I’ll definitely try some Loire valley wines very soon… Thanks you so much Gary for making us discover great wines from all over!

Cheers!

I am completely in love with the Loire right now – Borgueil, Chinon, Vouvray, Savennieres – the entire gang, so this show was a blast for me. My regular wine shop is really well stocked in Loire wines, and they happened to have the ’05 Amirault Borgueil. I split it with some friends after work today, and boy oh boy, was this wine built specifically for me. I agree with Gary – extremely vegetal with a mouthfeel that made me think of tomato flesh and cherry flesh… the chocolate in this tastes akaline, if that makes sense. If there is one thing that Gary could have played up, I think that this was a very well integrated wine, expecially for the complexity. Seek this wine out!

QOTD-Most definitely will find one and enjoy it!! I have always loved Cab Franc and when I talk about it to people they’ve never heard of it!! My friend from Cali first introduced it to me years ago and I fell in love with it!!

Great pick GV!!!

hey gary;
great show; love!!! loire valley whites and reds (not the sweet ones).
I DID have a Chinon ROSE!!! this weekend; it was on sale, and was spectacular.
very light strawberries in nose and color, but a wonderful smooth flavor profile that went well beyond the nose. exceptional wine. 2004 Droguet chinon rose.
love the show; ordered and had the petite chablis you reviewed; spot on and a huge QPR!

I am digging Loire valley wines also. Sancerre has been among them.

QOTD: Just picked up a Bourgueil I will try this weekend. Will leave a comment after I try it.

Awesome show!

QOTD: YES. Going to actually try to get some for tonight (Valentine’s Day) as I would love to try a Cab Franc and my wife loves the vegetal component on her wines! I will let you know what I find.

Hey Gary,

I love Loire reds. Such amazing QPRs. This weekend I’m going to take to our wine meeting a 1997 old vine Bourgueil and a 2005 of the same wine. It’ll be fun to compare and to see a hugely underrepresented region.

Keep it up bringing to us new regions and grapes!

QOTD: I Promise to try a Loire red this weekend! Although I’m a bit hesitant since the whole celery, radishes, brussel sprout, funk d’funk (?sp) is weirding me out. I think I’m def a “fruit bomby, new world kind of girl”. BUT – I’m willing to give it a try. Let’s see what I find on my way home tonight…

Hey GV,

I promise to try a Cab Franc from the Loire region. To date the only Cab Francs I’ve sampled have all been new world (or part of a blend). I’m doing my best to expand the wine-regions I’m sampling and here’s a great opportunity.

I’ll report back.

I will be treking in the backcountry this weekend. How does Cab Franc hold up in a nalgene bottle?

Have done, will do, always a big fan of the old world veggie/funk’d’funk wines.

Gary, you forgot Long Island Cabernet Franc! With a lot of 2005’s out there now, and the 2007’s coming soon (both awesome years) you can find some great wine. Pretty much all of them retail under $25 too. I have only had one Loire red, it was a Chinon without much going on. Retailed for about $20, and was a definite pass because it was ultra light in body and aroma. I will seek some more out though. You definitely have me sold on them!

Well, I found a Cab Franc to try for the first time tonight. I found a 2003 Chinon Baronnie Madeleine. Decanted for about an hour. Tried first glass without any food. Vegetal on the nose and to the taste–funky like you said. Honestly, did not really like it. Then had it with dinner and WOW, this wine does go well with food. My wife really enjoyed the Cab Franc with dinner and without. Always said she had “better taste” then I did 😉
Gary, thanks again for getting us to expand our pals. Did so tonight and was impressed with what we found. My wife, who is very new to wine, said that we found a “keeper”.

qotd: picked up a bottle of 2005 Domaine de la Chanteleuserie Bourgueil Cuvée Alouettes (imported by Kermit Lynch). some veggies on the nose, more classic blue/blackberries otherwise, ridiculous smooth mouthfeel & a kinky chalky finish that i really dig. REDUNKULOUS QPR (for me) at $14 a bottle.

safe to say that i would NOT have thought of trying this w/out your prodding. so, tiresome though it may be for you to hear it over & over again, thank you for helping me expand the boundaries of my wine comfort box. thank you very much.

