Out of a 375 ml bottle. At an excellent spot. Lively and well-built with red and black berries, green pepper, and roasted red pepper on the palate. Medium acidity with medium-minus tannins. Performed well with only an hour of light aeration.
Fabulous now but with obvious aging potential too.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
follow up 2 years later... from 375 ml. black moldy cork but quite easy to extract. on pnp very open all around. full of ripe blue and black berries, peppers, and meat. medium acid, soft but present light tannin. a little bit of sediment on last pour (bottle had been on side) with no noticeable sediment in first pours.
so damned good
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From 375 ml bottle. Decanted through cheese cloth to remove sediment. Now 1h after decant. Aromas of green peppers, herbs, blackberries, unripe plums and minerals. Palate w blackberries and unripe plums, green peppers, herbs and a lovely mineral streak. Medium body w nice acids and moderate tannins. Lovely balance. Nice finish w the minerality really coming through. Lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Some of my favorite wines are older Loire cab francs--but tonight this wasn't doing it for me. It had a yeasty taste which turned me off, not much fruit, high acid, and no leaves or mushrooms. Hope it was just an off bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Out of 375. Great showing of this wine - probably the best so far. On the nose, dry gravel with soft red berries that have both depth and lightness at the same time. Great finish, light tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Out of 375. Really a nice wine, particularly with food, and a killer QPR at the $15 paid. I should probably pick up some more if they're still out there in the market. Love the half bottle format.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From 375: Needed 45 minutes to become a 90. Suggest a one hour decant. Reticent nose at first, then fruit comes forward. Vegetal in style compared to examples from more recent vintages. Well balanced with a good finish. Will last.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Softened by age, the fruit (dark, with notes of earth, autumnal forest floor) still present, but strangely, the acidity has dropped off, just barely enough to make the bottle work.
This, as the last, was a half bottle. There may be life left in larger format, but for these, time to drink up.
Rated +1 on a scale of -1 to +3.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Out of 375ml. Decanted one hour. Crunchy cherry, raspberry, some bell pepper, earthy notes, old tobacco. Silky tannins. Not just good value, this is flat out good. Long life ahead.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
My second bottle, and what a difference! Clearly the last bottle was flawed, probably oxidized. This one showed beautifully with lively red fruit and all the Chinon character other tasters have noted.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A 375 from the batch that was recently released (I believe). I think the wine is great. Decanted for an hour and showed best as we were finishing the last bit, the nose shows classic chinon pencil lead and blackberry fruit but also this black cherry aroma, almost reminded me of Dr Pepper. The palate shows a balance of mature fruit, mushroomy earth, and lead and gravelly minerality. Delicious and complex. It shows more mature than its age would suggest, which is probably a facet of the 375 format, and is in no way a bad thing - entirely rewarding wine.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
From 375. Reddish brown color suggested advanced age. However, the nose was beautiful, with dusty stones, bell pepper and sous bois. Taking a sip, the palate showed moderate tannins but a distinct blood/iron note at the end that made me think this was on the downslope. I had about an inch or so in the bottom that I saved overnight and interestingly that small sip the next day was significantly more pleasurable. Reserving judgment until I open another bottle, and based on this experience will decant the next one.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
In almost complete agreement with the previous note in every regard: color, taste, price, overall impression, etc.
Also from a 375ml bottle... It's good, intact, tastes like it should, has character, and is showing good secondary development as opposed to signs of decline.
Drink or hold
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cork a bit degraded but came out with ah-so. Color was still fairly garnet with only a tiny bit of browning around the edges.
Wine was pretty dusty, damp leaves/ forest floor, and green tobacco on the nose. Much fruitier on the palate than the nose would suggest with lots of red cherry, bell pepper, and raspberry. Medium acidity, tannins becoming integrated but still very much present (definitely lip smacking). After an hour in the glass (no decanting due to size), acid was a bit more prevalent and some herbs de Provence notes came into play to complement the fruit.
Between the tannins and primary fruit think this still has plenty of time left, even as 375 and probably even more time with a 750 or 1.5L. The 375 could probably go another 10+ years easy.
Overall nothing super complicated, but a very nice wine, especially for the price ($15 for 375, bought Dec 2020).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
11/4/2023 - _Al_Gore_Rhythm_ wrote: 91 Points
Out of a 375 ml bottle. At an excellent spot. Lively and well-built with red and black berries, green pepper, and roasted red pepper on the palate. Medium acidity with medium-minus tannins. Performed well with only an hour of light aeration.
