Just checking to see whether anyone has any recent experience with 2016, 2017 and 2018 vintages in Chinon?
I was planning to buy some 2018 Baudry, but an Alliet Chinon 2018 I tasted was quite ripe, so if it’s a general theme, I might rather opt to buy some 2017 and potentially a few remaining bottles of 2016s if these are less ripe.
I haven’t had enough 2016 and 2017 to say definitively which I prefer, but I certainly prefer them both to 2018. Their style is generally less ripe and less flabby than 2018. Having said that, the Baudry Croix Boissée 2018 described a few pages back is a truly wonderful wine, so it very much depends on the producer, because I also really liked the Roches-Neuves FDP 2018. The latter reminded me of the 09 - which is praise indeed.
Yup, but selectively in 2018, it’s quite ripe. I bought Baudry but am not sure what else I grab. It’s a pretty ripe year in most of my favorite wine regions in France, largely a pass for me.
Has anyone seen in the marketplace, Marc Plouzeau’s Château de la Bonneliere Touraine Ante Phylloxera Clos de Maulevrier?
I bought this every year from release until 2015, and now cannot find it anywhere. I know it tends to release late, but with most Loire CF producers already having released 2018, I would have expected 2016 of the Plouzeau by now.
Interestingly, I looked everywhere YESTERDAY for some. None to be found. Coincidence or stalking? lol If you find let me know!
Don’t worry, you’re not alone! You have a better chance of finding it in the US than in France. This is the epitome of a unicorn wine. I came across some 14s by chance once, then last year stumbled on some 15s - each time I paid up, half expecting the online retailers, who I had never heard of, to be some sort of scam, but each time they delivered. I tried writing to the owner to know how to get some - never got a reply.
Julian,
Even at the cellar/cave they have in Chinon, they’ll only sell you three bottles - and they definitely don’t pour it for tasting! It seems like it’s the only wine that doesn’t have any information on their website either. I opened my first 2015 this past summer to get a feel for it, and I wish I would have bought more. It’s very good. Based on where you live, I’d just drive to Chinon and load up the car!
Julian must have a small car if he can fill it up with three bottles.
I’d imagine he could visit a few other cellar doors in Chinon or Saumur while he was in the neighbourhood …
Thanks Jay, that’s good to know! I’m planning on making a visit to the area sometime in the spring so I shall drop in.
Any luck finding this in the US?
I think Todd corralled it all for a Monopole Cru offer.
Drinking one right now, boys! This thread inspired me to grab some from storage this weekend. Gorgeous, unique wine.
For real or a joke? ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
Robert, which vintage did you open tonight? Have my last '10 that I’m contemplating whether I should give it a go. Ugh, so frustrating I can’t find any to backfill.
Sorry, it’s the 2011. I would not touch 2010. Or 2014. Drink the so-called lesser vintages like 2011 and 2013. The 2010 and 2014 are glorious wines and really should be given the respect of time, especially how hard this wine is to find now.
Only having 2014 and 2015 I didn’t really feel like opening one - which other wines (if any) does it taste like - I’m guessing it’s more in a classic style?
Classic, total soil-to-glass transfer. I’m not sure what I would compare it to, It clearly has a Loire Cabernet Franc signature, but it is unlike any other Loire Cabernet Franc that I have had. Unlike most of the Franc de Pied CFs made in Loire - which tend to be new vines in sandy soils, as an experiment - these are actually very old vines. While there is the transparency and electricity that one often sees in young Franc de Pied wines, there is also an incredible depth to the wine as well, presumably because of the old vines.
Had my first Joguet!
Joguet, Les Varennes du Grand Clos, 2005.
Good stuff. Still feels young, but very enjoyable. A clear green CF note running through the wine, but besides that it was rather polished. Really opened up on day two with a beautiful raspberry note on top of a darker fruit core. I liked it a lot, but it did not have the Baudry magic that caught my attention.
Received the rest of my auction wines today. So will be fun to taste through a lot more CF.
Very cool. Joguet nailed it in 2005. The Franc de Pied version of that bottle is exceptional. Chene Vert is awesome as well. Still holding on Dioterie to see where it goes, it’s pretty large scaled for a Loire CF.
