Open Mike: Cabernet Franc.

Good report on your Chinon, Tim. Looks like both our `96s woulds have some fans.

Vignamaggio – IGT Toscana – 1998 – Villa Vignamaggio, Greve in Chianti – Alc. 13%.

This wine is made in minute quantities from 2,500 Cabernet franc vines. Here is the estate’s own information on this wine - http://www.vignamaggio.com/shop/shop.ph ... paPrezzo=1 . Germaine and I were rationed to one bottle each.

C: Still quite deep with no marked signs of ageing visible in the dim light of my dining room.
N: Elegant and complex sweet red fruit with hints of kirsch and very faintly of cigar box.
P: This wine is classically shaped with long finish and is of medium weight with good body and depth showing finely complex and fragrant sweet fruit, velvety mouth-feel, generosity, gentle freshness and gently resolved structure. A delicately fragrant after-glow was perceptible for far longer than the timings given by some famous critics for long finishes. I have affectionate memories of two lovely bottles of 1990 but I don’t think that this bottle of 1998, theoretically an inferior year, was any less beautiful; 17.5/20.

Had I been blindfold, I don’t think that my Loire orientated palate would have spotted Cabernet franc; it was more generous and “sweet”. And with my Sangiovese orientation I would not have guessed Tuscany. I think that I would have plumped for a fine, low Merlot, right bank Bordeaux.

Vignamaggio is a beautiful old estate which runs an up-market B&B business where we spent a memorable few days in October 2004. For those who love Tuscany and its wines, architecture and countryside, I recommend a tour through the above link.

Today was my lucky day! I was picking up some more Baudry Chinon Rose and checked the "new arrivals" section.....>

`06 Baudry Les Grezeaux. $25 Cdn. Left store in a very good mood and slightly short of cash!

Domaine du Landreau Crémant de Loire NV 12% abv; 100% Cab F

Very light pink. Leafy, mineral, herbal, red berried. Elegant mousse. Very moreish, attractively high in acidity, juicy fruit. It seems to have a rather high dosage, but is very refreshing. Very nice at 13€!

Couly-Dutheil Chinon La Baronnie Madeleine 2001 12,5%

Leafy, green but not in the under-ripe way (why is "green" considered a negative word as the green notes in both Cabernets, Grüner Veltliner and Chenin Blanc are such wonderfully expressive and even hedonistic aromas?). Fairly tannic, yet fruity and charming, lovely now and I would be amazed if it wasn't lovely in five years time also.

-O

Nice note on the Chinon, Otto. Great to see this OM in full swing still. My Baudry will be next!!

Oh, found this>>>>

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/dinin ... ref=slogin

This is extracted from my thread on last weekend's tasting in Brussels. I think that Amirault's observations are of great interest to Cabernet franc lovers.

Domaine Yannick Amirault, Bourgueil, represented by himself.

Yannick Amirault detests the common Cabernet franc vegetal (bell pepper) flavours of many reds from his region as well as the “animal” (brett) notes, which are also quite frequent, so he finds himself navigating between Scylla and Charybdis because if he takes action in the vineyard, particularly by greater ripeness, and in the chai to eliminate the former then the latter are apt to flourish. It is testimony to his skill that he succeeds most of the time. I protested that I find the vegetal and animal notes add a, for me, welcome typicity and complexity provided they are not dominant and Amirault gave me the excellent answer “it is the first duty of an honest vigneron to make wine that he himself likes, otherwise it is cynical opportunism”. Well, as always with Amirault, the wines shown were excellent in their style and on one I even caught a touch of, for me, welcome leather which was also not too much for Amirault to tolerate.

Bourgueil “Le Coudraye” 2006 (€ 10,09) shows a nose with surprising richness and complexity of fruit for this level but the palate is more muted and quite soft; Amirault thinks it needs another year for full expression; 15.5/20. Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil “Les Malganges” 2006 (€ 17,28) is more closed on the nose with touches of jam and leather but the palate shows more structure and complexity; 3-4 years needed for full expression; 16/20. Bourgueil “La Petite Cave” 2006 barrel sample (€ 17,28) is more concentrated and structured, full of fruit and matter and needing even more time; 16/20.

Thanks Tim, afraid I have rather neglected being here of late but inner city kids outings this saturday taking a lot of my time!

Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil "La Mine" 2005 - Domaine Yannick Amirault

Yannick Amirault detests the common Cabernet franc vegetal (bell pepper) flavours of many reds from his region as well as the “animal” (brett) notes, which are also quite frequent, so he finds himself navigating between Scylla and Charybdis because if he takes action in the vineyard, particularly by greater ripeness, and in the chai to eliminate the former then the latter are apt to flourish.

When I mentioned to Amirault that I have some bottles of this, he firmly advised me to drink them up quickly. This surprised me because a bottle opened a year ago was absolutely delicious; appealingly mineral acidity allied with rich red fruit and a nice hints of leather; 16.5/20.

This is how it looks now.

C: Dense
N: Barnyard with dark fruit lurking behind.
P: Much darker fruit than I recall from last bottle with good depth and body but so strongly laced with barnyard that it tests my brett tolerance. Food balances the fruit and funk somewhat better, so it just passes my personal brett test and remains enjoyable; 15/20 but I guess going down.

So I understand Amirault's advice. The nice leather hints have metamorphosed into an increasingly festering barnyard. It is obviously a case where he failed to navigate properly between Scylla and Charybdis.

With all the Baudry talk on the forum these past few days I thought I would bump this up. I have nothing to add right now except that I purchased another `05 Grezeaux for $24 Cdn. Nick allowed me staff price as I help with tastings!!!

He was surprised as to why I was buying so many bottles (now on #4) and had not yet tasted! I told him he should visit this forum and find out!!

Tim, I forgot to mention that I looked for some Amirault when in London last month but was out of luck. Guess wine searcher.com might have helped?

i'm mystified! there are only two poles for CF: underripe and bretty and the only way to make a really good one is to get halfway between? BULL. crop managemnt and leaf pulling can solve the first problem and keeping a clean winery and proper use of sulfur can solve the second. if the winery is too dirty and overrun with bret, you just have to nuke it and start over - as more than one winery has.