Only had the opportunity to slow ox for about 2 hours. Not nearly as much as I have done with past bottles. Super dark and slick in the glass. The nose is screaming garden vegistables - celray, carrots, green bell peppers & tomatoes, some dirt, smoke and lovely black fruits. This bottle probably needed several more hours in a decanter but that being said this has always been a great drink and this bottle was no exception. Still lots of life and evolution ahead. Glad to have more to follow down the road.
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Ruby with minimal fading. Olive, herb, and red fruit. Excellent volume and mouth feel for Loire Cabernet Franc. Mineral underpinning. This has really begun to soften and mature over the past few years.
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Decanted for 6 hrs. Still extremely dark in the glass. The nose starts off with a basket of garden vegetables that are surrounded by violets red fruits and a bit of honey. Still has a frontal attack of tannins that quickly fade as the fruit shins thru. This is still a baby and I’m glad I have more to follow over the next 10-15 years. Did not slow oxe this bottle and it needs it to show its best. Love this producer.
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Opened 6 hours before pouring. Still glorious deep ruby almost all the way out. The green olive is not surprising on the nose, but the ripe black cherry in a Loire Cabernet Franc of this age most certainly is! Beautiful medium weight, and again, terrific texture for this varietal. In addition to herbs and predominant fruit, there is also a delightful squirt of citrus which adds a higher tone to the finish. Ripely tannic finish. When I first tasted this in 2008, I wondered whether it would ever shed its massive structure. In fact, it has done a great job of this over the past 7 years since last tasted, but it still has not reached full maturity. I'm glad I still have a few bottles left to try 5+ years down the road.
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Drinking VERY well. Lots of fruit, good acid, and gentle tannins at this point. Funkier on the nose than the palate and in fact my wife, who generally has no problem with funk, wouldn't drink it. Oh well, more for me.
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Put into a decanter for several hours. In the glass it’s black as night. The nose is just so interesting. It starts off with the small of vegetables that have aged in a really interesting way and it’s overplayed with layers of red fruit and smoke. It different but incredible what smells wines have to offer. It attacks you mounts with a burst of those red fruits surrounded by honey, roasted vegies, cranberries and forest floor. Wow. Each bottle gets better and they have evolved in a way I never imagined. This is rocking. Glad to have more. Sad to not have bought other vintages. Nothing like giving wine time to resolve and come together. 94+. This has improve with each bottle. Can’t imagine where it will go down the road.
A few hours in the decanter and wow. This wine just gets better and better with each bottle. In the glass it is still primary dark and as I swirl it the legs are long and drip down the side of the glass. You can still smell the garden but that profile has faded but has just gotten much more refined. Unmistakeable. Beautiful soft dark fruit profile but still has a lot of tannins and acid which are In perfect balance. It picks up a sweet note on the finish that begs you to drink more. This is really just starting to enter a Primary drinking window. This has a lot of room to improve and I’m sure this will be absolutely great. It will last for decades. I can see why these were one of the worlds prized wines. Every time I go into my wine cellar I would almost regretted that I bought so many but now I’m a convert. Love it.
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Another very fine bottle. Not as developed as previous ones but outstanding. Really dark in the glass with the usual vegi profile of celery’s bell pepper but less pronounced. Really smooth and balanced and the tannins are in complete harmony. Nice with fettuccini. Tonight 92+. Glad to have another case. This should get better and better with more time.
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Pulled the cork a half hour before drinking. It was an angry, angry wine at first. Raspy tannins, disjointed acidity, just unpleasant. But the wine blossomed after another half hour and really is beautiful. The nose takes on a vibrant floral complexity. Lush black and red fruits, dense and almost viscous bloody aspect, some mineral underpinning. A powerful and ripe wine but with very nice detail and grace. This is great wine and probably should be left alone for a decade to show its best. I caught pieces of why it’s going to be great. If you have a few, crack one. Otherwise I’d wait and I imagine this will be quite rewarding.
