the ultimate
“chameleon wine”.

2018-11-09 Semillon Chameleon.jpg

Hang in there.

Riccitelli The Party Malbec Uco Valley 2017

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn MalbecLeave a comment

2018-11-11 Riccitelli The Party Malbec Uco Valley 2017.jpg

Lace ’em up.

Frustratingly formidable capsule.

Dark ruby color.

Fruity nose.

A bit of the old tennies.

(Maybe I should use my
decanter on these???)

I’ll just air out the first
pour before taking my first sip…

Dark and pale.

No oakiness.

SOME milkiness.

Maybe some tannins.

JAMMY I assume.

14% ALC. (Not again!)

I need food…

Until that HAPPENS, I’ll take
a few more sips and decide
that this tastes “French”.

My mind jumps to Cahors.

Clos La Coutale.

I don’t know about this, so
I have to go to school.

The main curiosity is “ageing”.
Surely the French use OAK.

What is “elaborated”???…
http://closlacoutale.com/vin_en.html

And to go ploddingly into the weeds,
this link indicates that OTHER FOLKS
think that these TWINS? need to be
“aired out”.

https://www.vivino.com/clos-la-coutale-cahors/w/36304?year=2015

I’ll jump back to the skinny part
of South America now.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg.

Perhaps the accomplished wine
reviewer can make a flowery and
coherent statement about this wine,
but I’m left with a jigsaw puzzle
whose pieces don’t fit.

(Bear with me.)

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

It’s like trying to figure out
if somebody spiked your strawberry
milkshake served in high tops with
kumquat juice or Jamaican rum.
Or both.

Wine Tennis Shoes.jpg

(That would be the milkshake in
high tops as opposed to the “somebody”.
I’m too woozy to deal with the finer
points of sentence construction
at this point.)

(Although, if it weren’t for the mustiness,
it might be appropriate to imagine
being served wine by “somebody” in high tops
at a “sports bar”.

Waiter (in high tops): What’ll you have.
OTWN: I’ll have a bar.
W: Do you need help carrying
it out to your car?

It’s not bad work (figuring out why
the wine is JACKED) if you can get
it. It’s just not what I applied for.

Saint Peter (holding a Barolo):
Why are you holding
that bottle of Malbec?
OTWN: I couldn’t figure it out,
so I couldn’t put it down.
SP: Didn’t you find it ?
OTWN: Yes, but I couldn’t determine
the relative weight to assign to
each characteristic so I could compute
why the wine was out of balance.
SP: You’re too analytic.
OTWN: You’re too judgemental.
SP: Go stand in the corner.
OTWN: I’ll trade you.
SP: Not on your life.

Sommelier: What are you eating tonight?
OTWN: Food.
S: What kind of wine would you like?
OTWN: Something just a little richer than rosé.
S: I’ll be back in a few minutes.
OTWN: Where are you going?
S: The French Alps.
OTWN: I’ll order an appetizer.

Day Two…

Ahhhhhhhh. That’s better.

This is the best part of
drinking a bottle over two days;
you almost always really enjoy
ONE OF THE DAYS.

Gina is nowhere to be found.

There are subtle herbal and
mineral “flavors” that are trying
to be appreciated.

The ALC is tolerable.

Let’s just enjoy this NOW.

This is why “wine tastings”
never made sense TO ME.

I have to align my senses to
the wine and BECOME THE WINE.

This takes time.

I have to feel the essence of
the wine pulsing through my being.

Just kidding. I just like the buzz.

Just kidding. I really am a
wine freak.

Just kidding. I just like to
have something nice with lunch.

All kidding aside, this wine is
like a Pinot Noir in a drum major
outfit.

(Apparently, there was some kidding
in the corner that escaped HIS
vacuum.)

Or maybe it is a wine that makes
you want to get educated…

https://vinepair.com/articles/6-universities-in-the-u-s-where-you-can-earn-a-degree-in-wine/

I need all six degrees because I get
cold in the winter.

