This aged well and came thru in the clutch for me! Medium to medium deep ruby with purple influences still. As with Bordeaux, Loire reds can age for a long time, and while this was not too early, it seems certainly early plateau, and might have developed some pretty awesome tertiaries if left another 5-10 years. Oh well.. was delish tonight anyway. Nose has that ineffable Loire red scent, floral and red fruited, laced with lashings of capsicum and green tobacco. This was absolutely classic, no chance I'd have missed this in a blind tasting. Palate bright and red fruited, broad. Not super dense or full, just right. The perfect bistro/food wine. Wish I had a case....
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Tasty, but maybe just a bit past peak. My bottles have had some issues over the years (though this one didn’t have any obvious problems), so take it for what it’s worth.
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Opened and decanted with grilled pork cutlets. Cloudy, purple-crimson color. The nose offers a lovely bouquet of red roses, spring violets, potpourri, cherry blossoms, and lavender set against a laser beam of candied red cherries mixed with wild herbs, green pepper, and tomato plant. The palate is medium, light on its feet, and still compact, bringing deep blackberries, dark cherries, and plums mixed with V8 Juice, wild mushrooms, pipe tobacco, and dried leather into a tannic finish. This wine drank like it was poured out of a tap in a musty cave. All of the elements are present even while the execution is still muddled and disjointed. Drink 2020-2024. Technical score: 90. Enjoyment score: 91.
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Cork streaked to the end and a little bit of staining on the inside of the foil cap. Dried red and blue berry fruit with an herbal edge and a very stony background note. Tannin almost completely resolved. The wine has a fairly mild palate impression, but then surprising length; there is plenty of acidity, but it is offset by quietly persistent fruit on the finish.
Not sure how much my bottle suffered as result of the sketchy cork. It was, in fact, perfectly nice with some smoked salmon. That said, I think I prefer the exuberant raspberry and blackberry fruit it exhibited in its youth.
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The nose here is lovely and worth the price of admission alone. I almost forgot how much I love cabernet franc. The body is on the lighter side, but that made it more fun to drink.
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Nice woody, cherry-oak aroma on opening. The palate brings good intensity with a round, medium mouthfeel. However, over the course of a few hours, the wine petered out. The fruit disappeared and the palate became muddled. Was much better initially with food. Might be in a dumb phase but I would drink sooner rather than later to be safe (2018-19). Technical score: 89. Enjoyment score: 88.
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Truly the most elegant evocation of this commune I have tasted. One expects to be both assaulted and pleased by a heavy dose of cabernet franc barnyard flavors— as even the finest Chinon and Bourgeil do. And the older Breton wines display this classic profile. The 2010 tastes like a Bordeaux- like melange from a great vintage that has a lighter, more chiseled and elegant delivery, surprising all with the woody, deeper earth, lighter barnyard flavors. The color is also deceptively lighter, a medium red more characteristic of less intense vintages. The only drawback was that after 30 minutes, the fruit and initial defined attack both began to fade. Hence the more modest score.
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As I've found with Breton wines, this takes a few hours to get going. A little sour and closed upon opening, after two hours it's open and beautiful. Wonderful nose of cedar, clove and cigar. Not really a ton of fruit, but not any "green" either. On the palate it's sleek and medium bodied. The vintage gives it excellent structure and acidity. Delicious and fun.
Seems a little lighter than the Perrieres, but that's not a bad thing.
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surprisingly open. medium bodied. nose is good but not more at this point. palate is wine's strong point right now really good balance. solid acidity, length and texture. secondary flavors are beginning which is impressive for a young wine but hopefully that makes the wine compelling with age.
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12% abv. Ruby red. Fruit on the nose, concord grape juice, a hint of cream soda. No brett like some other recent Loire wines. Medium bodied, with tannins on the rounder side and tart acidity. Well balanced, clean and vibrant. Will benefit from 5+ yrs.
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Colour: Ruby Nose: Mix of red currant & plum alongside a lot of green pepper, blood, leather, moist hay, cinnamon and a "rusty nail" component. Very funky & unusal nose. Palate: A bit thin on the palate, I miss a bit of power. Good acidity. Tannins are still very present, think this boy needs some more years in the cellar to really come around.
Tip: Decant an hour before drinking.
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Dull ruby. Barnyard and olive. Medium to light weight. Creosote flavor, grainy tannin. Very tight and unenjoyable now. The amount of brett does not bode well-I'd pass.
