Wine Tasting Notes

ON THE NOSE:

Pleasant nose and definitely different. I smell obvious green pepper, some mint that reminds me of Ti-d-bowl crystals we used when I was a kid, and some black pepper. After more breathing some semi-sweet cream comes through, as well as some expected cherry, not too ripe. Overall this Bourgeuil offers a pleasant nose for a Cabernet Franc, quite complex and enticing.

ON THE PALATE:

Initial response, right after popping the cork, is “mmmmm … I like this!” Yes, the green pepper comes through, but very, very refined. Sometimes that green pepper aroma smells more like a pizza, but not here. Here it is mixed with some nice pepper taste, and even some tomato-juice, which mixes nice, of course, with the green pepper aspect. The balance seems wonderful, even after just opening this baby, with fresh tannins and very crisp acidity. Still, it’s early for this bottle, so let’s be patient and see what it brings along the way . . .

After a few hours the tannins round out nicely and become smooth and mild, but present. The acidity remains high, but tonight I don’t mind as I have been drinking some Italian wines lately whose acidity has been plastering my upper palate. This is Cabernet Franc old-world style, to be sure. I like occasionally drinking varietals like this so that I know more precisely its addition to a blend, which is my primary experience with the Cabernet Franc grape (i.e. as a small-percentage blend). I’ve had some 100% Cabernet Franc that is horrible (especially one from Virginia), and very difficult to even smell, let alone hold in the mouth or swallow, but that problem does not exist here. The French sure know how to make great wine from the Cab Franc grape, complex (something also missing from the Virginia contender I had) and elegant.

As this wine matures in the glass some sweetness is evident, perhaps milk-chocolate, which really helps balance the vegetal aspects, adding to the complexity and elegance and pushing this one out of the 80-point level up to the 90-point level. This is good stuff, but certainly not for everyone. If you buy or have a bottle of this fine Bourgeuil do yourself a favor and let it breathe for several hours longer than you may otherwise allow. If you are a bona-fide “new-world” style lover ONLY, then this wine is not for you. Darcey likes this wine less well than me, but we have another bottle and when we drink it I am going to let it breathe for five hours, at least, before even letting her sniff it! I think she’ll like it better next time! At $16 this is a decent value for a French wine, and it is well deserving of my 90-point rating. Although not my favorite style of wine I am quite happy that I bought two bottles; it’s a nice break from the norm. It’s worth a try for any “old-world” lover, or even liker.

Thanks for reading. Drink smart, don’t drink crap, and try new things!

(Click here for an explanation of our ratings ...)

Our Rating: 90

Would we drink it again?

Yes, especially as we already have another bottle; I am looking forward to drinking it again. Darcey, however, is less excited than me.

Would we buy it again?

Probably not, though if it were on sale for $12 or so I would probably pick up another few bottles. At $16 there are simply too many others I would rather try instead.

Winemaker's notes

This wine is 100% Cabernet Franc which was harvested from vines ranging in age from 15 years to 35 years old. It went under an aggressive pre-harvest triage, de-stemmed prior to fermentation and an 8-10 day maceration. Aged in stainless steel tanks for 7-9 months this is a clean, bright, pure expression of Cabernet Franc that really sings on its own or with the fresh flavors of spring!

Other Tasting Notes

I find it interesting to note the similarities and differences between these tasting notes and my own.

90 Points - Wine Spectator

"Solid, with lots of gutsy briar, black olive, black currant and tobacco flavors that pump through the finish, which puts it all together. Drink now through 2008. 3,000 cases made."

91 Points - Gary Vaynerchuk

"COLOR-ridiculous bright, vibrant fluorescent purple; NOSE-nice vegetal, obvious black pepper, green & red peppers coming through strong, nice mint aspect, polished, hint of cinnamon; TASTE-V8 juice w/ Tabasco, little chocolate which brings a nice roundness & sweetness, this is good juice, WOW, very complex & rich, great chocolate, great dill, great red & green peppers combining flawlessly, tremendous value for $16."

About the Bourgueil Region

Bourgueil is a terroir of red wine, similar to Chinon. You need to be an expert to distinguish the one from the other. This is because Bourgueil and Chinon share the same terroir specificity, history and wine making tradition. It seems that some Bourgueil wines mature longer than their Chinon neighbor. Specially the ones coming from the south of the appellation and called "vins de cotes". Bourgueil is often compared to the wines from Médoc in Bordeaux. Cabernet grapes are used to make both wines.

Head northwest out of Chinon, past the huge golf ball-like structure of the EDF Centre Nucléaire, across the Loire and you will quickly arrive in Bourgueil. After Chinon, this is the Touraine's second great red wine appellation, together with St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil just down the road. These two appellations do hide in the shadow of their near neighbour, I suspect partly because the pronunciation of Chinon is more readily obvious. The wines here can be excellent.

The two appellations lie over eight communes, all of which are eligible for Bourgueil, although St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil applies only to the commune of that name. It may sound rather lazy of me to say so, but many aspects of these two wines are as for Chinon. The wines, red or rose (no white), are exclusively Cabernet Franc, and the rendement de base is set the same, at 55 hl/ha. The terroir is very similar, with areas of tuffeau as well as sandy, gravelly zones; this is true even of the commune of St-Nicolas. Some wines, therefore, perform well in the cellar, whereas others are lighter and more intended for early, fruit-fuelled drinking.

The difference between Chinon and Bourgueil is thus difficult to elucidate. Each of the appellations, which were all legally defined in 1937, produces a similar set of wines with similar flavour profiles and similar markets. Tasted blind, I do not pretend to be able to distinguish one from the other, especially with the diversity offered by the matrix of terroir, vintage and a myriad of individual vignerons. It might be correct to describe the wines of Bourgueil as more rustic, but this is not universally true, and it is only once the label is revealed that all really becomes clear. In Bourgueil look for Joël Taluau, although I have also enjoyed the wines of Cognard-Taluau and Jacques Mabileau. In Bourgueil the top names include Pierre-Jacques Druet, Domaine de la Lande, Pierre Breton, Yannick Amirault, Clos de l'Abbaye (I have fond memories of visiting the small vineyard here, rented out by the Sisters of Saint-Martin) and Audebert et Fils (specifically for the domaine rather than the négoce wines).

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2005 Frederic Mabileau Les Rouilleres, St. Nicolas de Bourgeuil