Thinning that late does little for phenolic development though.

Hey guys, all this talk of Chinon the other night got me thinking about giving y'all a write-up about our recent trip to the Loire Valley in France. We spend 4 days in the LV prior to hitting up Paris for a week and while visiting the sites we hit up 3 wineries:


Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups/Domaine de la Butte (winemaker Jacky Blot) - Montlouis-sur-Loire AOC

Jacky Blot is known for his Chenin Blanc but also produces some tasty Cab Franc under the name Domaine de la Butte. He lives in Montlouis but has some vines in Vouvray right across the river. There are some weird AOC rules recently passed in Vouvray that prohibit him from calling his Vouvray-grown grapes Vouvray because he makes the wine in Montlouis. Instead, he has to list them as Vin de France (These kinds of rules don't exist in most other AOCs in France). Kind of interesting- some of the wine laws in France are baffling to me; very political. This article outlines it more detail: http://punchdrink.com/articles/montlouis-sur-loire-vs-vouvray-wine-chenin-blanc-battleground/

Highlights from the tasting at Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups:

NV Triple Zero Montlouis Petillant Chenin Blanc: Jacky's sparkling wine. This is a Brut Nature style wine--no added dosage after second fermentation and spending time on the lees. This was really special. Bought a bottle at the winery and consumed a few days later. Will definitely be on the lookout for another bottle here in the states.

2014 Clos de Venise Monopole Chenin Blanc VdF: This is grown in Vouvray but must be called Vin de France due to the AOC laws. Grabbed a bottle of this at the winery. A good alternative if you can't snag a bottle of the Clos de Mosny as they are structured very similarly. I don't think this will have quite the longevity of the Mosny but it can certainly last. Won't be drinking this one for quite a while and I think it will only improve with time.

2014 Bourgueil Mi-Pente Cab Franc (Domaine de la Butte): Cab Franc grown at higher elevation on Domaine de la Butte. Pure, focused CF--just had this at the winery but I think would be even better with food.

2014 Clos de Mosny Monopole Chenin Blanc Montlouis-sur-Loire: definitely the best of the bunch. This wine is highly allocated and was only able to get a taste at the winery. Bummed I wasn't able to buy a bottle from the winery, but luckily I found it a few days later in Paris. I'm holding on to this one for at least 10 years.


Domaine Bernard Baudry - Chinon AOC (winemaker: Matthieu Baudry)

This is where we hit the biggest language barrier. I speak almost no French and my wife only speaks a little. The woman who did our tasting also didn't speak much English so there wasn't a lot of talking during this tasting. She was still very nice and opened up their cave for us after the tasting and that was pretty awesome. They also let us walk through the vines after as well.

Highlights from our tasting at Bernard Baudry:

2013 Le Clos Guillot Chinon: not from particularly old vines (est. 1993 to 2000) but very well made and has great structure. I've had this a few times here in the states--this vintage needs at least 5 more years to truly open up.

2013 Le Croix Boissee Chinon: Baudry's top cuvee and it definitely shows. This had incredible length. Bought a bottle and will be putting in the cellar for at least a decade, maybe more. Baudry's wines are truly something special if you can get your hands on one that has some age on it.


Domaine des Roches Neuves (winemaker - Thierry Germain): -- Saumur-Champigny AOC

Roches Neuves was definitely the best tasting we went to. We tasted with Thierry's son Louis and it lasted well over an hour. We were able to taste through almost the entire portfolio (I think the only thing we didn't taste was their amphora-aged wines because they currently didn't have any available). They produce wines made with Cab Franc and Chenin Blanc.

Highlights from our tasting at Domaine des Roches Neuves:

2014 Terres Chaude Cab Franc Saumur-Champigny: Wow, this was really good. Intense minerality. If I remember correctly, these grapes are grown in the "Les Poyeux" vineyard in Saumur. The most famous Cab Franc producer in the world, Clos Rougeard, also has a cuvee that uses grapes sourced from this vineyard.

2013 La Marginale Cab Franc Saumur-Champigny: Like cherry pie in a glass. Incredible. Low-yield CF with intense flavor concentration.