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Massive, Bernie Worrell levels of funk upon popping and pouring this sucker. I was ready for the Mothership to descend. Not bell pepper, not barnyard, not even diaper -- just FUNK. An hour in, it had blown off, and there was all sorts of things going on -- hints of stemminess, a bit of earth, but tons of red fruit. Great acidity. Kept developing in those first few hours -- was a delight to keep checking in on. Drank second half a day later, and it was still fun, if a bit flattened -- darker, more rustic. Mushrooms, etc.
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Have always liked this producer but this wine falls short for me. Rustic and a bit thin the fruit is mild and the wine is much more modest and lacking in fun than it's $30 price tag calls for, not bad but not a value.
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Very good. Liked the Baudry we had the other night a more, but this is good. Lot of tannins. Maybe a few years would help. Floral, fruity but not too ripe. Consistently good producer comes through as usual.
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Clean youthful cabby nose of black and red currants, freshly mown grass, tobacco, almonds and minerals. Dry, fresh and bright taste with grippy tannins, transparent for that chalky minerality. Seriously refreshing vineyard cab franc, with very understated oak and no lack of staying power. Hold for a few years to make the most of it. Hats off to the winemakers! In a comparison, the ungrafted and unsulphured 2010 Bourgeuil Franc de Pied is more red-fruity (ripe strawberries!), smoother and also more fascinating at the moment, with a light hint of red apples and biodynamic compost, but needs a decant for lively co2 - and then it drinks like a charm. Both are 12,5% alcohol.
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12/5/2023 - winot Likes this wine: 92 Points
This aged well and came thru in the clutch for me! Medium to medium deep ruby with purple influences still. As with Bordeaux, Loire reds can age for a long time, and while this was not too early, it seems certainly early plateau, and might have developed some pretty awesome tertiaries if left another 5-10 years. Oh well.. was delish tonight anyway. Nose has that ineffable Loire red scent, floral and red fruited, laced with lashings of capsicum and green tobacco. This was absolutely classic, no chance I'd have missed this in a blind tasting. Palate bright and red fruited, broad. Not super dense or full, just right. The perfect bistro/food wine. Wish I had a case....
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1/18/2022 - winchester-xi Likes this wine:
Tasty, but maybe just a bit past peak. My bottles have had some issues over the years (though this one didn’t have any obvious problems), so take it for what it’s worth.
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10/16/2021 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
Final bottle and now showing signs of early maturity. Nice ripe cassis fruit, good acidity and well integrated. Fine.
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3/11/2020 - jlhkiss Likes this wine: 91 Points
Opened and decanted with grilled pork cutlets. Cloudy, purple-crimson color. The nose offers a lovely bouquet of red roses, spring violets, potpourri, cherry blossoms, and lavender set against a laser beam of candied red cherries mixed with wild herbs, green pepper, and tomato plant. The palate is medium, light on its feet, and still compact, bringing deep blackberries, dark cherries, and plums mixed with V8 Juice, wild mushrooms, pipe tobacco, and dried leather into a tannic finish. This wine drank like it was poured out of a tap in a musty cave. All of the elements are present even while the execution is still muddled and disjointed. Drink 2020-2024. Technical score: 90. Enjoyment score: 91.
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7/24/2019 - winchester-xi wrote:
Cork streaked to the end and a little bit of staining on the inside of the foil cap. Dried red and blue berry fruit with an herbal edge and a very stony background note. Tannin almost completely resolved. The wine has a fairly mild palate impression, but then surprising length; there is plenty of acidity, but it is offset by quietly persistent fruit on the finish.
Not sure how much my bottle suffered as result of the sketchy cork. It was, in fact, perfectly nice with some smoked salmon. That said, I think I prefer the exuberant raspberry and blackberry fruit it exhibited in its youth.
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12/31/2018 - christyler Likes this wine: 91 Points
The nose here is lovely and worth the price of admission alone. I almost forgot how much I love cabernet franc. The body is on the lighter side, but that made it more fun to drink.
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11/16/2018 - kevin h wrote: 92 Points
Still a couple of years away from full maturity but this is now really good. Broker fruit and a nice gamey fruit. Long and complex. Excellent.
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7/9/2018 - jlhkiss Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nice woody, cherry-oak aroma on opening. The palate brings good intensity with a round, medium mouthfeel. However, over the course of a few hours, the wine petered out. The fruit disappeared and the palate became muddled. Was much better initially with food. Might be in a dumb phase but I would drink sooner rather than later to be safe (2018-19). Technical score: 89. Enjoyment score: 88.