Opened two bottles for dinner last night. The were sloxed for 6-7 hours then into a decanter. The color is still very primary and opaque but the most gorgous color. The nose screams of the barnyard mixed with veggies and cedar. In the mouth it is still in a very primary phase, but it is a very beautiful wine that in total harmony. I think it needs a few more years to develop more and will probably last another 15-20 after that. Cabernet Franc at its most elegant. Love this wine and glad to have a lot more to check in on over the next decade. 1/2 of a bottle was left over and I will try tonight and see what that does for the wine. Overall this wine has been improving since I opened my first bottle and I think these Cab Franc's from Loire just need alot of time to get to where they need to be. I can see that this is not the profile that a lot of people would like but the winemaking is excellent and it shows in every bottle I have opened. The coark was just stained at the very end and in pristine condition.I have had them stored in my tem controlled cellar since release. Provinance is everything.
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Aromatic and quite pungent on the nose. Brett, cedar, wild blackberries, damp earth.
Lovely balance on the palate between the sweet but just so slightly tart black fruit, the wonderful mid palate acid presence, and a smooth and slightly dusty finish.
Classic Loire Cabernet Franc.
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Once again a perfect bottle. In the decanter it just screams of cellray, tomatoes and bell peppers. Totally different in the mouth where it is a beautifully soft expression of soft fruit, berries maybe cedar or a woody note. Really nice balance. Still can improve over next 5 years.
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slow oxed for 10 hours. Still a young wine. on the nose it is a vegetable garden. Celray & tomato are right in your face. In the mouth a different animal. Beautiful mouthful of small fruits and berries. Great place but lots of room for improvement. 90+
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First if my stash of 18, which I bought when initially offered. Slowoxef for 5 hours. Very dark in the glass. The nose is a bit muted but it does small like a vegi garden. Celery, carrots, beet tops, root veg is and dark fruits. In the mouth it is very soft and pliable but not flabby. Nice balance of fruit, acid and tannins. I’m not sure if this is young or not. I like the wine but not sure if this will improve or not. At the moment not profound but definitely not as good as the ‘06. Very enjoyable. No rating today. Saved a glass and now it’s 3 days later. Wow what a change. The wine has gained in depth of color, intensity and viscosity. In the mouth it has become a full throttle Loire Cab Franc. Veggies galore but with some nice hints of dark fruit and sweetness. What a combo. This last glass tells me that the wine is in a transition and needs to rest a few more years to become what it is today. If I were to rate this last glass I’d say 91-92. Yes that good.
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Far lighter and with less fruit and intensity than upon release. Darkly mineral with a graphite streak but also very lean midpalate, intellectually interesting but not offering a lot of pleasure without food. On day 2, stripped, astringent palate with brett quite present. Not how I'd hoped this would develop - hopefully an off bottle.
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Cabernet franc taken to its most elegant , with a very nice integration of tannins and anmedium- bodied, full attack. Deep dark purplish red in color, with the usual nose of barnyard, cherry, moss and dry leaves. On the palate, a smooth, Bordeaux- like execution, with the smoked red cherry, plum, equestrian scents all blending into a fine food wine. No decanting needed.
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It is distinctly possible that I am drinking this wine at too young of a point in its development. But it is also possible that it is not a great wine. Here is what's good about it now: there is lush and ripe dark fruit, very pleasing and generous, and with an hour open the fruit is complicated nicely by a bass note of graphite and a ferrous kind of bloodiness. The tannins are typically Bourgueil raspy and rustic, and the wine flirts with hot at only 12.5% alcohol (says the label). Overall is it good wine and fun to drink, a pleasure with a steak dinner. But it does not approach the Bourgueil Perrieres at this stage.
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Still on young side but opened with 30-40 min of air. Flirting with heaviness (about 14% alcohol), but really intense, lively, and ultimately balanced wine. Eager to see where this goes in next few years as it settles a bit. Much more expressive than '05 Perrieres drunk alongside.
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This was really drinking quite well. Starting to emerge from it's shell with a beautiful mix of primary and secondary characteristics. Time to start breaking into these.
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Inky purple. This benefitted from the two hours in the decanter. Beautiful nose of graphite and sweet green pepper. Black fruits are primary but there is lovely earth and cedar that follow. This wine has great acidity and tannic structured, though the tannins are now pleasingly soft. Terrific now so no reason to keep your mitts off. But will no doubt be better in 2-5 years and fresh for longer. A treat.
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My wife grabbed another bottle of this wine from the recesses of the cellar while I was out - I'd've waited a couple more years. I didn't taste it until the second night after opening, when it showed a fantastic ratio of flavor intensity to alcohol, with vivid, almost edgy acidity and tannins, some cedar, bit of stem wood, along some fruity unctiousness in the aromas and textures. A remarkable wine, surprisingly powerful. I sipped it, but it should shine especially brightly with a good, fatty red meat dish - rib-eye or lamb stew, say. Purchased on release for about $25-28.