2013 Franc de Pied Cab Franc Saumur-Champigny: This was cool because there aren't a lot of wine makers growing Franc de Pied rootstock anymore. Franc de Pied is original French Cab Franc rootstock--I think it's the only one (or one of the only ones) left that is originally from France and not rootstock that came from American rootstock after the Phylloxera epidemic that terrorized most of the vineyards in France in the late 18th/early 19th century. Like the American rootstock, Franc de Pied is also naturally Phylloxera-resistant (when planted in sandy soil). Kinda cool.

2013 Les Memoires Cab Franc Saumur-Champigny: One of the best Cab Francs I have ever tasted. Vines are 110 years old. This has so many years of life ahead of it. I would love to taste this in 20 or 30 years.

2012 Clos Romans Chenin Blanc Saumur-Champigny: The best Chenin Blanc I have ever tasted, hands down. Comes from vines in a Clos that dates back to the 11th century. The vines aren't that old but this wine truly is something special. According to Louis, there are only like 50 or so cases made of this wine each vintage. Vines are planted at a higher density per hectare using selection massale.

I had previously had wine from all the wine makers we visited. When I mentioned that to the owners/workers they always seemed to open up. It went a long way with them to know that I had already had their wine and enjoyed it (This led to more wine being offered as well as tours of the caves at Baudry and Roches Neuves. Started with three pours at Domaine de la Taille Aux Loups, mentioned that I had tasted their wine before, and that resulted in tasting their entire portfolio).

I highly recommend going to the Loire if you are in France, especially if you are planning on visiting Paris anyway. It's only a few hours drive away and that part of the country is really gorgeous (good wine and good people too).

Doesn't HEB have a Napa wine sale around this time of year?

They just had "Cabs for Dads" on Father's Day, so not sure when the next is?

That sounds like an amazing trip, thanks for sharing. How easy/difficult was it to set up the appointments? My impression is that the French wineries aren't as open to tourism, but would love to get your thoughts.

We actually didn't set up any appointments ahead of time (I'm sure they would have made an appointment for us but I speak very little French and I think it would have just been confusing for both parties). Both Domaine de la Taille aux Loups and Bernard Baudry have hours listed on Google. We went to Roche Neuves because the woman who did our tasting at Baudry confirmed for us that they were open that afternoon. We tried to plan other things to do in the area in case a wine tasting didn't work out. Honestly, it's kind of hit and miss. I tried emailing a few places before our trip to set up a tasting (Phillipe Tessier, Clos du Tue Boeuf, Christian Venier) but never heard back. We also went to a few places only to find out they weren't open to the public (Frantz Saumon in Montlouis, Antoine Sanzay in Saumur-Champigny).

The spots we went to probably don't do a whole lot of wine tourism, but all three were open to it and they were very accommodating. I swear the lady at Baudry thought we were lost and just needed directions. Once I assured her I had come to taste their wine specifically she was much more open.

That's a very cool trip! I'm jealous!

So of my R-M allocation email - which cabs are can't miss? Which can I pass on? No experience with this winemaker yet - ordering solely off of the recommendations on this thread, so no pressure!!!

Thomas Brown is a pretty good winemaker. When I asked my buddy up there which I should buy if I could only buy 3, he responded: Panek, Calistoga, Panek. so there's that. Lore is from a great spot and when I asked about that, he said it was great too and should shine with some age. And we always buy a B. Theriot chard as well.

I had a glass of the '12 Calistoga at Pappas not long ago and it was just awesome.

So what did that glass at Pappas cost?

about 1/6th of the bottle I bought for my wife!

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Yeah, apparently as cotton farmers out there are learning they can grow grapes for much less water, they're also having to learn that (unlike growing cotton) the goal isn't to grow all the grapes they can!

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ha! exactly. he mentioned that was a big mindset change. quality over quantity.

Rivers Marie just got released? Well crap I guess I didn't get any.