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4/10/2018 - Sotto325 wrote: 90 Points
Truly the most elegant evocation of this commune I have tasted. One expects to be both assaulted and pleased by a heavy dose of cabernet franc barnyard flavors— as even the finest Chinon and Bourgeil do. And the older Breton wines display this classic profile. The 2010 tastes like a Bordeaux- like melange from a great vintage that has a lighter, more chiseled and elegant delivery, surprising all with the woody, deeper earth, lighter barnyard flavors. The color is also deceptively lighter, a medium red more characteristic of less intense vintages. The only drawback was that after 30 minutes, the fruit and initial defined attack both began to fade. Hence the more modest score.
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12/24/2016 - Hanz wrote:
Overly acidic at first, which gets better with a few hours but doesn't turn into anything really interesting.
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12/28/2015 - christyler wrote:
As I've found with Breton wines, this takes a few hours to get going. A little sour and closed upon opening, after two hours it's open and beautiful. Wonderful nose of cedar, clove and cigar. Not really a ton of fruit, but not any "green" either. On the palate it's sleek and medium bodied. The vintage gives it excellent structure and acidity. Delicious and fun.
Seems a little lighter than the Perrieres, but that's not a bad thing.
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8/16/2015 - kevin h wrote: 90 Points
As before
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5/31/2015 - kevin h wrote: 90 Points
Fresh, berry red wine with plenty of raspberry and strawberry flavours. Young but easy to approach now and very enjoyable.
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4/4/2015 - JBVino wrote:
surprisingly open. medium bodied. nose is good but not more at this point. palate is wine's strong point right now really good balance. solid acidity, length and texture. secondary flavors are beginning which is impressive for a young wine but hopefully that makes the wine compelling with age.
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8/5/2014 - DrakkarNoir Likes this wine:
12% abv. Ruby red. Fruit on the nose, concord grape juice, a hint of cream soda. No brett like some other recent Loire wines. Medium bodied, with tannins on the rounder side and tart acidity. Well balanced, clean and vibrant. Will benefit from 5+ yrs.
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6/22/2014 - m_arcon wrote: 88 Points
Colour: Ruby
Nose: Mix of red currant & plum alongside a lot of green pepper, blood, leather, moist hay, cinnamon and a "rusty nail" component. Very funky & unusal nose.
Palate: A bit thin on the palate, I miss a bit of power. Good acidity. Tannins are still very present, think this boy needs some more years in the cellar to really come around.
Tip: Decant an hour before drinking.
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5/29/2014 - kevin h wrote: 89 Points
Blood plum and raspberry. High toned.
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3/22/2014 - drwine2001 wrote:
Dull ruby. Barnyard and olive. Medium to light weight. Creosote flavor, grainy tannin. Very tight and unenjoyable now. The amount of brett does not bode well-I'd pass.
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1/3/2014 - miller3324 wrote: flawed
Oxidized
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12/8/2013 - wormfarmer Likes this wine: 89 Points
Massive, Bernie Worrell levels of funk upon popping and pouring this sucker. I was ready for the Mothership to descend. Not bell pepper, not barnyard, not even diaper -- just FUNK. An hour in, it had blown off, and there was all sorts of things going on -- hints of stemminess, a bit of earth, but tons of red fruit. Great acidity. Kept developing in those first few hours -- was a delight to keep checking in on. Drank second half a day later, and it was still fun, if a bit flattened -- darker, more rustic. Mushrooms, etc.
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11/7/2013 - Woodbridge Brad Likes this wine: 86 Points
Have always liked this producer but this wine falls short for me. Rustic and a bit thin the fruit is mild and the wine is much more modest and lacking in fun than it's $30 price tag calls for, not bad but not a value.
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7/4/2013 - cab wrote:
Very good. Liked the Baudry we had the other night a more, but this is good. Lot of tannins. Maybe a few years would help. Floral, fruity but not too ripe. Consistently good producer comes through as usual.
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10/18/2012 - Finare Vinare wrote: 91 Points
Clean youthful cabby nose of black and red currants, freshly mown grass, tobacco, almonds and minerals. Dry, fresh and bright taste with grippy tannins, transparent for that chalky minerality. Seriously refreshing vineyard cab franc, with very understated oak and no lack of staying power. Hold for a few years to make the most of it. Hats off to the winemakers! In a comparison, the ungrafted and unsulphured 2010 Bourgeuil Franc de Pied is more red-fruity (ripe strawberries!), smoother and also more fascinating at the moment, with a light hint of red apples and biodynamic compost, but needs a decant for lively co2 - and then it drinks like a charm. Both are 12,5% alcohol.
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