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Showing great finesse and purity, with razor-sharp acidity, this wine retains the inky-black coloring it's had since release. It's put on quite a bit of weight since its early days, plumping out to medium body, acquiring more flavor depth, and a bit of cabernet france fur on the tongue. Pleasant cabernet aromas and flavors of cedar and a bit of plum. Showed best, imo, the second night, though was still developing on the third. I'd venture opening one now, if you have a few, but there can be no harm in continuing to hold these for a while.
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Beautiful even, medium ruby. Dill and graphite. Medium weight, classic black fruit with just enough of a hint of sweetness to keep it from seeming austere. Great focus and purity. Olive tones, wonderfully refreshing acidity, and powdery tannins. I mistakenly thought that this would not be ready until 2018 or so and am so glad I tried another bottle a little sooner than that. It is still young and at least a few years short of full maturity, but it is coming along beautifully and well worth drinking now.
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Precise, fine-grained tannins and palate-scrubbing acidity give this wine terrific freshness and intensity, with a modest sense of weight for such an inky-black wine. Fruit-derived flavors are still mostly in the deep background. A nice bottle of unusual precision.
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Needs at least an hour of air at this point. It has a lactic problem I often get with Breton. As the wine opened up, the flaw was less of an issue, but it never went away. This is a very big wine, and its structure is pretty prominent. Not a crime to open now, but it should get better in a couple of years.
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First time tasted in 5 years. Deep, primary color. Fantastic aromatics of olive and thyme. Big wine in Loire terms but not too large scaled. Very powerful black and dark red fruits, cleansing acidity and still a lot of tannin to resolve. Very young for sure, but you can definitely delve into this wine now. I think I'll wait another 5 years before opening the next bottle, and full maturity will require another decade. Extremely impressive.
Second day-some brett is now apparent. Amazing bitter chocolate, lots of finishing soil and minerality, but leaner and more closed than yesterday. Did I say that this needs time?
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I wanted something that was not loaded up on fruit yet still satisfying. Entering the cellar, upon spying this I worried if it would also fit my wife's big fruit/big wine tastes. Popped and poured. The nose has lots of herbal notes, green tobacco, dried burnt earth (if that makes sense), but also some black cherries and red currants. On the palate, this is complex and layered. Black cherries, some cassis, an underlying layer of charcoal and some green bell pepper/green tobacco. This wine was delicious with enough fruit to satisfy, but also lots of other stuff going on but in a proportion that makes the wine not come off too green or flavorless. We finished bottle pretty quickly although it did go better with a bit of food. I can see this being a love or hate it wine for some, especially in its youth, but right now, I think even those who don't appreciate this style could enjoy this wine.
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Purple ink. On release this was effusively, hugely fruity in all dimensions. Now, some of that has tapered off. Aromas are ripe but fresh--nowhere near port, prunes or raisins. There's an appealing earthy, vegetable streak to the fruit (bell pepper-ish). Like every Breton wine I've ever tried this one's tannic, but there's enough fruit to even things out (not always the case with them). The label says 12% alcohol and despite the ripeness I don't doubt that--this is very drinkable and there's no heat. Some of that big, tasty fruit I remember from 2008 has softened or receded but could still be described as brambly. This hasn't developed a lot of additional complexity--yet--but I'd bet that the components are there to make this last quite a while. Really enjoyed this today; feel in no hurry to open the next bottle.
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This bottle was showing wonderfully. The mouthfeel is less lush than when this wine first came out but the flavors are more complex. There were notes of cherry, grape skins, cinnamon and barnyard funk. This wine is still going strong.
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In the last 2 years since I tasted this wine, it has lost a lot of baby fat. It is still young and powerful and still better on the second day but now there is a slightly less full mouthfeel and there are little notes of brown sugar and tiny hints of forest floor developing. Very focused. Just a hint of varietal funkiness. This would be a great wine to have with gourmet burgers or maybe pot roast, stew or meatloaf.
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I am with Marc D on this one. Opened and put a cup of the wine in a beef stew and poured a glass 6 hurs later and really too tight for most of dinner. His descriptions are quite accurate. We will see what tonight brings.
