As I type I’m drinking PJ Druet’s Les Cent Boisselees Bourgeuil 2005. This evening, I picked up six of these and another six of Druet’s wines which one of my blog readers had kindly brought back from Bourgeuil for me after he’d read my write up of the 2003. Personal imports to the UK aren’t subject to tax, so this cost me E6.5 a bottle. That’s a bargain, and I can’t imagine having more fun for E6.5.
It’s savoury and gravelly with dark cherry and blackcurrant fruit. Fresh, reasonably complex and digestible. Just 12.5% alcohol. I really, really like Loire reds.
The joy of this wine offsets the disappointment of the evening - my football team (soccer, that is), Manchester City, had a bad result, and a significant one. That’s OK, though. I have a lovely wine in my glass, and tomorrow looks set to be a good day.
Damn! Had recorded the Tottenham/ManCity game to watch when I got home!
Love Loire Cab Franc, especially when it’s a bit warmer here in Virginia. Often wished VA wineries took more of a Loire approach when making their Cab Franc (which is a grape we actually do fairly well) as opposed to trying to go the Cali-Bordeaux route. Also like a lot of the Cab Franc/Malbec blends. Great for grilling.
That was tragic for City! Here in the states I follow as best as I can and I always root for City, so I was sad to see it too, though no real animosity for the Spurs. Good wine at least to ease the pain!
I adore Loire reds! I had a lovely 2005 Baudry Chinon Les Grezeaux last night. The nose was full of casis with a hint of cigarbox. The palate was rich cocoa, blackberry and tabacco with some nice minerality. IMO, a very nice Chinon.
Drinking the last of a 2007 Thierry Puzelat Pineau d’Aunis “La Tesnière.” First time for this grape with me. Strikingly unusual wine. It’s a red wine bordering on rose, but with an herbal nose and quite full bodied. It’s also a bit cloudy which I take to mean it is the result of organic/biodynamic winemaking in the Loire.
No worries, no fault from you at all. Much rather read good tasting notes than hide from soccer scores. Just fast forwarded through it more than usual.
Virginia is very hit or miss. Too many naive people with land that don’t understand the land will dictate what and where grapes can be grown. Way too much Cab Sauv, just because people think it will ‘sell’. The better wineries that have sprung up in the last few years are from folks that looked for the right land first, then developing the right grapes for that land. Will see more Tannat, Petit Verdot, and more unique white grapes coming from here as the vines mature.
Jamie, that’s an insane price on the Druet. Each bottle will bring you twofold enjoyment - good wine at a good price. While my favored Bourgueils, Chinons and Saumur-Champignys don’t come quite so cheaply here in the States, the fact that they still fly under most buyers’ radar does keep the prices in check.
Sorry about City. I was hoping Man U would be put in their place this season, so I will hope for a Stoke miracle and for the Blues to keep Wigan at bay.
To paraphrase a certain famous person/critic, the Loire is the greatest viticultural region ever in the history of all the vintages witnessed by humanity. I would not be sad at all if all I could drink was Chenin Blanc and Cab Franc given the spectrum of styles/terroirs. And then there’s the silly value play . . . .
I’m a big fan of Loire reds, but there are too many unripe wines made there. Cab Franc is a seriously underrated variety. It has that interesting graphite smell when young and a wonderful pot pourri when aged. I wish more New World growers with suitable climates would experiment with it instead of going for Merlot or Cab Sav or Pinot. I suggested growing it on cooler sites in Nelson NZ and was laughed at. Time will tell…
Virginia is a region that always interested me from a climatic point of view. It seems to have the attributes of a great wine region but AFAIK noone has really exploited them with the right varieties and wine styles. It was one of the regions on my top 5 list of where to start my own vineyard. In the end I chose Roussillon for lots of good reasons but Virginia and the Loire were on that list.
I’ve really taken to Loire reds over the past year or so. However, I’ve run into quite a few bretty bottles recently. As a person who is very sensitive to brett, am I bound for disappointment in this region, or have I just had a run of bad luck? These were top producers by the way - Baudry, Joguet, Amirault (Yannick).
Loire reds are certainly less then universally appreciated. Opened a well-intended gift of Violet-Green Cab Franc last week that exhibited a number of Cali cliches and had to toss approx 1/2 the bottle. Chacun a son gout.
Some wines are, yes, a bit rustic in this sense and bring the funk. It’s definitely a matter of taste and tolerance. I tend to find it to be farmyardy ‘good Brett’ as opposed to medicinal band-aid ‘bad Brett’. I like it, but it’s also a bit of the value play as the Brett style shouldn’t be super expensive IMO since Brett does tend to hide the terroir difference. Although, if a wine is Brettier because the grapes have high pH, one might argue that is part of terroir expression
Agree with all the enthusiasm here - recently tasted 08 Baudry Les Granges, which I know well from previous vintages, yet still somehow managed to surprise me with how good it is. And thanks for the reminder, I have some Joguet that is probably ripe for the picking now… Good to see you here Jamie, thanks for starting the topic.
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