2020 Dominique Joseph - Domaine Le Petit Saint Vincent Saumur-Champigny, France, Loire, Wine Review

This is Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley in France. It is from the wineries youngest vines and aged in concrete. Ruby in color with some purple and blue hues, mostly clear and bright. The nose is sweaty/dusty with cherries and strawberries and a bit of black pepper. Medium tannins. Tart acidity. On the palate, cherries with a touch of strawberries. A streak of heat on the finish. This is nice on its own but really needs some food. It would be nice with some fatty meats, say a Lamb Stew. Drink over the next five to eight years.

Grade:

A-

Score:

Vintage:

2020

Current Price:

$25.00USD

Rosé du Loire? Mais oui! Cabernet Franc’s Lighter Shade

The Bay Area is experiencing an unseasonable hot spell. And here, like most places suffering under the unrelenting rays of our nearest star, rosé is king. But not just any rosé. Survey the bottles of blush pinch-hitting for rouge in wine enthusiasts’ lineups these days, and you’ll find a predominance of wine from Southern France . And rightly so – no region does rosé better than the appellations bordering the sun-lit Cote d’Azur. But Provence is not the only show in town. Other regions, not only in France but also in Spain, Germany, and Italy, produce delightful examples of warm weather’s red-substitute.

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Life is Like a Mixed Case of Loire Cabernet Franc (or, A Wild Night at Solano Cellars)

If you’re looking for a wild night, grab a few bottles of Loire Cabernet Franc, call a couple of friends, and swing by your local wine shop. I kid you not. My wife and I did this very thing yesterday evening, and it proved to be one crazy ride. For the normal among us – those who prefer to spend their evenings at the theater, clubs, house parties, or sporting events – a Cabernet Franc tasting may not sound terribly entertaining.

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Borgueil: The Unpronounceable, Unforgettable King of Cabernet Franc

When I think of wine that is interesting, unique, obscure, high-value, and small-production, I think of Borgueil – the small wine region in France’s Loire Valley that produces almost exclusively Cabernet Franc.

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2020 Château Yvonne Saumur-Champigny La Folie, France, Loire, Wine Review

Vintage:

2020

Score:

Grade:

B+

Current Price:

$25.00USD

Ruby in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black cherries with a bit of a cough syrup quality. medium bodied. On the palate a very slightly sweet black cherry fruit. Some depth and complexity. Nice finish. This is an easy drinking wine that will be a nice choice with a burger. Drink over the next seven to ten years.

Cheval Blanc: The “First Growth” of the Right Bank

When the wines of Bordeaux were classified in 1855 all of the wines were from the Left Bank of the Gironde River. In fact, with the exception of Haut Brion, which is from Graves, all of the wines classified were from the Medoc. Since that time, the winemaking areas of Bordeaux have greatly expanded. Some of the best wines in Bordeaux are now made on the Right Bank including some of the most expensive wines in the entire world. While there is no official classification system for all of Bordeaux, there can be no doubt that if such a system was implemented today, at least a few Right Bank wineries would make the list. Perhaps no winery deserves the mythical first growth of the Right Bank title more than Cheval Blanc. In fact, the wines of Saint Émilion, a commune on the Right Bank, were ranked in 1955 and Cheval Blanc was one of two that received the highest rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé (A). Those rankings were redone in 1969, 1986, and 1996 and most recently in 2006 (although that ranking is the subject of an ongoing legal dispute not relevant to Cheval Blanc) and Cheval Blanc has remained a First Growth in every subsequent ranking.

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2020 Dominique Joseph - Domaine Le Petit Saint Vincent Saumur-Champigny, France, Loire, Wine Review

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Rosé du Loire? Mais oui! Cabernet Franc’s Lighter Shade

Life is Like a Mixed Case of Loire Cabernet Franc (or, A Wild Night at Solano Cellars)

Borgueil: The Unpronounceable, Unforgettable King of Cabernet Franc

2020 Château Yvonne Saumur-Champigny La Folie, France, Loire, Wine Review

Cheval Blanc: The “First Growth” of the Right Bank