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Opaque and dark. Very tight at the moment. After a couple of hours the nose shows some dark mulberry fruit, ripe, but not jammy, some cinnamon and maybe a tiny scosh of barnyard. In the mouth there is good acidity and big grainy licoricey tannins. The second night it it a little more open with no signs of oxidation and drinks pretty well. These should just be buried and forgotten about for 5-6 years or more. I think it is going to be very good at the 10 year point.
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young and very Loirish. really needs at least 5 years to come together but lots of dark red fruit, old wood and structure. this should be wonderful as it ages.
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Very dark purple red, this really is a monster. Thick, very deep palate of purest Cabernet Franc, maybe not with the normal delicacy of a Bourgueil, but the Cab Franc character is certainly obvious. This is drinking pretty well now, with plenty of sweet fruit and modest tannins, but should be more impressive in the future with some bottle age.
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Huge, palate-staining, mouthfilling, etc. Remarkable concentrated with rich, dry dark fruit extract, savory dried herbs, and vivid, grainy minerality. It's not quite heavy thanks to the bright acidity, but I do find it kind of overwhelming to the senses currently. Can't wait to taste this one down the road. Huge upside potential. Drink or hold, depending on your proclivity for young bruisers.
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This is a big, dark, impressive wine. You can drink now or hold for a decade easily. At this time there is a tight nose of camphor, mint and pine followed by a pallate of blackberry, blueberry, cherry and spice. Quite primary at this point but very promising.
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Very nice round mouth feel. The funk on the nose disappeared after 25 minutes to reveal a big punch of dark fruit (without being jammy) followed by some earthy undertones. I liked it very much.
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Whoa, this is the most freakishly dark, inky Cabernet Franc I've ever seen. While the '06 Trinch is friendly and open, this has a pure but closed and brooding nose in which (for now, at least) the varietal character has taken a back seat to the concentration of the vintage. Not surprisingly, the palate is tight with deeply buried sweet fruit and an amazing wave of camphor and mint felt in the back of the mouth. Tannins are substantial but not punishing. This one needs a lot of time but could turn out to be a monumental Loire red. My only question is whether more typical varietal attributes will surface as the massive structure resolves.
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Inky purple red color. Really great nose of mulberry and dark raspberry fruit, minerals, pine needles. Opens nicely with air. Fine structure with ripe chewy tannins and great concentration. Delicious now with a short decant but has the stuffing and balance to age well. 12.5% abv. Great value.
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This is the biggest Sénéchal I can remember. Brooding, black fruit with tons of stuffing framed with nice, fresh acidity. I think there's some new wood used, but I couldn't spot it. The fruit is so intense at this point, it masks everything -- tons of plums, tobacco, and graphite -- followed by considerable fine tannin. This is just a bottomless pit of a wine.
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Inky purple almost black. Lots of fruit and minerality. A real mouthful of wine that needs some time. My discrete CT scale: 95-extraordinary; 90-very good; 85-good; 80-fair; 75-poor
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8/26/2022 - repoper wrote: 91 Points
Only had the opportunity to slow ox for about 2 hours. Not nearly as much as I have done with past bottles.
Super dark and slick in the glass. The nose is screaming garden vegistables - celray, carrots, green bell peppers & tomatoes, some dirt, smoke and lovely black fruits. This bottle probably needed several more hours in a decanter but that being said this has always been a great drink and this bottle was no exception. Still lots of life and evolution ahead. Glad to have more to follow down the road.
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6/11/2022 - drwine2001 wrote:
Ruby with minimal fading. Olive, herb, and red fruit. Excellent volume and mouth feel for Loire Cabernet Franc. Mineral underpinning. This has really begun to soften and mature over the past few years.
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12/23/2021 - repoper wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 6 hrs. Still extremely dark in the glass. The nose starts off with a basket of garden vegetables that are surrounded by violets red fruits and a bit of honey. Still has a frontal attack of tannins that quickly fade as the fruit shins thru. This is still a baby and I’m glad I have more to follow over the next 10-15 years. Did not slow oxe this bottle and it needs it to show its best. Love this producer.
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12/11/2021 - drwine2001 wrote:
Opened 6 hours before pouring. Still glorious deep ruby almost all the way out. The green olive is not surprising on the nose, but the ripe black cherry in a Loire Cabernet Franc of this age most certainly is! Beautiful medium weight, and again, terrific texture for this varietal. In addition to herbs and predominant fruit, there is also a delightful squirt of citrus which adds a higher tone to the finish. Ripely tannic finish. When I first tasted this in 2008, I wondered whether it would ever shed its massive structure. In fact, it has done a great job of this over the past 7 years since last tasted, but it still has not reached full maturity. I'm glad I still have a few bottles left to try 5+ years down the road.
