For the Loire Cab Franc Fans: Geeky pleasure for $17

2011 Chinon “les Clos”- Château de la Bonnelière (Marc Plouzeau)

A truly awesome little value.

Backing up a bit, Marc Plouzeau makes a phenomenal Ante Phylloxera cab franc that is off the charts. Personally I think it’s the next Rougeard. Wines that in theory taste like what our predecessors were drinking in the mid-1800s.

Plouzeau also makes some less expensive Chinons, including this “les Clos”. Weygandt carries it for $17.

This is a ton of wine for the price. Tremendous typicity, open and aromatically all about cigar ash, dry earth, bell peppers and a mix of red and small dark berries. The palate is medium weight to almost full-bodied, a little rusticity, with a grainy, chalky texture, firm tannins, crisp acids and a solid core of ripe fruits. Amazing quality, especially amazing at this price-point. I’m guessing 3-5 years to really enter its drinking window, but if you like some chewiness, which I do, it’s really great. (91 pts.)

Tomorrow I’ll pop another one of his cheapies: 2012 Chinon “les Cornuelles”- Château de la Bonnelière. $15 retail.

Shush man, you don’t go around telling everyone where the treasure is buried!

Seriously though, thanks for the look into Plouzeau’s other wines. I agree the Ante Phylloxera is a legend.

I had the '06 Ante Phylloxera Wednesday night and it was very, very good, showing lots of complexity and depth. Good to know about the chinon.

Up north, Weygandts had a good offer recently on Plouzeau wines, including les Clos, as well as some Amiraults.

With respect to Adrian’s comment, I suppose Rougeard should be a cautionary tale.

Different league. Rougeard has been a big deal in Europe for a long time, long before it made it to the states. And the 1996 Bourg was already $50+ and allocated.

Baudry may be more appropriate as the allocations for Croix Boissee look like they are be tightening due to demand. That’s a good thing in general, but could have implications in a few years.

Plouzeau wines are solid, but they are available no problem, except the Ante Phylloxera of course. Which reminds me, I need to bug our distributor about Ante Phylloxera.

Thank you for this post, Robert.

Thanks, Robert.
I’m looking for this one.
I love $17 Chinon that delivers!

Thanks,
but i found not one bottle here(switzerland),so i bought saumur-champigny 2012 Franc de Pieds from Germain.

Well, just rub it in, Roman, 'cause I cannot find that Franc de Pied here! LOL, cheers!

Have you tried any of the recent Filliatreau releases from Saumur?

I just picked up a bottle of the '96 Bourg. I don’t remember having ever tasted the '96. When and how should I drink it?

No,same problem think give no dealer here with Filliatreau in sortiment.

Hi Robert,

Current releases from the Filliatreau family are outstanding, though the sample of the 2012 Grandes Vignolles in the states came with a plastic cork. The 2012 Château Fouquet was almost as good and had a natural cork. Loved the Clos and Cornuelles from Plouzeau as well- stunning values!

All the Best,

John

Drink it when you make your way back to NYC … in an offline with us.
Not the Bourg, but have a '95 Poyeux that I can pony up.

I had a bottle of the 2011 Touraine Ante Phylloxera a few weeks ago. Such a beauty. More tobacco and less fruit than the 2010, as you’d expect, but both were great in their own ways. Those are the only two vintages I’ve had so far.

When is a very good question to which I don’t really have an answer. I only got 2 bottles on release and haven’t had one in about 10-12 years, when it was young and awesome (like me). The nice thing about Bourg is even when it isn’t on point, it’s always good. My gut instinct on this wine is to wait a few more years, but then you might get into a car accident before you have it. Where the hell did you get a bottle anyway? Bob Semon trade with you?

The how is with me, obviously.

Believe it or not, I bought it from a West Coast retailer. Took a bit of a gamble because I don’t know where the retailer obtained it, and I certainly paid more than the release price for it, but hopefully it’s a good bottle. You ever make it to DC for any reason?

Well, NIH is in Bethesda, so I make it there on the reg.

I hope it was well stored and sourced. It only has a CT score of 89.5, so I guess you (or John) could trash it and it would be OK.

2012 Chinon “les Cornuelles”- Château de la Bonnelière (Marc Plouzeau)
Could not resist popping the $15 baby from Plouzeau. The “les Clos” was firing on all cyclinders on this second day. Tremendous typicity, lots of rusticity. This 2012 offering by Plouzeau is much less evolved, in fact, it’s really quite primary. Very primary, ripe fruits tone, red and dark. Weighty, meaty, fairly well-structured, with firm tannins and crisp acid. While I like the presence of this wine, it’s really too young for me to evaluate on par with the les Clos. The les Clos shows much more refinement and character while the les Cornuelles shows more heft, hinting at a wine that may show a lot more in a few years. Between the two, however, the les Clos is the clear winner in my book.

Thanks for the heads up on Plouzeau…

I recently found another screaming value – 1989 Joel Taluau from K&L, I think it’s a direct import. Zero oak CF, showing great. Think mossy riverbank tobacco forest with lead pencil and refreshing red fruit on the nose. Medium body, great acidity and palate presence with red fruits, tobacco and lead pencil. Nice finish and excels with food.

http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1026440

Could not agree more on these wines.
Tremendous values. The “Roy Jones Jr.” of Cab Franc.