QOTD (continued from a few days ago): Just opened up a bottle of Domaine du Grand Bouqueteau Chinon 2005 100% Cabernet Franc. Very surprised at how new world this wine is. Not horrible at all, very fruit forward….lots of red cherries and raspberries. Alcohol is integrated very nicely. It feels as if the fruit overpowers it a bit much, which i guess is not bad but i was hoping for a bit more tannins. Finish is nice though….1min+. For a $13 bottle, its not horrible…especially as it tastes like some Napa wines I’ve had for $30-$40. Maybe next time I’ll seek out a bit of a higher quality loire red.

Definitely looking forward to a ’00 Madiran for tomorrow night. Much more my style with huge tannins. hopefully it opens up a bit though.

–RH

I am on board with Gary on this episode. Cab franc is one of my favorite wines. Anyone who loves wine should try it. And I have to ssay I love Gary’s unabashed enthusiasm on this show and how animated and downright hilarious he can be when describing the wines. Great show.

Ok, I love Washington State Cab Franc and have dozens in the cellar but on your word I’m bringing up a 2005 Domaine du Pas St. Martin “Saumur” for this weekend. Vegetables eh? I think I’ll still prefer the dark chocolate and spice of an Owen Sullivan or Barrister Cab Franc, but I’ll give it a shot.

Carbernet Franc is my new favorite wine grape. And Iâ??m not sure why. For some reason I really enjoy the taste. Usually used as a intermediate grape in bordeauxâ??s Cab Franc carries complexity better than any grape I know. Of course there are exceptions, such as Douro from Portugal. But Cab Franc really has a way of getting your pallet into the earth, smelling all the intricacies that go into wine making. My introduction, for which I am sorry that it wasnâ??t French, came from a really lovely Napa Valley wine. I have been knocking Napa of late, but god damn this wine is amazing. The nose has hints of cedar, tobacco, and rose petals, with a really nice caramel undertone. The taste is really hard to pin down, and I am still working on it. But I get plums, tobacco, hints of black pepper, and a little oak, which rounds out the wine really nice. My tasting notes are kind of vague, but I really enjoyed it. It definitely was not a cheap bottle of wine, but every once in a while you have to splurg. I think the next time I drink it I will serve it with Short Ribs that are cooked in a chile coffee red wine sauce. Balla Balla Balla. I know. But I just wanted to give you a little insight.

I will try a Cab Franc this weekend!

UNBELIEVABLE! I just found a bottle of Yannick Amirault Bourgueil La Coudraye 2003 here in Pakistan !! I’m gonna pop it this weekend. Will let you know how it was.
Also found a 2006 Bouchard Pere & Fils La Vignee Bourgogne Pinot Noir and a 2004 Bonterra Shiraz-Carignane (Cali organic). I’ve never heard of the carignane grape so had to buy it. I’ll likely try that one tonite.

YES I WILL! And I’m coming to buy it today!

I’m down with the Old World as well, although there is a lot of good stuff from Cali, but I too hate the oak monster! Oak is bad.

Gary

Great mission for the weekend. I’m personally a real fan of Cabernet Franc, even though I’m from England I fell for it through an american wine! Have managed to track down some Yannick Amirault St-Nicolas de Bourgueil for this weekend – a La Mine 2005 and a Les Malgagnes 2005.

I am with you on the Cab Franc Gary, love the Loire!

“English” green peas – what other sort of green peas are there?

QOTD – Note sure, I do have one C-F about ready for drinking, the Marchesseau Fils 2003 Bourgueil (and another Bourgueil and 2 Chinons for the next 2-3 years) but I’m not really ready for it yet. I’ll try and remember to come back to this ep’ when I do pop it.

I am so there with Cab Franc. The Loire is the Cab Franc capital of the world! I will go out and get a few because that’s what I do anyway, but for you too GV. Cali’s are good I’m not as opposed to a fruit bomb now and then. Usually a Cab Franc is never a BOMB even form Cali. To me Long Island NY Cab Franc’s are the next best thing to the Loire.