Project Cab Franc, an interesting line-up!

Here is an interesting Cab Franc tasting held in London....>

http://www.thewinedoctor.com/tastingsfo ... 0083.shtml

Interesting indeed. Most of those names are not very known in the US. But then from what I could tell this was an event for MW students so perhaps they just focus on basic wines to analyze the general parameters of grape and appellation?

Hi Rahsaan

The details of why these wines were chosen was fully explained in the introduction which I published last week, but I will quickly sum up for you here.

InterLoire noted a falling off of market share for the region's red wines, especially in what has traditionally been their strongest market, the UK. They hired Sam Harrop MW to head up what was named Project Cabernet Franc, an initiative which aimed to improve the quality of the wines and to make them more attractive to modern consumers. These are all therefore wines aiming or potentially aiming for the UK market. Interested growers engage with Sam and he essentially consults on harvest, maceration, fermentation practices, oak use, etc. There is a protocol again linked to from the above article although this is not rigorously adhered to; I think Harrop prefers to incite thought, reflection and experimentation rather than use of the protocol as a recipe-card.

Subsequently Harrop and a team of tasters go through all the wines to choose the best ones which are denoted 'Cabernet Franc Ambassadors'. I don't think this goes on the label, so I'm not sure what advantage it conveys them if any, other than perhaps giving them a platform with the UK trade.

The tasting was organised through the Institute of Masters of Wine in the UK but seemed to be open to anybody (I am on their mailing list) and so there were plenty of trade and other press folk there alongside the MWs and MWS students. It certainly wasn't an MW Student exercise - Project Cabernet Franc is a huge deal for these growers.

Chris Kissack

Just a quick word or two on the good doctor's wine site. Chris has a fantastic resource here and I heartily recommend, as well as, regularly, use it.

Thanks for providing the clarification on Project Cab Franc.

David, you are spot on. I really enjoy visiting the site and forwarding some posts here. Hope they attract the attention they deserve!

Hi Rahsaan

Interested growers engage with Sam and he essentially consults on harvest, maceration, fermentation practices, oak use, etc.

Aha, sounds good. Am all in favor of more good wines and good producers emerging, so it sounds like a worthwhile cause.

Plus, I think that with the reasonable prices these wines should sell for and the relative ease with which they can be opened, served with food, etc, they should occupy a market niche that deserves to grow.

They hired Sam Harrop MW to head up what was named Project Cabernet Franc, an initiative which aimed to improve the quality of the wines and to make them more attractive to modern consumers. These are all therefore wines aiming or potentially aiming for the UK market. Interested growers engage with Sam and he essentially consults on harvest, maceration, fermentation practices, oak use, etc.

I must confess to a flicker of dismay on reading these words. They conjure up visions of wines designed by Marketing Department to please the lowest common denominator of British taste. A dash of toasty oak to give those nice caramel flavours here and a selection of cultured yeasts to bring out "bonbon" flavours there.........

I pray that in practice it will be better than that. After all the appeal of Loire reds lies their honest and unadulterated nature.

They hired Sam Harrop MW to head up what was named Project Cabernet Franc, an initiative which aimed to improve the quality of the wines and to make them more attractive to modern consumers. These are all therefore wines aiming or potentially aiming for the UK market. Interested growers engage with Sam and he essentially consults on harvest, maceration, fermentation practices, oak use, etc.

I must confess to a flicker of dismay on reading these words. They conjure up visions of wines designed by Marketing Department to please the lowest common denominator of British taste. A dash of toasty oak to give those nice caramel flavours here and a selection of cultured yeasts to bring out "bonbon" flavours there.........

I pray that in practice it will be better than that. After all the appeal of Loire reds lies their honest and unadulterated nature.

Why pray? The Project Cabernet Franc protocol is linked from the page which Bob links to above and you can view the sort of practises he advocates. Having said that Harrop stressed he uses the protocol only as a basis for dialogue with the vignerons to encourage change and development (and improvement, hopefully) and he doesn't ram it down their throats. It this case "making more attractive to modern consumers" means better judged maceration, extraction, fermentation temperature, etc. There are certainly yeast cultures mentioned but not much on oak, other than "don't use it of the fruit isn't ripe enough".

What concerned me more was that even with this well-judged approach many of the wines were, to my palate, still lacking in quality. There is a huge gulf between some of the wines on show and the likes of top wines from Alliet, Baudry, the Bretons, Amirault, Joguet, etc, etc. And yet these are the Cabernet Franc "Ambassadors"?

Regards...

There is a huge gulf between some of the wines on show and the likes of top wines from Alliet, Baudry, the Bretons, Amirault, Joguet, etc, etc. And yet these are the Cabernet Franc "Ambassadors"?

Regards...

It is certainly true that none of the growers (e.g. Amirault, Baudry, Alliet, Vatan, Chevallier, Legrand) whose wine I regularly drink were represented, except Joguet and then only by his cuvée Terroir, the bottom of his range, I think.

I wonder if some of them were snobbing the event, perhaps feeling that they didn't need a dialogue with Harrop. A pity, if so, because these wines show what the Loire can achieve in reds.