Nez de cacao et épices Étonnamment en forme pour un vin qui n’est pas un cru de garde ! Belle entrée en bouche mais pas très longue sur la fin, plaisant
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Poured immediately on opening after a WA Cab Franc so initial impressions suffered. Will update after second day Dark and deep for a Loire, floral notes on a relatively tight nose. Acidity, lean earthiness mingled with tart fruit, medium finish
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After a corked bottle, this was my last. Quite a nice wine for the price point. Great structure and typical notes of tea and iron with green vegetal flavors. Very pretty wine. Love me some cold climate cab franc.
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Very refreshing and full of red berries on the way in. The mid palate is more smooth and round, with bell peppers along with an earthy note. There's also a certain warmth to it. It finishes with minerality, some spices and more red, very sour fruit. The finish is full of acid, but firm enough with tannins also. Maybe a hint of licorice?
For the money this is excellent. Will buy again.
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Needed 3-4hrs to open up. Tight saline and cherry nose. Palate had loads of tannin, rather polished tannin too, but the fruit come across as austere and tart. Later this shows some bell pepper and spice that is rather pleasant. Finishes short, with mineral, herb, and earth notes. I've had almost zero Cab franc wines from the Loire, so keep that in context, but I'm a huge fan of right bank bdx with lots of cab franc. This didn't do it for me.
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Went well with Traders Joes Korean Beef on the BBQ. Typical Cab Franc. Lots of fruit, short on the tongue but good. If it wasn't a work night i would do a second bottle
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Red-purple translucent (a bit darker than a Beaujolais), cherry, blackberry, raisin on the nose; along with the characteristic tang--slight, not unpleasant bitterness--that typifies Saumur, this wine has lovely fruit. The cherry and blackberry are at the front, the slight raisin flavor at the end. Great with food.
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Fresh notes on the nose, black fruit with hints of briar and mineral. On the palate this wine is quite fresh and fruit forward, with fine tannins and some acidity on the finish. A great transition wine to try for someone wanting to move from New to Old World wines. Deft enough to work with fish or heavier foods. Well done.
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Lots of floral notes. Smooth. Great Nose. I am going to guy 12 more. Drank second bottle with fresh Red Fish caught earlier in the day. Excellent combo.
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Wow, at $13 per bottle this is an excellent value. What a nice departure from the usual! My first time with cab franc, and the floral and mineral elements were a wonderful addition to the fruit which in this case takes a back seat. Herbs and earth. Somebody else mentioned figs - yes! Noticeable acidity. Will buy quite a few bottles at this price.
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Briefly decanted and served with pseudo-Chinese chicken, shiitake and snow pea saute. Vivid purple color, modest nose. Bright cassis fruit with a hint of herbs, light body, pleasing minerality. An excellent daily drinker at under $15.
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Found this a little tight when I first opened the bottle, but within about an hour it opened up nicely. The first 100% Cab Franc I've had and I really enjoyed it. I'll be purchasing a few more of these and letting them sit for a year or so.
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Really spectacular QPR on this Loire gem. Great, electric color in the glass, with a floral, minerally nose. Rich in the mouth, with a lingering finish, this wine has terrific elegance, as it is light enough to complement seafood, but has enough backbone to work with pork or lighter beef dishes. Just wonderful for $12. Very well done.
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Upon opening the wine showed hard, chunky flavors of black cherry and black berry encased in chalk and minerals. While expressive in flavor, the pallete was thin. Within a half hour a floral component arrived and stayed throughout the rest of the bottle and even made me think of a village level beaujolais at around the hour time frame. At 2 hours the texture filled out across the pallete and it turned into a really nice mineral driven red. Day 2 last glass. Really came together nicely. Solid Cab Franc Going to be really nice in a year or so or decant to have with dinner 87-88pts
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Bright ruby red in color with excellent clarity. Typical Cab Franc floral aromas with some earthy components as well, but not the deep rich aromos you get with new world examples of CF. Much more balanced than a typical new world Cabernet Franc as well, with more acidity and a leaner, lightweight mouthfeel. Decent fruit, but nothing special or overly complex and the finish cuts off quickly. I love Cab Franc and this was my first experience with a Loire Valley bottling. I expected something better, especially given a 90 point WS rating. Perhaps if I seek out some more reputable producers from Chinon I'd like them more.
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This is the blackest C. Franc from Loire I ever had. The raspberry nose and first impression of Smurf-juice (raspberries) is mis-leading. It develops in the glass and offers quite a wonderful experience of "summery" concentration, marrow and zest without (?) grassy tones. Makes me curious about what will be in some years' time. Maybe a work of a genious. Maybe just serendipitously appealing on the sunny warm day that the mosquitoes manifested themselves up in the North of Sweden :-)
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8/5/2020 - Brisingr wrote: 89 Points
Nez de cacao et épices
Étonnamment en forme pour un vin qui n’est pas un cru de garde !
Belle entrée en bouche mais pas très longue sur la fin, plaisant
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10/10/2014 - jmcmchi wrote: 87 Points
Poured immediately on opening after a WA Cab Franc so initial impressions suffered. Will update after second day
Dark and deep for a Loire, floral notes on a relatively tight nose. Acidity, lean earthiness mingled with tart fruit, medium finish
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5/13/2014 - discoverwine Likes this wine: 90 Points
After a corked bottle, this was my last. Quite a nice wine for the price point. Great structure and typical notes of tea and iron with green vegetal flavors. Very pretty wine. Love me some cold climate cab franc.
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5/13/2014 - discoverwine wrote: flawed
So sad. Corked bottle. Had to open the last one.
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3/5/2014 - EndreS wrote:
Very fruit-forward, dark red fruit. Some minerality. Very enjoyable. VGV.
