La Belle du Domaine - Saint Nicholas de Bourgueil

 

Cabernet Franc - Val de Loire

 

Cabernet Franc - Dordogne

 

Château D’Agassac 2010, Haut Médoc Cru Bourgeois

 

 

Wine  Château D’Agassac 2010, Haut Médoc Cru Bourgeois Appellation Haut-Medoc Contrôlée 13% (50% Merlot, 47% Cabernat Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc)		Tasting Date 05-04-2023
Appearance	Clear Intensity – deep Colour – garnet Legs/tears - yes
Nose	Clean Intensity – medium Aroma characteristics – Primary: blackberry, blackcurrant, black plum Secondary: vanilla, cedar Tertiary: prune, cooked blackcurrant jam, leather Nose – fully developed
Palate	Sweetness – dry Acidity – high Tannin – high Alcohol – medium Flavour characteristics – Primary: blackberry, blackcurrant, black plum Secondary: vanilla, cedar Tertiary: prune, cooked blackcurrant jam, leather Finish – long
Assessmentof quality	Quality very good. The wine has aged and softened, with wonderful fruit retained but gaining additional complexity.
Level ofreadiness fordrinking	Drink now – fully developed.  Possibly not suitable for further aging. It has been in our cellars for many years, the recommended life (on label) was up to ten years but it has been 13 years. The cork was showing signs of age (difficult to extract in one piece) but wine not tainted.

Chateau Mazails 2011, Medoc

Chateau Mazails 2011, Medoc. Appellation Medoc Controlee. Cru Bourgeois. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot.

Chateau de Brissac, Anjou Villages Brissac

Chateau de Brissac, Anjou Villages Brissac. Appellation Anjou Villages Brissac Controlee. Cabernet Franc. Earthy red.

The appellations Anjou Villages (494 acres) and Anjou Villages Brissac (210 acres) are a selection of the best vineyard parcels within the larger Anjou AOC. The soils are schist with gravel covering in some areas. The climate is temperate maritime, drier over Anjou-Villages Brissac.

Yves Lambert, Domaine de Saint Just, Saumur Champigny 2013

Yves Lambert, Domaine de Saint Just, Saumur Champigny 2013. Appellation Saumur Champigny Controlee. Cabernet Franc. Dry light red - ruby red with dark reflections. Ripe, a powerful nose with candied fruit and pepper. Medium bodied and dry with generous and intense flavour, fruit and spicy.

Antoine Sanzay, Saumur Champigny 2011

Antoine Sanzay, Saumur Champigny 2011. Appellation Saumur Champigny Controlee (created in 1957). Cabernet Franc - light to medium bodied, often with vegetal characteristics, in particular green bell peppers. Sometimes, wrongly identified as unripe Cabernet Sauvignon.

Chateau La Rose Vosel 2011, Lalande de Pomerol

Chateau La Rose Vosel 2011, Lalande de Pomerol (just to the north of Pomerol). The wines of Lalande-de-Pomerol are a 'Bordeaux blend' made predominantly from Merlot, but may also contain Cabernet France, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec.

Les Hauts Buis 2014, Anjou

Les Hauts Buis 2014, Appellation Anjou Controlee. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Serve at 15C. 12.5% ABV.

St Nicolas de Bourgueil, Domaine Eric Bureau

Domaine Eric Bureau, Appellation St Nicolas de Bourgueil Controlee. Sub region of Touraine, in Loire Valley. Enjoy this soft, fruity wine in Roscoff, whilst travelling. Cabernet Franc.

Chateau de Saye - Bordeaux Superior

Chateau de Saye

Bordeaux Superior 2010

Purchased from Marks & Spencer, this Bordeaux Superior was an good complex wine yet it lacked that real excitement that I enjoy in a good wine. It was £9.99 (minus 25% for bulk purchased) and I think I could have bought a much more interesting wine for the same money.

From the label:
About this wine... Winemaker Alain Laubie had made this wine from carefully selected, hand-picked grapes from 30 year old vines near St Ciers d'Abzac, 15km north of Libourne on the Bordeaux right bank. 90% merlot provides fleshy fruit and velvet texture while 10% Cabernet Franc gives a fresh aromatic lift.
At its best .... This kind of full-bodied and structured red works very well with robust red meat dishes, cheeses or even full-flavoured vegetarian dishes.
Marks & Spencer £9.99 (-25%)
Produced and bottled by Maison Sichel, AF 3360, Cenac France.

Chinon - Les Granges 2010

Chinon - Les Granges 2010

Bernard Baudry

I was given this fine Chinon to try by our French Food & Beverage manager, who is passionate about wine and is always keen to encourage my love of French wine. The wine had already been sampled but I was more than happy to enjoy the rest of the bottle at my leisure. I have always enjoyed the red wines produced in the Loire Valley, but they are not always easy to get here in the UK. As a family, we would regularly bring back bottles of Chinon from trips to France.

This was a lovely wine to enjoy on a leisurely Friday evening. It had great colour and a complexity of aromas that was surprising. Mixed with the soft fruit there was an almost contrasting aroma, a counterpoint, something with strong backbone (my beloved described as almost a rubber tyre smell). A real puzzle of a wine - but lovely to savour. It also has a large amount of sediment in the bottle, not something that is allowed in any supermarket specification. An original French wine; and a wine like this is a real pleasure to be puzzled by.

Mis en bouteille a la propriete.
EARL Bernard Baudry.
12.5%
Cabernet Franc
Graviers Argilo Siliceux
Sols travailles sans utilisation des desherbants et d'engrais chimiques.
Vendange manuelle.