Fabulous now but with obvious aging potential too.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2023 - FiggySmalls Likes this wine:
follow up 2 years later... from 375 ml. black moldy cork but quite easy to extract. on pnp very open all around. full of ripe blue and black berries, peppers, and meat. medium acid, soft but present light tannin. a little bit of sediment on last pour (bottle had been on side) with no noticeable sediment in first pours.
so damned good
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/31/2023 - mercurius wrote: flawed
Corked
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/14/2022 - James Kim wrote: 92 Points
From 375 ml bottle. Decanted through cheese cloth to remove sediment. Now 1h after decant. Aromas of green peppers, herbs, blackberries, unripe plums and minerals. Palate w blackberries and unripe plums, green peppers, herbs and a lovely mineral streak. Medium body w nice acids and moderate tannins. Lovely balance. Nice finish w the minerality really coming through. Lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2022 - mercurius wrote:
Some of my favorite wines are older Loire cab francs--but tonight this wasn't doing it for me. It had a yeasty taste which turned me off, not much fruit, high acid, and no leaves or mushrooms. Hope it was just an off bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/21/2022 - JCGuthrie wrote: 93 Points
Out of 375. Great showing of this wine - probably the best so far. On the nose, dry gravel with soft red berries that have both depth and lightness at the same time. Great finish, light tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2021 - JCGuthrie wrote:
Out of 375. Really a nice wine, particularly with food, and a killer QPR at the $15 paid. I should probably pick up some more if they're still out there in the market. Love the half bottle format.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/21/2021 - melzar wrote: 90 Points
From 375: Needed 45 minutes to become a 90. Suggest a one hour decant. Reticent nose at first, then fruit comes forward. Vegetal in style compared to examples from more recent vintages. Well balanced with a good finish. Will last.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2021 - brooklynguy wrote: flawed
corked
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/11/2021 - IJC Likes this wine:
Softened by age, the fruit (dark, with notes of earth, autumnal forest floor) still present, but strangely, the acidity has dropped off, just barely enough to make the bottle work.
This, as the last, was a half bottle. There may be life left in larger format, but for these, time to drink up.
Rated +1 on a scale of -1 to +3.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/5/2021 - IJC wrote: flawed
Corked
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/12/2021 - JCGuthrie wrote:
Similar to last couple bottles. Like those, this really needs 30+ minutes of air to blossom. Paired well with grilled, spice-covered pork chops.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/25/2021 - JCGuthrie wrote:
Similar to my second bottle - nice example of an aged Chinon.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/20/2021 - Maphill01 Likes this wine:
Out of 375ml. Decanted one hour. Crunchy cherry, raspberry, some bell pepper, earthy notes, old tobacco. Silky tannins. Not just good value, this is flat out good. Long life ahead.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/16/2021 - JJKinch wrote: 91 Points
Half bottle. Popped and poured.
Dark fruit (cherry, blackberry), slight funk, pepper, nice spice, good acidity. Really enjoyable.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2021 - JCGuthrie wrote: 91 Points
My second bottle, and what a difference! Clearly the last bottle was flawed, probably oxidized. This one showed beautifully with lively red fruit and all the Chinon character other tasters have noted.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/7/2021 - brooklynguy Likes this wine:
A 375 from the batch that was recently released (I believe). I think the wine is great. Decanted for an hour and showed best as we were finishing the last bit, the nose shows classic chinon pencil lead and blackberry fruit but also this black cherry aroma, almost reminded me of Dr Pepper. The palate shows a balance of mature fruit, mushroomy earth, and lead and gravelly minerality. Delicious and complex. It shows more mature than its age would suggest, which is probably a facet of the 375 format, and is in no way a bad thing - entirely rewarding wine.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/15/2021 - JCGuthrie wrote:
From 375. Reddish brown color suggested advanced age. However, the nose was beautiful, with dusty stones, bell pepper and sous bois. Taking a sip, the palate showed moderate tannins but a distinct blood/iron note at the end that made me think this was on the downslope. I had about an inch or so in the bottom that I saved overnight and interestingly that small sip the next day was significantly more pleasurable. Reserving judgment until I open another bottle, and based on this experience will decant the next one.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/20/2021 - FiggySmalls Likes this wine:
In almost complete agreement with the previous note in every regard: color, taste, price, overall impression, etc.
Also from a 375ml bottle... It's good, intact, tastes like it should, has character, and is showing good secondary development as opposed to signs of decline.
Drink or hold
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/9/2021 - HFLED Likes this wine: 91 Points
From a 375.
Cork a bit degraded but came out with ah-so. Color was still fairly garnet with only a tiny bit of browning around the edges.
Wine was pretty dusty, damp leaves/ forest floor, and green tobacco on the nose. Much fruitier on the palate than the nose would suggest with lots of red cherry, bell pepper, and raspberry. Medium acidity, tannins becoming integrated but still very much present (definitely lip smacking). After an hour in the glass (no decanting due to size), acid was a bit more prevalent and some herbs de Provence notes came into play to complement the fruit.
Between the tannins and primary fruit think this still has plenty of time left, even as 375 and probably even more time with a 750 or 1.5L. The 375 could probably go another 10+ years easy.
Overall nothing super complicated, but a very nice wine, especially for the price ($15 for 375, bought Dec 2020).
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment