2019 Fabien Jouves Malbec Amphore

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 88 points

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  7/16/2023 - roelof.ligtmans@gmail.com wrote: 87 Points

  Fairly hefty colour, almost opaque. Intriguing nose of red fruit and green herbs, quite complex. Soft attack, medium to light bodied, shortish finish. Taste dominated by red currants, a healthy dose of acidity. Light tannins. And a soft mouthfeel due to no or very little sulphur. Clearly a product of the "vin nature" philosophy. QPR questionnable.

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  10/23/2021 - forceberry wrote: 89 Points

  100% Malbec from biodynamically farmed 40-yo vineyards in Cahors. Fermented spontaneously and macerated with the skins for 30 days in 800-liter amphorae, aged for 9 months in amphorae. Bottled with a minimal dose (10-15 mg/l) of SO2. 12,5% alcohol.
  
  Very dense, almost fully opaque blackish-red color with a slightly blueish hue. Somewhat wild and funky yet not excessively natty nose with aromas of ripe blackcurrants and chokeberry juice, some bretty notes of leather and barnyard, a little bit of crunchy crowberry, light reductive notes of gunpowder smoke, a hint of fresh dark plums and a candied touch of black Bassett's wine gums. After several hours the smoky and funky nuances have come to the fore, diminishing the fruit and making the wine come across as rather animale with aromas of burnt hair and wet dog. Contrasting the dark, opaque appearance, the wine is surprisingly spry, lively and crunchy on the palate with a medium body and bright, dry flavors of crunchy crowberries and chokeberries, some funky notes of leather, a little bit of sappy herbal character, light gravelly mineral tones, a reductive hint of gunpowder smoke and a touch of tart lingonberry. The wine feels fresh and quite structured, thanks to its high acidity and moderately grippy medium tannins that slowly pile up on the gums. The finish is dry, crunchy and moderately grippy with bright, savory flavors of crowberries and fresh bilberries, some chokeberry juice, a little bit of floral lift, light bretty notes of leather and farmhouse funk, a hint of gravelly minerality and a touch of sappy herbal character. After some aeration the aftertaste feels less clean and more funky, but even with a lot of air the wine never turns mousy, fortunately.
  
  A nice, fresh and crunchy Cahors that is very unlike the typical wines of the region. Normally Cahors wines are rather big, quite muscular and and even somewhat chewy in nature, whereas this drank more like a Cru Beaujolais made from Malbec. Making people taste the wine blind and guess what it is turned out to be quite a challenge - the guesses started from Savoie, Austria and northern Italy, then went through basically all the countries in Europe, until one guessed "at least this can't be Cahors, can it?". Oh well. All in all, good stuff, but definitely nothing typical for the region. Furthermore, the wine is quite funky with an obvious streak of brett, so I wouldn't recommend the wine to people who prefer their wines squeaky clean. Seeing how youthful - and at times even slightly candied - the wine is at the moment, I would age it couple of years longer, just to make it lose its most primary tones. Although the wine doesn't feel like one to be aged extensively, I feel there's still some potential for future development here. However, at 29,90€ the wine feels a bit pricey for the quality.

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  1/22/2021 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:

  Really bright and juicy red and black fruits. There's some plant matter things, with purple flowers at the fore. It has decent flesh and refreshing tang. Tannins are slinky and overall balance is excellent. A thoroughly engaging and delicious drink.

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