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1/24/2021 - cweiss Likes this wine:
Drinking VERY well.
Lots of fruit, good acid, and gentle tannins at this point. Funkier on the nose than the palate and in fact my wife, who generally has no problem with funk, wouldn't drink it. Oh well, more for me.
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12/15/2020 - repoper wrote: 94 Points
Put into a decanter for several hours. In the glass it’s black as night. The nose is just so interesting. It starts off with the small of vegetables that have aged in a really interesting way and it’s overplayed with layers of red fruit and smoke. It different but incredible what smells wines have to offer. It attacks you mounts with a burst of those red fruits surrounded by honey, roasted vegies, cranberries and forest floor. Wow. Each bottle gets better and they have evolved in a way I never imagined. This is rocking. Glad to have more. Sad to not have bought other vintages. Nothing like giving wine time to resolve and come together. 94+. This has improve with each bottle. Can’t imagine where it will go down the road.
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11/12/2020 - cweiss Likes this wine:
Quite funky but(?) good. Still plenty of time to go.
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9/1/2020 - repoper wrote: 94 Points
A few hours in the decanter and wow. This wine just gets better and better with each bottle. In the glass it is still primary dark and as I swirl it the legs are long and drip down the side of the glass. You can still smell the garden but that profile has faded but has just gotten much more refined. Unmistakeable. Beautiful soft dark fruit profile but still has a lot of tannins and acid which are In perfect balance. It picks up a sweet note on the finish that begs you to drink more. This is really just starting to enter a Primary drinking window. This has a lot of room to improve and I’m sure this will be absolutely great. It will last for decades. I can see why these were one of the worlds prized wines. Every time I go into my wine cellar I would almost regretted that I bought so many but now I’m a convert. Love it.
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4/18/2020 - repoper wrote: 92 Points
Another very fine bottle. Not as developed as previous ones but outstanding. Really dark in the glass with the usual vegi profile of celery’s bell pepper but less pronounced. Really smooth and balanced and the tannins are in complete harmony. Nice with fettuccini.
Tonight 92+. Glad to have another case. This should get better and better with more time.
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2/23/2020 - brooklynguy Likes this wine:
Pulled the cork a half hour before drinking. It was an angry, angry wine at first. Raspy tannins, disjointed acidity, just unpleasant. But the wine blossomed after another half hour and really is beautiful. The nose takes on a vibrant floral complexity. Lush black and red fruits, dense and almost viscous bloody aspect, some mineral underpinning. A powerful and ripe wine but with very nice detail and grace. This is great wine and probably should be left alone for a decade to show its best. I caught pieces of why it’s going to be great. If you have a few, crack one. Otherwise I’d wait and I imagine this will be quite rewarding.
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11/11/2019 - repoper wrote: 92 Points
Opened two bottles for dinner last night. The were sloxed for 6-7 hours then into a decanter. The color is still very primary and opaque but the most gorgous color. The nose screams of the barnyard mixed with veggies and cedar. In the mouth it is still in a very primary phase, but it is a very beautiful wine that in total harmony. I think it needs a few more years to develop more and will probably last another 15-20 after that. Cabernet Franc at its most elegant. Love this wine and glad to have a lot more to check in on over the next decade. 1/2 of a bottle was left over and I will try tonight and see what that does for the wine. Overall this wine has been improving since I opened my first bottle and I think these Cab Franc's from Loire just need alot of time to get to where they need to be. I can see that this is not the profile that a lot of people would like but the winemaking is excellent and it shows in every bottle I have opened. The coark was just stained at the very end and in pristine condition.I have had them stored in my tem controlled cellar since release. Provinance is everything.
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4/14/2019 - bobdobilina wrote: 91 Points
Crystalline ruby color.
Aromatic and quite pungent on the nose. Brett, cedar, wild blackberries, damp earth.
Lovely balance on the palate between the sweet but just so slightly tart black fruit, the wonderful mid palate acid presence, and a smooth and slightly dusty finish.
Classic Loire Cabernet Franc.
