2001 Wordsworth Family Estate Daffodil Sweet Chenin Blanc

The Loire Valley has long produced a superb range of sweet Chenin Blanc wines from Appellations such as Quarts de Chaume, Bonnezeaux, and Coteaux du Layon. These remarkable wines are capable of living for 100 years and our shipment of extraordinary wines from Moulin Touchais will be arriving soon. Wordsworths’ efforts are certainly worth encouraging, however, I suspect some minor modifications in wine making need to be made. The sweet wines of the Loire are picked on ‘trys’, the first at 80 days after flowering producing a very high acid base wine, the second by 120 days after flowering producing a very sweet base wine. Added together and cellared in the bottle for a minimum of 10 years prior to release, these components begin to integrate and produce a wonderful long lived wines.
The Wordsworth Chenin has yet to develop a strong degree of complexity, and we suspect this wine will never achieve it. Brilliant straw colour with pale straw hue. Aroma of honey, spice, baked apple and honeycomb, which has a echo of the wines of Moulin Touchais. The palate reveals a hint of sweetness, with honey and baked apple favours, followed by a touch of spice. The flavour profile is relatively simple, but slowly builds to reveal nuances of quince paste, green apple, Jonathon apple, honeysuckle and lemon. Clean acid finish.
Drink (2005)
Alc/Vol: 12.6%RATING: 91/100VALUE: XXX/5

RETASTED: This wine has been inspired by the sweet wines of the Loire Valley. Many wine lovers will be aware of the Moulin Touchais wines that we are shipping and indeed many customers have already experienced these wines in past shipments and from our pre-arrival tastings.Brilliant straw colour with pale straw hue. Aroma of honey, spice, baked apple and honeycomb. The palate displays a touch of residual sweetness, with flavours of honeyed baked apple and spice. The flavour profile is simpler than that of the Moulin Touchais, but none the less the style is worth encouraging. The acidity is holding up. Aftertaste of baked apple, quince paste and just when one considered that that was the conclusion of the wine, overtones of honeysuckle and lemon emerge and slowly being to evolve.
RATING: 91
VALUE: XXXX