APPARENTLY, the ALC in this Malbec
has me derailing at every thought.

Maybe I should try to discover
something about THIS PARTICULAR WINE.

Yawn.

Of SOME interest, this wine was “aged”
in concrete “vats” (eggs I assume).

If every wine was this good and
potent I would be homeless.

Saint Peter: Why did you
spend the last years of your
life in the gutter.
OTWN: I discovered Malbec.
SP: Why didn’t you control
yourself?
OTWN: I did.
SP: Say what?
OTWN: I drank ONLY MALBEC
to excess.
SP: Go stand in the corner.
OTWN: No way, those peeps
have erect pinkies.
SP: It’s OK. They’re pretentious
CA Chard drinkers.
OTWN: I need an inspirational
hymn first.
SP: How about…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_LF9NFKPlo

Sommelier: I’m back, where’s OTWN?
Waiter: He was raptured after the crab cakes.
S: But he didn’t get to take
this fine French, high altitude,
wine with him.
W: That’s OK, he took Argentina.
S: Ah, that explains the
polar axis shift.
W: And the currency crash.

But, but, but, what about
THIS WINE THAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED
TO BE CONCENTRATING ON?

It’s gone. I’m giving it
demerits on “sustainability”.

OTWN: Why didn’t HE save HIMSELF?
SP: He is our chief wine maker.
OTWN: What does that have to do
with it?
SP: A good winemaker must be
born again.
OTWN: Heavens to Betsy!
SP: Of course, but she was
a his sommelier.
OTWN: Did they have kids?
SP: Go stand in the corner.
OTWN: Like hell I will!
SP: Exactly.

Hang in there

Apollo Ausonia Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2015

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn MontepulcianoLeave a comment

2018-11-07 Apollo Ausonia Abruzzo 2015.jpg

The wine whose name was voted
most likely to roll off your tongue.

I like to practice saying the
name when I’m in the tub.

Why is it that the high ALC
wines seduce you more than
usual to DRINK MORE?

I DON’T KNOW.

Somehow, I made it home with
this fire breathing wine
from southeast Italy.

Holy Moly. This wine is WAY OFF TARGET.

The wine is fine. No problem.
I generally “like” MdA.

It’s just that the ALC content
is way up there; 14.5%.

I’m going to spontaneously combust.

I decided to have this
(I knew it would be relatively
full bodied, but this is
ridiculous) wine with Kielbasa
sausages that I intended to
“render” into submission.

Neither the wine nor the sausages
were palatable early on.

The sausages were too “gnarly”
and the wine was too “milky” and
“smokey”.

As time wore on, the sausages
gave up some fat and the wine
usurped my “critical thoughts”.

(I thought I was signing up for
a continuing education course to
study bugs but found out that I
had to learn about goofy words first.
I get extra credit if I use “u”
words that I have to look up in
the dictionary.)

That can be a deadly combination.
(Eating fat and drinking too much.
Not Entomology and Etymology.
Don’t be silly.)

I have a serious quantity of
“yard leaves” to deal with before
I “ascend”, so I’m cutting my lunch
short.

All things considered, I’d rather
be the entity being raked into the
gutter at this point if I could hang
onto the last few sausage bites and
sips of wine.

The good news is that I can
enjoy this decadent pleasure
again TOMORROW after I get
my sinuses steam cleaned.

But, but, but, what about
the wine.

Milky and smokey sensations
delivered on a flaming tongue.
Say no more.

Maybe tomorrow I can actually
TASTE SOMETHING in this wine AND
open a winning trade.

I don’t like being a…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf-AmedKfRc

Day Two…

I have no recollection.

(It’s not the wine’s fault.
My memory subscription expired.)

You can get educated here…

http://www.ausoniawines.com/en/product/apollo-montepulciano-dabruzzo-d-o-p-spontaneous-fermentation/

Try not to fall in love.

Hang in there.