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12/16/2018 - repoper wrote: 92 Points
Once again a perfect bottle. In the decanter it just screams of cellray, tomatoes and bell peppers. Totally different in the mouth where it is a beautifully soft expression of soft fruit, berries maybe cedar or a woody note. Really nice balance. Still can improve over next 5 years.
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10/23/2018 - repoper wrote: 91 Points
slow oxed for 10 hours. Still a young wine. on the nose it is a vegetable garden. Celray & tomato are right in your face. In the mouth a different animal. Beautiful mouthful of small fruits and berries. Great place but lots of room for improvement. 90+
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9/23/2018 - vsbastosx Does not like this wine: 75 Points
Nothing wrong with it....its just not my cup of tea. Too much barnyard on both nose and palate. I just don't like Bourgueils.
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5/23/2018 - repoper wrote:
First if my stash of 18, which I bought when initially offered. Slowoxef for 5 hours. Very dark in the glass. The nose is a bit muted but it does small like a vegi garden. Celery, carrots, beet tops, root veg is and dark fruits. In the mouth it is very soft and pliable but not flabby. Nice balance of fruit, acid and tannins. I’m not sure if this is young or not. I like the wine but not sure if this will improve or not.
At the moment not profound but definitely not as good as the ‘06. Very enjoyable. No rating today.
Saved a glass and now it’s 3 days later. Wow what a change. The wine has gained in depth of color, intensity and viscosity.
In the mouth it has become a full throttle Loire Cab Franc. Veggies galore but with some nice hints of dark fruit and sweetness. What a combo. This last glass tells me that the wine is in a transition and needs to rest a few more years to become what it is today. If I were to rate this last glass I’d say 91-92. Yes that good.
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7/21/2017 - 5laton wrote:
Far lighter and with less fruit and intensity than upon release. Darkly mineral with a graphite streak but also very lean midpalate, intellectually interesting but not offering a lot of pleasure without food. On day 2, stripped, astringent palate with brett quite present. Not how I'd hoped this would develop - hopefully an off bottle.
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12/11/2016 - Sotto325 wrote: 91 Points
Cabernet franc taken to its most elegant , with a very nice integration of tannins and anmedium- bodied, full attack. Deep dark purplish red in color, with the usual nose of barnyard, cherry, moss and dry leaves. On the palate, a smooth, Bordeaux- like execution, with the smoked red cherry, plum, equestrian scents all blending into a fine food wine. No decanting needed.
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6/29/2016 - brooklynguy wrote:
It is distinctly possible that I am drinking this wine at too young of a point in its development. But it is also possible that it is not a great wine. Here is what's good about it now: there is lush and ripe dark fruit, very pleasing and generous, and with an hour open the fruit is complicated nicely by a bass note of graphite and a ferrous kind of bloodiness. The tannins are typically Bourgueil raspy and rustic, and the wine flirts with hot at only 12.5% alcohol (says the label). Overall is it good wine and fun to drink, a pleasure with a steak dinner. But it does not approach the Bourgueil Perrieres at this stage.
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2/25/2016 - LW31 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still on young side but opened with 30-40 min of air. Flirting with heaviness (about 14% alcohol), but really intense, lively, and ultimately balanced wine. Eager to see where this goes in next few years as it settles a bit. Much more expressive than '05 Perrieres drunk alongside.
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8/12/2015 - Chris Newport wrote:
This was really drinking quite well. Starting to emerge from it's shell with a beautiful mix of primary and secondary characteristics.
Time to start breaking into these.
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7/25/2015 - Mistress of Wine Likes this wine:
Inky purple. This benefitted from the two hours in the decanter. Beautiful nose of graphite and sweet green pepper. Black fruits are primary but there is lovely earth and cedar that follow. This wine has great acidity and tannic structured, though the tannins are now pleasingly soft. Terrific now so no reason to keep your mitts off. But will no doubt be better in 2-5 years and fresh for longer. A treat.
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6/27/2015 - fitzi wrote:
My wife grabbed another bottle of this wine from the recesses of the cellar while I was out - I'd've waited a couple more years. I didn't taste it until the second night after opening, when it showed a fantastic ratio of flavor intensity to alcohol, with vivid, almost edgy acidity and tannins, some cedar, bit of stem wood, along some fruity unctiousness in the aromas and textures. A remarkable wine, surprisingly powerful. I sipped it, but it should shine especially brightly with a good, fatty red meat dish - rib-eye or lamb stew, say. Purchased on release for about $25-28.
