I am not sure what has happened but Le Briseau from Domaine Le Briseau is like a roller coaster of disappointment. To my palette, it took me through many twists and turns and instead of being thrilling -- it was just disorienting. I feel this is sacrilege to write as Domaine Le Briseau, started by the late Christian Chaussard, said to be one of the Loire Valley's most prominent natural winemakers, created such a storied legacy.
But, unless I stumbled on a 'bad' bottle, this wine is not for me. It's busy with oxidation, bitterness and confusion. It lacks balance and seems to separate immediately into 3 categories; bitter acid, over-ripe fruit and overly floral.
I usually love Chenin Blanc from the Loire so this was disappointing. It might even be one of my go-to wines.
The name Le Briseau (I read) losely translates to 'the shatterer'. The vines that produced the grapes had to persevere through a solid layer of flint. It is said that many tools break here, and even, that Christian himself, died near this clos and his ashes spread throughout the vineyard.
The vines are over 60 years old. With that in mind, I considered that the wine might need some time to breathe. I left it out for an hour. Nope. Overnight. Nope. 3 days, 1 week... no improvement.
Although, it makes me sad and curious that perhaps another vintage or even bottle might be a better representative; I'm not shattered. I'll continue on to discover other fruits and their attempts at bottled joy.
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