Observation…

If you click on the “DIARY” menu option
(for a minute I thought they grew cows)
at ausoniawines.com you will notice that
NO ENTRIES HAVE BEEN MADE
FOR THE PAST THREE AND HALF YEARS.

I assume that the winemakers are dead,
for surely otherwise, they would have
SOMETHING TO SAY.

e.g.

11/11/2018: The Chard is fully fermented
and we invited the family over for a tasting.

My brother-in-law is now asleep under
the tractor so I can’t do any more work
today.

It’s 11:30am.

Maybe I should shop for cheap vineyard
properties in Argentina before they disappear.
(The properties, not the relatives.
Stay tuned to learn what happens to
Malbec country.)

Francesca says that the Trebbiano is
already sold out so we’ll be celebrating
THAT tonight with a community hayride.

If we can wake up her brother.

Hang in there.

Alexander Koppitsch Weißburgunder Authentisch 2017

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn Pinot BlancLeave a comment

2018-11-05 Alexander Koppitsch Weißburgunder Authentisch 2017.jpg

Un
Freaking
Be
Lievable

This is the first white
wine I have “enjoyed” from the
recent Lukas haul and I picked
it out today for lunch because…

I KNEW IT WAS DIFFERENT AND
COULDN’T WAIT TO TRY IT.

The first sensation I had was
the whiff after I opened the bottle.

Apple.

After much tasting, the flavor is
neither sweet nor green. Just apple.

Frightfully delicious.

Plenty of acidity for that beloved
and lip smacking tartness.

This is a “lightly filtered” wine.

Alexander & Maria Koppitsch

The top of the bottle is seductively
cloudy. I can’t wait for the dregs.

After drinking this wine, you can wipe
the slate clean and start all over again
trying to describe what you desire in a
white wine.

There might be the most delicate citrus
fruit flavors surfing on the pomace.

Initially I detected a bit of oily/waxiness
but it is not something that lingers.

I am dumbfounded as to how simple, clean and
delicious this wine is.

After reading about this wine and the winemakers,
I feel like royalty.

What a treat to be drinking a wine produced with
such care and dedication.

And from Austria.

There are places on this planet that SHOULD
produce more fine wine and there are places
that should call it a day.

How about their Pinot Noir?

Or the Zweigelt?

Or rosé?

Lest you think that this wine has
left me silly-challenged,
Alexander reminds me of one of
the dudes in ABBA.

https://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2018/07/16/abba-a-swedish-perspective

The waxiness is still there but is
just perfect to smooth out the acidity
as it goes down the hatch.

Mamma Mia.

Hang in there.

Laurence & Remi Dufaitre Côte de Brouilly 2015

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn BeaujolaisLeave a comment

2018-11-03 Laurence and Remi Dufaitre Côte de Brouilly 2015.jpg

This might be my best Beaujolais experience yet.

Wonderful aroma and flavor of Bourgogne.

I might be getting “used to” this stuff.

Excellent paleness and acidity.

All I need is a roasted duck.

Too bad because I’m having
soy glazed “beef bits” on
Ciabatta.

The wine clocked in at $27 and
is definitely worth the extra
few bucks I paid over my usual
bottle price average.

Here’s a link to the tech sheet…

Click to access SP4DU.pdf

I was 99.9999% sure that this
is Beaujolais (as opposed to PN),
but I had to look it up to be sure.

But, but, but, what does the wine
TASTE LIKE.

French Bourgogne wine?

Pale cherry coke?

Who cares.

I’m in heaven.

Is that “minerality” hiding
behind the shy fruit?

I didn’t see anything on the tech sheet
about the wine being filtered through
greensand.

This MIGHT BE the first time I noticed
minerality in a red wine.

And then there’s the quality that
allows the wine to linger during a
“leisurely lunch”.

One of my “life fantasies” is the
concept of Cooking/Eating/Drinking
in a continuous and simultaneous
process carried out at a snail’s
pace.

Imagine sipping Chard, eating Petit
Basque cheese, and chopping onions
while the meat browns SLOWLY in the
skillet as you sit on the patio
watching the moon rise.

