March 11, 2024 - This was a great bottle of Cabernet Franc! In a a good spot now, but plenty longer to go for sure.
November 27, 2023 - Like last year's bottle, this was absolutely delicious. No change from what I noted then. The 2026 CT drink-by limit is much too early.
December 1, 2022 - Wow is this good. It’s got a touch of supplemental richness from a riper year, but just enough to ensure it’s properly medium-bodied, and not in any way overripe. A little hit of damp earth opens it up, and then it’s all red fruit and green tobacco. Pretty much archetypal Cabernet Franc. Reminds me a bit of Sociando Mallet, and that’s a good thing. Still has a decent tannic bite on the finish, but there’s more than enough depth to counterbalance it, or if you have more (sadly I do not) to let it age for a while longer. I expected this wine to be good, but not this good. Really fine showing.
November 24, 2022 - Mouth-watering aromas of sweet raspberry and violets, with hints of peonies too - delightful. On the palate, a bright attack of raspberry, then a series of waves of flavours, ranging from violet, to plum, to blueberry, to blackcurrant, then back to raspberry, and so forth. Quite ripe, quite rich, but not at all syrupy, this has a strong sense of place with that Chinon chalkiness, a slight hint of green to the finish.
The fruit is ripe but subtle, oozing class and elegance.
Much better than a few years ago, this is now absolutely delicious, but it is only at the start of its plateau, so no hurry.
March 31, 2019 - The colour was very dark and intense. The nose, like the taste, was very closed at first, taking a good two hours in the decanter to open up, before revealing aromas of forest fruits, yeast and eucalyptus, with spices and charcoal. The attack is powerful, silky and ripe, but the actual flavours are quite muted at first; the middle section is full-bodiedn but a little chalky, with a strong sense of bell pepper, before a rich seam of fruit, where at last the flavours become more distinct: dark cherry, blackberry and finally some blackcurrant. The finish is odd - very disjointed: at the back of the palate, a broad, sweeping wave of indistinct fruit with chalky greenness, which slips down the throat, whilst at the front a strong taste of sweet blackberry which tingles the tongue, remaining long after the wine has gone. Weird.
Completely different to the other Chinons I've tasted recently, this was bigger and broader in scope. The body and silkiness are very impressive - this is clearly high-class wine, but which succeeds in tasting both ripe and unripe. The ripe fruit tastes a little extracted and the green cloak is almost caricatural - perfect for convincing doubting newcomers that the rumours were correct and that Chinons are not for them.
Tasting it, I was reminded of the comment by Erwan Faiveley, quoted in Stephen Tanzer's excellent article last week - “the only Burgundy wine that a winemaker in Bordeaux can understand.” This is a Chinon that Bordeaux lovers would understand, but which not all would like. It has the power and body of Bordeaux, unlike the Clos Guillot I tried last week, but without the slightly sweet flavours of modern Bordeaux. There's something Pauillacais about it, but somehow unfulfilled. It reminded me of the Duhart 2008 I tasted last year - good, but with a nagging greenness. Much like Sociando-Mallet can taste, so if you like that, this is for you.
December 15, 2017 - Still completely shut down. No change from 3.5 years ago. Technical score: 89. Enjoyment score: 87.
July 30, 2017 - Casket bearing.
December 22, 2016 - Really needs another 5 years - good structure but relatively closed.
November 7, 2015 - Full of fresh, crunchy berries, a little grass sap, pepper and earth. The tannins seem quite soft - if they've been this way or are beginning to melt, I can't tell. For me, this comes across as an accessible and bright expression of Loire cabernet franc. Elegant but fun too.
April 30, 2015 - Very brief notes from TTTG (blind) (Vernon, CT): Very ripe fruit with some herbal notes. Somewhat hot. Seems much denser and more viscous than its medium weight. Good acidity. Hold. Please hold.