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4/18/2015 - fitzi wrote:
Showing great finesse and purity, with razor-sharp acidity, this wine retains the inky-black coloring it's had since release. It's put on quite a bit of weight since its early days, plumping out to medium body, acquiring more flavor depth, and a bit of cabernet france fur on the tongue. Pleasant cabernet aromas and flavors of cedar and a bit of plum. Showed best, imo, the second night, though was still developing on the third. I'd venture opening one now, if you have a few, but there can be no harm in continuing to hold these for a while.
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9/18/2014 - drwine2001 wrote:
Beautiful even, medium ruby. Dill and graphite. Medium weight, classic black fruit with just enough of a hint of sweetness to keep it from seeming austere. Great focus and purity. Olive tones, wonderfully refreshing acidity, and powdery tannins. I mistakenly thought that this would not be ready until 2018 or so and am so glad I tried another bottle a little sooner than that. It is still young and at least a few years short of full maturity, but it is coming along beautifully and well worth drinking now.
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9/30/2013 - fitzi wrote:
Precise, fine-grained tannins and palate-scrubbing acidity give this wine terrific freshness and intensity, with a modest sense of weight for such an inky-black wine. Fruit-derived flavors are still mostly in the deep background. A nice bottle of unusual precision.
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9/24/2013 - 14frimaire wrote:
delicious, showing well. better with 1 hr of air
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8/14/2013 - 14frimaire wrote:
Needs at least an hour of air at this point. It has a lactic problem I often get with Breton. As the wine opened up, the flaw was less of an issue, but it never went away. This is a very big wine, and its structure is pretty prominent. Not a crime to open now, but it should get better in a couple of years.
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7/5/2013 - marc d Likes this wine:
Still very youthful, but open at least for the first few hours, tannin and structure clamps down a bit after a while. Beautiful wine though.
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6/22/2013 - drwine2001 wrote:
First time tasted in 5 years. Deep, primary color. Fantastic aromatics of olive and thyme. Big wine in Loire terms but not too large scaled. Very powerful black and dark red fruits, cleansing acidity and still a lot of tannin to resolve. Very young for sure, but you can definitely delve into this wine now. I think I'll wait another 5 years before opening the next bottle, and full maturity will require another decade. Extremely impressive.
Second day-some brett is now apparent. Amazing bitter chocolate, lots of finishing soil and minerality, but leaner and more closed than yesterday. Did I say that this needs time?
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1/5/2013 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 93 Points
I wanted something that was not loaded up on fruit yet still satisfying. Entering the cellar, upon spying this I worried if it would also fit my wife's big fruit/big wine tastes. Popped and poured. The nose has lots of herbal notes, green tobacco, dried burnt earth (if that makes sense), but also some black cherries and red currants. On the palate, this is complex and layered. Black cherries, some cassis, an underlying layer of charcoal and some green bell pepper/green tobacco. This wine was delicious with enough fruit to satisfy, but also lots of other stuff going on but in a proportion that makes the wine not come off too green or flavorless. We finished bottle pretty quickly although it did go better with a bit of food. I can see this being a love or hate it wine for some, especially in its youth, but right now, I think even those who don't appreciate this style could enjoy this wine.
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12/19/2012 - cweiss wrote:
Drinking well but still young. With Hanukah pot roast.
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10/26/2011 - slanum wrote:
Purple ink. On release this was effusively, hugely fruity in all dimensions. Now, some of that has tapered off. Aromas are ripe but fresh--nowhere near port, prunes or raisins. There's an appealing earthy, vegetable streak to the fruit (bell pepper-ish). Like every Breton wine I've ever tried this one's tannic, but there's enough fruit to even things out (not always the case with them). The label says 12% alcohol and despite the ripeness I don't doubt that--this is very drinkable and there's no heat. Some of that big, tasty fruit I remember from 2008 has softened or receded but could still be described as brambly. This hasn't developed a lot of additional complexity--yet--but I'd bet that the components are there to make this last quite a while. Really enjoyed this today; feel in no hurry to open the next bottle.
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6/15/2011 - Zinny wrote:
This bottle was showing wonderfully. The mouthfeel is less lush than when this wine first came out but the flavors are more complex. There were notes of cherry, grape skins, cinnamon and barnyard funk. This wine is still going strong.