It shouldn’t be THAT hard to keep
just three balls in the air.

This wine can be sipped slowly because
it is SO SATISFYING.

My Sino-European lunch concoction
was “unusual”.

This concludes episode one of
“The Edge of Rosé”.

Stay tuned for
“As Brouilly Turns”…

https://www.discoverbeaujolais.com/discover-the-wines/intense-and-generous/cote-de-brouilly/

OK, OK, it’s diorite.

And my pick for a traditional
pairing…

https://www.discoverbeaujolais.com/portfolios/croque-monsieur/

Day Two…

I’m sipping this wine today to
relieve the stress of DST ending.

To my pleasure, I was greeted by
a substantial amount of “sludge”
at the bottom of the bottle.

Amazing.

This has been a wonderful treat.

Hang in there.

Saint-Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux BRUT 2016

On By optiontraderswinenotesIn BrutLeave a comment

2018-11-01 Saint-Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux 2016.jpg

I promised myself that I would
take “good” notes while I enjoyed
this one.

Sorry, it’s too good for notes.

This has been a “life changing”
sort of wine experience.

An insolvable puzzle winds its way
through my subconscious.

Why aren’t we drinking this stuff
for breakfast and lunch EVERY DAY???

I don’t know.

It probably costs about as much
as a Starbucks coffee, so it can’t
be price.

Availability? I found it in Paola
AND I found it at Lukas.

How available is that?

Desirability? Give me a break.

Saint Peter: You’re dead and
you’re smiling. What gives?
OTWN: I just had brunch.
SP: BUT YOU ARE DEAD.
OTWN: That was part of the deal.
SP: Deal?
OTWN: I sold The Devil calls
on the last two years of my
life for the priviledge of drinking
BdL every day till I die.
SP: Not a bad trade,
BUT YOU’RE DEAD NOW!
OTWN: I thought I would live
forever HERE in the land of
miracle-working winemakers.
SP: Hand me your glass.
OTWN: Borgogne?
SP: B-b-b-baby…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFRk0FfaQi0

But, but, but, what is
this stuff anyway.

Here’s a few links that can
fill in the blanks…

WTH is “AoP”???

If you wish to enter into
the kingdom of French wine,
ye must be born again.

This is just for reference.

Because the AoP term is new,
and wine can be old, we will
see the AOC/AOP flipflop for a while.

http://www.internationalwineguild.com/aoc–aop

Where does it come from???

This map is good enough if
you have some idea of where
Corbières and “The Languedoc”
are situated.

http://www.languedoc-france.info/04140301_blanquette.htm

What is Mauzec???

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/wine/mauzac-obscure-french-grape-has-notable-role-in-wine-history/article32072002/

What does “Blanquette” mean???

I got the impression that
it meant “little white grape”.

Sounds reasonable but I think
that is WRONG.

This indicates that it
“refers to” the downy white hairs
found on tiny new leaves of the
Mauzac vines.

http://www.vindefrance-cepages.org/en/encyclopedie-des-cepages-de-france-mauzac-21

Then confusingly, it is synonymous
with several grape varieties, one
of which is Mauzac.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blanquette

When was the BdL AOC created???

I got the impression that the
AOC was created recently to preserve
the Mauzac vines that were being
ripped up in favor of Chard and
other varieties more in vogue.

This indicates that the AOC was
formed in 1938.

http://www.languedoc-france.info/04140301_blanquette.htm

I guess that’s “recent” for the French.

What do the goofy names mean???

http://www.languedoc-france.info/04140301_blanquette.htm

Sweet or Dry???

Both. Luckily, we’re drinking Brut/dry.

And for extra credit…
https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-blanquette+de+limoux
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-wine-france-limoux/frances-oldest-sparkling-wine-fights-for-its-future-idUSLNE85C00820120613
http://www.wineguy.co.nz/index.php/81-all-about-wine/647-limoux-wines

Now I’m thirsty again.

Hang in there.