Freakin’ delicious. Everything a mature red Loire should be. Definitely has that greenness that turns some folks off, but in balance and harmony with the other elements. But if you can’t stand the green, you can’t stand the green, and some folks can’t.
Just starting to enter prime time. Last bottle I had was about 3 years ago and it was tannic and hard. This has many years left. Very happy to have more. Fantastic with some fresh sourdough and manchego. That reminds me, I need to run into the kitchen and see how the chanterelles are coming along…
Yeah, I’ve had them since probably 2001 or so. As a guess. Didn’t buy them on release, but not recently either. Strangely, most of the bottles are losing their labels. Must have been some defective glue, as they are the only bottles I’ve ever seen that have done this as a group. I’ve seen it in a bottle here or there in other wines, but never as a unit like this.
Thanks for the update Lee.
The 95 are very good. I had a vertical tastings of clos Rougeard 2 weeks ago with friends in Paris and we tasted the Bourg 95 which was outstanding. We also tasted the rare coteaux de Saumur 95 : speechless !
During this tasting, the 2002 (Breze, Poyeux and Bourg) were incredibly silky and complex.
I’ve dipped into my stash of Clos Rougeard’s bottles from various vintages from the decade 2000s over the last few years, and I often wonder why the wines from this producer command such high premiums.
But when I get to drink the ones with 20+ years of age in them, I see why. An excellent, complex Cabernet Franc when appropriately aged.
I was in Paris a couple of weeks ago and dined at La Tour d’Argent. Had never dined there and had heard they had picked up their game recently. We had the 1989 Clos Rougeard Le Bourg…it was ethereal…incredibly scented wine…lots of cherries, floral scents and eucalyptus…tannins very well integrated and playing a proper supporting role. Probably at its peak but no signs of faltering. Had never seen a Clos Rougeard that old. What a great bottle.