Sounds good, Sean; thanks for posting! I’ve one lone bottle of both the '13 Motelles and the '14 Arboises — they both keep calling my name, but they routinely rank runner-up when choosing dinner’s wine … one of these days!
Sean - I’m sorry, I wanted to respond to your excellent note and then forgot.
Sean, Russell and Brian - I’m curious - I’ve never tried a Guiberteau because they’re quite expensive - do you think they’re worth it?
This summer, I had the following:
Couly Dutheil Clos de L’Echo - Chinon 2010
The tannins have died down but at the moment this is a little too lush. It is however gaining in typicity with some faint chalky tones refreshing the slightly syrupy fruit. Fingers crossed.
Charles Joguet Les Varennes and Le Clos du Chêne Vert - Chinon 2010
These were very different compared to the Clos de L’Echo, but very similar, showing typical Joguet elegance and subtlety, but with good concentration of some brambly fruit and hints of wild strawberry flavours which should develop further with a bit more time. Not tangy like other 2010s, very civilized, perhaps a little too green for some people. The Chêne Vert however was just that little bit better than the Varennes, with more depth and concentration.
Yannick Amirault Le Grand Clos - Bourgueil 2010
Not quite ready yet but already very enjoyable. At first, quite crisp and acidic with high toned blackberry, broadening out into blackcurrant after a couple of hours. Possibly better than La Petite Cave but both need another two years. Not quite at the level of the Joguets.
Olga Raffault Les Picasses - Chinon 2011
Like Cassius, lean and hungry. Not without a certain charm but lacking in fruit and not the most impressive Raffault I’ve had.
Frédéric Mabileau - Les Coûtures - Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil - 2012
Finely perfumed aromas of spring flowers and redcurrants, crunchy red fruit and a chiselled character with fine acidity, giving it a fresh, crisp finish. 2012 is not the ripest of years so not for those who want oodles of juicy fruit, but just my sort of wine and excellent value.
Laurent Mabileau - Haute Expression - Bourgueil 2015
This was quite a revelation, the well rounded cherry and blackcurrant fruit providing a perfect summer drink at a knockdown price of 6€. The fruit is ripe, but not sweet and cloying, the balance is perfect between the structure and fruit, it’s much better than the slightly disappointing Raffault Picasses 2011 that it succeeded, at under half the price.
Mostly pretty good, but the wine of the summer was last week:
Domaine de la Butte (Jacky Blot) - Mi-Pente - Bourgueil 2005
Deep, arresting aromas of plum and loganberries, with a rich attack full of berries, plums and blackcurrant, then a refreshingly cool and crisp middle section of dark cherries, before a spicy finale reminiscent of Gruaud Larose. Like GL, there is also more than a hint of bretty funk which I don’t mind.
Beautifully balanced between power and poise, it’s a full bodied wine which remains light on its feet.
So far, this is the best 2005 I’ve tried. The Breton Perrières was excellent but this is slightly better. I was optimistic having enjoyed several bottles of Blot’s own Perrières 2005 a few years ago, but this was better than I expected.
What I liked about it was the balance - many 05s are a little OTT (Couly-Dutheil springs to mind).
This is an ideal wine for Bordeaux aficionados who are interested in trying Loire reds. The taste profile is not exactly the same as Gruaud but there are clear similarities.
The downside is that it lacks Loire typicity - but then again, so do other 2005s.
This is a good wine to seek out as it’s not expensive, especially compared to other Loire 2005s from more prestigious estates - it cost me 26€ at auction, which is two or three times less than Alliet or Joguet, for example.
Plenty of life left - this may well improve further and will certainly last another decade.
Shang - nice photos - is that the Jardin de Luxembourg in the background? You’re spot on about TG’s wines.
I wouldn’t be afraid of the Motelles! Mine was in a nice spot where it still felt structured but very expressive.
I definitely have more experience with their whites, which I fine to be delicate, pure, crystalline expressions of Chenin. I love them.
I have much less familiarity with their reds, but the Motelles was everything I like in Cab Franc; I’m somewhat sensitive to green/vegetal/pyrazine characters because green pepper is one of my least favourite foods. I don’t want that character to dominate, but also understand that a “real” Cabernet Franc will/needs to express it. I want it to be an accent and a “hello, it’s me” from the cépage, and it was that. It was such an archetypal, balanced and delicious wine that I really want to seek out more, even if it’s just their Saumur bottling.
Hey Sean–I wanted to follow up on your note, as well. I also have very little experience drinking Guiberteau and am trying to get a sense of the general style. I’m particularly curious about the level of extraction in the Les Motelles. Did it seem pretty comparable to other Loire cf you like? Anyone you can compare it to? Thanks.