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10/6/2010 - Zinny wrote:
In the last 2 years since I tasted this wine, it has lost a lot of baby fat. It is still young and powerful and still better on the second day but now there is a slightly less full mouthfeel and there are little notes of brown sugar and tiny hints of forest floor developing. Very focused. Just a hint of varietal funkiness. This would be a great wine to have with gourmet burgers or maybe pot roast, stew or meatloaf.
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5/12/2010 - marc d wrote:
Deep, dense, and tight. It is going to take a number of years to unwind, but with a decant this shows its quality.
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3/29/2010 - Mr T wrote:
I am with Marc D on this one. Opened and put a cup of the wine in a beef stew and poured a glass 6 hurs later and really too tight for most of dinner. His descriptions are quite accurate. We will see what tonight brings.
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3/23/2009 - marc d wrote:
Opaque and dark. Very tight at the moment. After a couple of hours the nose shows some dark mulberry fruit, ripe, but not jammy, some cinnamon and maybe a tiny scosh of barnyard. In the mouth there is good acidity and big grainy licoricey tannins. The second night it it a little more open with no signs of oxidation and drinks pretty well. These should just be buried and forgotten about for 5-6 years or more. I think it is going to be very good at the 10 year point.
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2/12/2009 - br wrote:
young and very Loirish. really needs at least 5 years to come together but lots of dark red fruit, old wood and structure. this should be wonderful as it ages.
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1/4/2009 - David McDuff wrote:
Painfully young but already delicious, brimming with black and blue fruits and a brooding, sauvage aromatic profile.
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9/20/2008 - CSteefel wrote: 91 Points
Very dark purple red, this really is a monster. Thick, very deep palate of purest Cabernet Franc, maybe not with the normal delicacy of a Bourgueil, but the Cab Franc character is certainly obvious. This is drinking pretty well now, with plenty of sweet fruit and modest tannins, but should be more impressive in the future with some bottle age.
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8/23/2008 - 5laton wrote:
Huge, palate-staining, mouthfilling, etc. Remarkable concentrated with rich, dry dark fruit extract, savory dried herbs, and vivid, grainy minerality. It's not quite heavy thanks to the bright acidity, but I do find it kind of overwhelming to the senses currently. Can't wait to taste this one down the road. Huge upside potential. Drink or hold, depending on your proclivity for young bruisers.
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8/14/2008 - Zinny wrote:
This is a big, dark, impressive wine. You can drink now or hold for a decade easily. At this time there is a tight nose of camphor, mint and pine followed by a pallate of blackberry, blueberry, cherry and spice. Quite primary at this point but very promising.
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6/10/2008 - hotlawguy wrote: 87 Points
Very nice round mouth feel. The funk on the nose disappeared after 25 minutes to reveal a big punch of dark fruit (without being jammy) followed by some earthy undertones. I liked it very much.
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5/10/2008 - drwine2001 wrote:
Whoa, this is the most freakishly dark, inky Cabernet Franc I've ever seen. While the '06 Trinch is friendly and open, this has a pure but closed and brooding nose in which (for now, at least) the varietal character has taken a back seat to the concentration of the vintage. Not surprisingly, the palate is tight with deeply buried sweet fruit and an amazing wave of camphor and mint felt in the back of the mouth. Tannins are substantial but not punishing. This one needs a lot of time but could turn out to be a monumental Loire red. My only question is whether more typical varietal attributes will surface as the massive structure resolves.
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5/3/2008 - marc d wrote:
Inky purple red color. Really great nose of mulberry and dark raspberry fruit, minerals, pine needles. Opens nicely with air. Fine structure with ripe chewy tannins and great concentration. Delicious now with a short decant but has the stuffing and balance to age well. 12.5% abv. Great value.
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12/5/2007 - 14frimaire wrote:
This is the biggest Sénéchal I can remember. Brooding, black fruit with tons of stuffing framed with nice, fresh acidity. I think there's some new wood used, but I couldn't spot it. The fruit is so intense at this point, it masks everything -- tons of plums, tobacco, and graphite -- followed by considerable fine tannin. This is just a bottomless pit of a wine.
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11/25/2007 - joe d wrote: 85 Points
Inky purple almost black. Lots of fruit and minerality. A real mouthful of wine that needs some time.
My discrete CT scale: 95-extraordinary; 90-very good; 85-good; 80-fair; 75-poor
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