A lot of recent reports about premOxed '96 & '97 Loires, including the Baumard Clos du Papillon. If the butterfly is dying, what chance does the regular 1996 Baumard Savennieres have? So I brought up my last bottle of the basic, but with a young white Burg as backup. Backup wasn't needed, the wine was quite fresh.
The meal was some filet of cod with the original Le Cirque Spaghetti Primavera recipe:
I generally find pasta primavera a boring mess, but this (comparatively laborious) version is great. The Savennieres was good, though not great. It showed no trace of oxidation at all, the acidity had calmed compared to it's youth (I know TA doesn't change, but something does). Some Chenin wooliness, a touch of honey, green and sweet apple fruit. Not especially complex,but fresh and harmonious. B/B
+
I remembered the last time I opened one of these, it was for Beppe Rosenberg's 60th birthday, he had said he had never tried Savennieres, so we drank a little toast to him.
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.