Julian–thanks for all the notes. Glad to see you’ve been drinking well. Fwiw, I’ve found the better 2010s I’ve tried to be pretty closed still. When I have them, I prefer to open 2009s. A recent 09 Les Grezeaux was one of the most enjoyable wines I’ve had in a while.
Thanks for your notes, Julian! As for Guiberteau’s reds: I can only comment on their Saumur bottling, as that’s the only one I’ve had thus far, and only over 2 or 3 vintages ---- first of all, it is not a stereotypical Loire C.F… Crystalline, medium-light bodied, pure red fruit, no brett, little pyrazine. I could see how Loire C.F. fans would say it’s “too clean” or “too anonymous” (for relative lack of pyrazine), but I quite like the bottling, as there’s a place for it at my table. Do I view it as a substitute for other Loire C.F. that I love and adore? No. I view it as an addition to all others. I think it’s worth picking-up one bottle (should be in the $25 - $35 range, I would think) so you can discover for yourself. I’ll likely get into that '13 Motelles soon enough, given Sean’s reporting, above, and given the weakness of the vintage — really no point in waiting around on that bottle — if Guibeteau managed to make a legit-good higher-end bottling in 2013 I’ll be impressed.
I have not had a Guiberteau cab franc that compelled me to buy more. At its price point, it needs to impress.
It seemed to have a decent amount of stuffing, from what I can recall - the fruit profile tended towards the darker end of red fruits but it wasn’t jammy, extracted, heavy at all and it had acidity and lift. Everything about it just screamed “classic”, because it wasn’t a consciously natty wine nor was it burly and unforgiving. It reminded me of a “better” (more complex, more balanced, perhaps more refined) version of the Domaine Guion Cuvée Domaine I had a couple months back. For me, all the best Cabernet Francs have that gravelly, “darker” mineral presence and this one showed it bigtime. I would say the best word to describe it was harmony, which I think can be an attribute a touch difficult to find in Loire reds.
It was basically everything I love about Cab Franc, and nothing I don’t (heavy pyrazines, gruff and unyielding, simplistic).
Thanks, Sean. This is helpful. I’ve had some Guion over the years, and they’re certainly not extracted (in fact, if anything, I’d say they tend to be a bit lean). The only bottle of Guiberteau I’ve tried (the 17 normale) was very much a jammy mess, but it sounds like it may have been off, or at least not a good representation of the house style.
I’ve been accumulating a few bottles from the more highly regarded Saumur producers, but at ~1.5x the price of Croix Boisee rouge for the better wines, I’m just not sure what’s worth it and what’s not.
Btw, did anyone within the Winebid sphere of influence notice the Lenoir Chinons up for auction this week? Opening bids f $130.
Baudry is so good, and so reasonably priced — honestly, I frequently feel that Baudry, alone, can quite adequately scratch my Loire C.F. itch. Croix Boisee is, arguably, the pinnacle of QPR in wine.
I saw those and just do an eye roll. Amazing I was buying those for $30 before. They are good but they are not Rougeard-level good. I think they are a lot like Raffault, frankly. And that’s a great thing, at $30.
Thanks to all for the input on Guiberteau’s reds. I bought a couple of Motelles 2015 and shall report back sometime soon.
Elliot - I expect you’re right that 09s are more ready than 2010s - I just have a lot more 2010s! It’s surprisingly hard to find any 09s over here and prices are high.
Concerning Lenoir Chinons, I’ve never tried any but the prices (which are the same here) are prohibitive so I’m unlikely to be able to do so. They’ve gone the same way as Domaine du Collier and Clos Nouveau by Gauthier.
Brian–I really enjoy sampling widely across Loire cab franc. But I will say that the Croix Boisee has become a kind of mental yardstick for me. As in, “At only about .5 CBs, this Bourgueil would make a great daily drinker.”
Robert–Though my experience is limited to the 05, I certainly agree about Lenoir. I think I have one bottle left, and some day I’ll enjoy it very much with a nice dinner, and that’ll probably be it for me and Lenoir.
I will say that I’m coming around to the view that Loire cf is becoming a bit tamer over time (“civilized,” if you hate pyrazines and funk). Maybe it’s climate, maybe it’s the market, whatever. Hopefully Olga will keep doing Olga.
Julian–it’s really weird to see some of these wines become “collectible”. When I got into Loire cf (around 2008), Rougeard was already a thing, but the idea that any of the rest of it might start showing up in auctions and whatnot was pretty hard to imagine.
I have to think that this is entirely or almost entirely a function of the domestic (French) market. I can’t imagine there’s enough demand for Bel Air or Lenoir or any of the others in the rest of Europe (much less North America or Asia) to move prices dramatically.
Elliot - I’m beginning to think that the Clos Nouveau demand might just have been lockdown lunacy, since several lots have remained unsold at auction recently. We’ll see!
