Yes, our ripeness levels are going to be greater than the Loire Valley’s for red wines, as a matter of course, but we harvest early (for us) to minimize skin maturity and potential color coming from the skins. We harvested at 21.5 Brix and got alcohol levels of 12.5.
Another worthwhile read! Thanks for breaking down the recent vintages re "Drink or Hold". I rearranged my small cache of Loire Cab Francs accordingly. And as you and Tom noted: love the cooler years. PS Did you sample the Hureau?
Thank you as always for your thoughtful comment, Michael! Love those cooler years too! I did have a lovely tasting with Philippe Vatan of Hureau, and loved the whole line up. In fact, the 2022 Lisagathe was probably my favourite wine of the trip (if I had to just pick one). One to look forward to when it’s released!
Wonderful write-up of your trip. I’m not jealous by nature, but man…I wish I could have been there! On the Cab Franc Blanc subject, we are bottling our second release in a few days and look forward to sharing it with you. All stainless steel in the elevage, but the variety has a natural heft to it in the mouth, even without contribution from skins or neutral oak.
Very cool! Remember you mentioning you have done a blanc de franc. Super keen to try it. I would suspect you’re getting a bit more ripeness where you are, which would also help to fill out the profile a bit, not necessarily requiring wood aging. The ripeness levels in the Loire, in particular, are quite a bit lower, so they tend to benefit from that wood élevage.
Sound like you had a fantastic, albeit busy, few days! Such a great opportunity to taste so many awesome wines!! Personally 2021 is a favourite vintage of mine - love the cooler years and how that shows in Cab Franc (and Chenin for that matter). It's really interesting to see so many producers looking to Blanc de Franc still or sparkling but unfortunately very few of them make it to the UK. Thank you for the suggestions of new producers to keep an eye on!
Thank you, Tom, for your thoughtful comment! I agree, 2021 was a lovely vintage for Cabernet Franc. And if some critics aren’t into it, heck, that’s more for us right?! If you can track down the Clau de Nell white, that might be the one to try. Thanks as always for your enthusiasm and support! 🙏❤️
Yes, our ripeness levels are going to be greater than the Loire Valley’s for red wines, as a matter of course, but we harvest early (for us) to minimize skin maturity and potential color coming from the skins. We harvested at 21.5 Brix and got alcohol levels of 12.5.
Very cool. That makes a lot of sense. I look forward to trying it someday!
Another worthwhile read! Thanks for breaking down the recent vintages re "Drink or Hold". I rearranged my small cache of Loire Cab Francs accordingly. And as you and Tom noted: love the cooler years. PS Did you sample the Hureau?
Thank you as always for your thoughtful comment, Michael! Love those cooler years too! I did have a lovely tasting with Philippe Vatan of Hureau, and loved the whole line up. In fact, the 2022 Lisagathe was probably my favourite wine of the trip (if I had to just pick one). One to look forward to when it’s released!
Wonderful write-up of your trip. I’m not jealous by nature, but man…I wish I could have been there! On the Cab Franc Blanc subject, we are bottling our second release in a few days and look forward to sharing it with you. All stainless steel in the elevage, but the variety has a natural heft to it in the mouth, even without contribution from skins or neutral oak.
Very cool! Remember you mentioning you have done a blanc de franc. Super keen to try it. I would suspect you’re getting a bit more ripeness where you are, which would also help to fill out the profile a bit, not necessarily requiring wood aging. The ripeness levels in the Loire, in particular, are quite a bit lower, so they tend to benefit from that wood élevage.
Sound like you had a fantastic, albeit busy, few days! Such a great opportunity to taste so many awesome wines!! Personally 2021 is a favourite vintage of mine - love the cooler years and how that shows in Cab Franc (and Chenin for that matter). It's really interesting to see so many producers looking to Blanc de Franc still or sparkling but unfortunately very few of them make it to the UK. Thank you for the suggestions of new producers to keep an eye on!
Thank you, Tom, for your thoughtful comment! I agree, 2021 was a lovely vintage for Cabernet Franc. And if some critics aren’t into it, heck, that’s more for us right?! If you can track down the Clau de Nell white, that might be the one to try. Thanks as always for your enthusiasm and support! 🙏❤️