15 Cabernet Francs
Tasted Wednesday, May 29, 2013 by octopussy with 676 views
Introduction
This tasting was born from a spontaneous idea to taste some Loire Cabernet Francs together. Three of us gathered some bottles and - with time - these were extended by some Cabernet Francs from other places than the Loire. The choice was rather random and based on what we wanted to try from our cellars at this point in time. Our host put them together into flights of two wines and served all of them blind. We uncovered at the end of the tasting. To eat we had some baguette, Austrian cheeses and sweet and sour Puy lentils with chervil and toast with melted Crottin de Chavignol. All wines were opened on the morning of the tasting, some were double decanted and some just slow-oxed for a few hours.
Flight 1 - Prologue (1 Note)
Bordelet's Sydre Argelette sur Schistes is a classic and the 2009 was again very well made.
Flight 2 - 2009 Württemberg vs. 2008 Kamptal (2 Notes)
Unfortunately, the Kistenmacher-Hengerer was badly corked. We guessed the 2008 Bründlmayer to be a Loire Cabernet Franc, but we were wrong with that. It did have very typical Cabernet Franc aromatics though. If the tannins melt down, it could get much better. The group was unsure though whether the fruit is strong enough to hold until the tannins have softened.
Flight 3 - 2010 Saumur vs. Niagara Peninsula (2 Notes)
The group liked the Guiberteau Saumur very much for its minerality and balance. Yet, it didn't have it easy as the contender was just too appealing. The no sulfur, unfiltered and unfined Cabernet Franc from Pearl Morissette was a real stunner. We guessed it to be not from the Loire. Everyone was impressed at how modern the use of oak was, yet how the wine managed to not let the oak dominate and really show characteristic Cab Franc aromas.
Flight 4 - 2009 Languedoc vs. 2008 Chevalerie Breteche (2 Notes)
The Languedoc Cab Franc was identifiable as not coming from the Loire as it had slightly cooked aromatics, rather noticeable alcohol and lots of sweetness. The 2008 Breteche was a disappointment. I had some excellent bottles of this from the 90s, but this one did not seem to have the backbone to improve with age.
Flight 5 - 2006 KuK - Villány vs. Kamptal (2 Notes)
Everyone really liked the Gere + Weninger Cab Franc, which was elegant and delicate (despite 14.5% Vol. of alcohol), yet quite forceful. It still showed well when we retried it some two or three hours later. The Bründlmayer 2006 was hard to drink. Everyone noticed the winemaking efforts behind it. This may have been decent when it still had primary fruit and maybe it will get more balanced again in some years. But at this stage, it was just too brutal to be enjoyable.
Flight 6 - 2008 Chevalerie vs. 2003 Clos Rougeard (2 Notes)
In this flight, everyone liked the Clos Rougeard, even though not at first. You had to callibrate to the rather strong leathery aromas. The 2008 Chevalerie was fairly controversial. Some in the group didn't like it because it was too restrained and rather short in the finish. Some (including myself) did like it because it was so restrained. In any case, it was still way too young and - different from the Breteche - still has lots of potential.
Flight 7 - 2007 Clos Rougeard vs. 2006 Baudry Croix Boissée (2 Notes)
This flight had a hard time because a) both wines were way too young and b) they were served after the Puy lentils. We did notice a rather sharp acidity in both wines and it could be that this was because we drank them after eating the lentils which had some vinegar in the sauce. Yet, when retasting the Baudry hours later, the acidity was still rather harsh. Both wines were very well structured though and in ten years, this would probably be a winner flight in many tastings.
Flight 8 - Villeneuve Le Grand Clos (2 Notes)
Both of the Villeneuve Le Grand Clos had aged well, yet it was noticeable that 1996 was a better year than 1999. The 1996 had stronger notes of age, but it also had the better structure and more finesse. Both were lacking the last bits that differentiate great wines from merely very good wines, but at the price tag (around 15 Euros) they are a very, very good drink.
Flight 9 - 1990 Joguet Clos de la Dioterie (1 Note)
Save the best for last and this beauty did its job. Aged very well, this wine summed up all good moments in the tasting and had it all.
Flight 10 - Epilogue (1 Note)
The so called "Repair Riesling" also delivered, made in a "feinherb" style, it was very typical for the year with ripe fruit aromas, soft acidity, yet good balance and barely sufficient tension.
Closing
We didn't make a ranking, but it was clear to everyone that the 1990 Joguet Clos de la Dioterie was the wine of the evening. It was basically the quintessence of all the best we had tasted before, a really great wine, aged in dignity. Positive surprises were the Weninger + Gere from Villany/Hungary and the Pearl Morissette Cuvée Madeline, both very different in style, but both very convincing in their individuality. The two Clos Rougeards delivered and - even though - served in two different flights, the house style was identifiable. The 2007 Les Poyeux seemed to be very closed down though. The most closed down wine was Baudry's 2006 Croix Boissée though, which I had brought and which interested me at this point. Hardly any wines were overambitious, except maybe for the Bründlmayer Cuvée Vincent from 2006, which seemed like an Aalto PS or a wine like that - walls of massive tannins, jammy fruit, built to impress rather than to seduce. The 2008 Bründlmayer was altogether different and much better.
2009 Eric Bordelet Sydre Argelette
France, Normandy
Light orange colour, only light fizz. In the nose, very appley, some lemon, only very light fermentation aromas, deep and charming. On the palate, it has some fruity sweetness, only a light fizz, finishes with a nice tingle.
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