I opened a couple of wines from 2017 this week, both of which were decanted for about five hours:
Clos Guillot - Bernard Baudry - Chinon 2017
On opening, there was a strong smell of brett and leather, which the decanting mostly dissipated, leaving aromas of red cherry, wild strawberry and dried grass. I was expecting lots of fruit, so the first sip came as a bit of a surprise - quite muted flavours of red cherry and blackberry, a stemmy, unripe-tasting middle section and a reasonably intense finish with strong hints of green. I had to check the bottle to make sure it wasn’t a 2013! Over time, the finish gained in length and intensity, with a subtle, understated silkiness I rather liked, but the fruit never got out of second gear.
Les Malgagnes (Amphore) - Yannick Amirault - Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil 2017
I opened this instead of the normal Malgagnes cuvée by mistake - I had wanted to open a wine with the same price tag as the Clos Guillot - this cost 25€ as opposed to 20€ for the Baudry. The Amphore version is a limited edition which sees no oak whatsoever, just an amphora.
The nose was cleaner and much more intense than the Baudry, with fine notes of black cherry, flower petals and some peppercorn. The attack was much richer too, with an immediate hit of black cherry, rising quickly to reveal successive waves of plum, violet, blackcurrant and redcurrant, before a crisp, cool finish. Quite a start and it improved further, showing a wonderful balance between the fruit and the chalky finish. At first, there was a little asperity to the finish but this disappeared gradually. Very impressive indeed.
They were opened on successive evenings and then tasted together last night:
After a brief sip of both it was clear that it wasn’t a fair contest at all and I ended up finishing the Baudry before properly tasting the Amirault. There was just no comparison. The Baudry tasted like an old-fashioned Loire red from a poor vintage. I quite enjoyed the silky finish. This could have been a bad bottle because it tasted nothing like the reviews I have seen, but looking on CT I noticed a post which sounded just like mine, so perhaps there were good batches and less good ones. Either way, I will not be going back for more until I have tasted my remaining bottle in another two or three years time.
The Malgagnes, on the other hand, was a revelation. Even better the second evening, it had a purity and clarity to the fruit that I have never encountered before in an Amirault wine. The style is not the red, crunchy fruit of a Germain wine, but more the silky, powerful yet elegant style of a Joguet. The Malgagnes succeeded in tasting both ripe and fresh.
I’ve always enjoyed Amirault’s wines, but this was on another level - it was one of the finest Loire reds I have ever tasted.
Going back to the original idea of the thread, on the strength of this wine, Yannick Amirault deserves to be in a higher category - Second, I would say.
Julian—very cool that you got to try the Amphora aged versions of the Malgagnes. I’ve never seen it for sale over here. I’d really love to hear your thoughts about how it compares to regular cuvée, whenever you get around to opening that bottle.
Just speculating, I wonder if a part of the reason it surpassed your previous experiences with Amirault is the more recent vintage. I don’t sample every wine every year, but it does seem to me there’s been a change in the house style of late, towards something just a bit richer and more powerful.
Weird about the Baudry. I haven’t tried the Clos Guillot 17, but I’ve had the Grezeaux a couple of times and thought it was great.
Here’s a note on an interesting producer that I don’t think has received much attention here:
2016 Aurelien Revillot Bourgueil “Sur Les Hauts”
Lots of ripe red and black cherry and plum fruit with some typical savory cf notes in the background. Medium light extraction with a soft texture and unobtrusive tannins. The fruit shows a lot of freshness and plenty of juicy acidity. Although there isn’t a ton of depth, there’s a pretty powerful mineral streak that comes through at the back of the palate and ends up dominating the finish. Nice wine.
I think it’s probably best enjoyed on the young side.
Cheers Elliot!
Amirault - I need to try some more but just on the basis of the bottle tried, I didn’t get the impression of more power, but certainly more polish and finesse. There certainly is power but it’s subtle and reined in. I bought most of their wines in 2017 so it’s going to be fun trying the others.
One thing I didn’t mention was how surprised I was at the accessibility of both - I don’t normally open young wines and these were both actually enjoyable to drink right now.
I think the Baudry was probably a blip - I’m not drawing any conclusions but at 20€ a bottle I’m not going to buy another just yet.
Thanks for the Revillot tip - this is a young producer I have vaguely heard of but not tried yet.
Coulaine’s Franc de Pied (2015).
Funny that the importer, Skurnick, calls 2015 a “legendary Loire vintage”. I would not; I call it a rather ripe vintage. This is a really nice wine but a bit heavy and overripe to showcase the elegance of Franc de Pied. Mostly on the dark fruit range of the spectrum. I’d buy it again in another year, just can’t say this wine hits the high notes that I expect out of Franc de Pied. (89 pts.)