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6/5/2013 - rbellus wrote: 81 Points
Alcohol 12.5%
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4/23/2013 - EndreS Likes this wine: 82 Points
Very refreshing and full of red berries on the way in. The mid palate is more smooth and round, with bell peppers along with an earthy note. There's also a certain warmth to it. It finishes with minerality, some spices and more red, very sour fruit. The finish is full of acid, but firm enough with tannins also. Maybe a hint of licorice?
For the money this is excellent. Will buy again.
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4/21/2013 - RBOND wrote: 91 Points
Took to the 4.0 tennis party
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12/10/2012 - Nutty08 wrote: 87 Points
Needed 3-4hrs to open up. Tight saline and cherry nose. Palate had loads of tannin, rather polished tannin too, but the fruit come across as austere and tart. Later this shows some bell pepper and spice that is rather pleasant. Finishes short, with mineral, herb, and earth notes. I've had almost zero Cab franc wines from the Loire, so keep that in context, but I'm a huge fan of right bank bdx with lots of cab franc. This didn't do it for me.
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10/21/2012 - RBOND wrote: 89 Points
Went well with Traders Joes Korean Beef on the BBQ. Typical Cab Franc. Lots of fruit, short on the tongue but good. If it wasn't a work night i would do a second bottle
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7/28/2012 - RBOND wrote: 89 Points
Served with Hamburgers on a hot summer night in Florida. Great wine, light, fruity and always good.
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6/25/2012 - Baudelaire wrote: 90 Points
Red-purple translucent (a bit darker than a Beaujolais), cherry, blackberry, raisin on the nose; along with the characteristic tang--slight, not unpleasant bitterness--that typifies Saumur, this wine has lovely fruit. The cherry and blackberry are at the front, the slight raisin flavor at the end. Great with food.
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6/24/2012 - BBinSC wrote: 89 Points
Fresh notes on the nose, black fruit with hints of briar and mineral. On the palate this wine is quite fresh and fruit forward, with fine tannins and some acidity on the finish. A great transition wine to try for someone wanting to move from New to Old World wines. Deft enough to work with fish or heavier foods. Well done.
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6/21/2012 - RBOND wrote: 92 Points
Lots of floral notes. Smooth. Great Nose. I am going to guy 12 more. Drank second bottle with fresh Red Fish caught earlier in the day. Excellent combo.
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5/28/2012 - Alpos wrote: 89 Points
Wow, at $13 per bottle this is an excellent value. What a nice departure from the usual! My first time with cab franc, and the floral and mineral elements were a wonderful addition to the fruit which in this case takes a back seat. Herbs and earth. Somebody else mentioned figs - yes! Noticeable acidity. Will buy quite a few bottles at this price.
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5/6/2012 - PBANGELO wrote: 88 Points
Cherry red. Underlying smoke on the nose. Silky luscious mouthfeel with tart cherries. Pleasant.
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4/19/2012 - yeastbeast wrote: 87 Points
Briefly decanted and served with pseudo-Chinese chicken, shiitake and snow pea saute. Vivid purple color, modest nose. Bright cassis fruit with a hint of herbs, light body, pleasing minerality. An excellent daily drinker at under $15.
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3/9/2012 - Backdoctor wrote: 88 Points
nice supple tannins, not a very deep wine but nice easy red to enjoy with snacks.
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12/23/2011 - sipnwine wrote: 89 Points
Found this a little tight when I first opened the bottle, but within about an hour it opened up nicely. The first 100% Cab Franc I've had and I really enjoyed it. I'll be purchasing a few more of these and letting them sit for a year or so.
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10/22/2011 - BBinSC wrote: 90 Points
Really spectacular QPR on this Loire gem. Great, electric color in the glass, with a floral, minerally nose. Rich in the mouth, with a lingering finish, this wine has terrific elegance, as it is light enough to complement seafood, but has enough backbone to work with pork or lighter beef dishes. Just wonderful for $12. Very well done.
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8/19/2011 - mbeutel Likes this wine: 88 Points
Upon opening the wine showed hard, chunky flavors of black cherry and black berry encased in chalk and minerals. While expressive in flavor, the pallete was thin. Within a half hour a floral component arrived and stayed throughout the rest of the bottle and even made me think of a village level beaujolais at around the hour time frame. At 2 hours the texture filled out across the pallete and it turned into a really nice mineral driven red.
Day 2 last glass. Really came together nicely. Solid Cab Franc Going to be really nice in a year or so or decant to have with dinner
87-88pts
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6/21/2011 - rehiltz wrote: 85 Points
Bright ruby red in color with excellent clarity. Typical Cab Franc floral aromas with some earthy components as well, but not the deep rich aromos you get with new world examples of CF. Much more balanced than a typical new world Cabernet Franc as well, with more acidity and a leaner, lightweight mouthfeel. Decent fruit, but nothing special or overly complex and the finish cuts off quickly. I love Cab Franc and this was my first experience with a Loire Valley bottling. I expected something better, especially given a 90 point WS rating. Perhaps if I seek out some more reputable producers from Chinon I'd like them more.
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6/17/2011 - StefanAkiko wrote: 87 Points
This is the blackest C. Franc from Loire I ever had. The raspberry nose and first impression of Smurf-juice (raspberries) is mis-leading. It develops in the glass and offers quite a wonderful experience of "summery" concentration, marrow and zest without (?) grassy tones. Makes me curious about what will be in some years' time. Maybe a work of a genious. Maybe just serendipitously appealing on the sunny warm day that the mosquitoes manifested themselves up in the North of Sweden :-)
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5/31/2011 - Moselmeister wrote: flawed
Corked bottle...sour cardboard...sad day.
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5/4/2011 - shank wrote: 87 Points
Not much experience with this varietal by itself. Pinot like with a bit of flint and earth. Very nice.
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