2014 Quivet Kenefick Ranch Sarah, 75% whole cluster. A bit tight but a typically good Mike Smith wine!

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Rivers Marie just got released? Well crap I guess I didn't get any.

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When did you sign up? You should probably reach out to Will at the winery and see if there is any left. I think he's on vacation this week but he is pretty good about getting back to people.

Business bud just gave me a 2009 Husic Cab. You guys know this stuff? NOT cheap I see.

It tends to be a bigger cab. I wouldn't age it much longer, so go get a fatty ribeye to eat with it and pop that cork.

Inwood Estates is number 50 in the Top 101 Wineries in America! Top 101 Wineries in America

that is great pub for Inwood.

B. Baudry makes some beautiful whites!

we recently returned from napa valley. i agree with the spring mtn comment much earlier. we like heitz wines ( first sampled at restaurant in disneyworld ). vineyard 7&8 was also tasty.

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Rivers Marie just got released? Well crap I guess I didn't get any.

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When did you sign up? You should probably reach out to Will at the winery and see if there is any left. I think he's on vacation this week but he is pretty good about getting back to people.

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I'm an idiot. I misspelled my email when I signed up. Will took care of me!

Are there any good to great BYOB restaurants in DFW?

Urbano Cafe in Dallas is great and nice-ish in terms of atmosphere. Prince Lebanese Grill in Arlington is an all-time fav but very casual, was on Diners Drive-in and Dives FWIW.

20 Feet Deep - Dallas, casual
Apparently MoMo Itatian is, Dallas, nice-ish, not typical red-sauce Italian

Wow x eleventy billion. Awesome pics.

I'm helping a friend study for his Level I Somm test. That means I get to drink a lot with him. Sunday night's theme was Piedmont. I now have one Italian wine region that I know somewhat well.


Food that I made to go with it was bagna cauda, tajarin pasta with dried porcini mushroom sauce, chicken cacciatore, and cauliflower bordelaise.

We are still here, but if you get the chance to attend a dinner hosted by Mike and Leah Smith, it's a must do.

Engaging people, great wine, great food.

Oh, and the opportunity to buy sold out wines

Very cool! You should study along side him, I'm thinking Level 1 would be pretty straight forward for you.

Like, I bet you already know the other two names for nebbiolo in a couple of appellations in the Piedmont!

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Very cool! You should study along side him, I'm thinking Level 1 would be pretty straight forward for you.

Like, I bet you already know the other two names for nebbiolo in a couple of appellations in the Piedmont!

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well, those 2 names are on the bottles in his pics, so I'm thinking he knows

I got two out of the three Barbarescos correct. One person brought all three of the older wines, and he thought at least two would be over the hill. One of those was mistaken for a young wine. Everything was very good.

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Very cool! You should study along side him, I'm thinking Level 1 would be pretty straight forward for you.

Like, I bet you already know the other two names for nebbiolo in a couple of appellations in the Piedmont!

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well, those 2 names are on the bottles in his pics, so I'm thinking he knows

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I can't find them on the labels:

"spanna" (in Gattinara DOCG and Ghemme DOCG)

also

"Chiavennasca" (Valtellina DOC which is in Lombardy)

I just found a bottle of 2013 Konsgaard The Judge chard at a wine shop in Truckee, CA. I didn't get offered any so I bought a bottle. I'm pretty pumped!

They also had a 2013 Scarecrow but I passed.

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We actually didn't set up any appointments ahead of time (I'm sure they would have made an appointment for us but I speak very little French and I think it would have just been confusing for both parties). Both Domaine de la Taille aux Loups and Bernard Baudry have hours listed on Google. We went to Roche Neuves because the woman who did our tasting at Baudry confirmed for us that they were open that afternoon. We tried to plan other things to do in the area in case a wine tasting didn't work out. Honestly, it's kind of hit and miss. I tried emailing a few places before our trip to set up a tasting (Phillipe Tessier, Clos du Tue Boeuf, Christian Venier) but never heard back. We also went to a few places only to find out they weren't open to the public (Frantz Saumon in Montlouis, Antoine Sanzay in Saumur-Champigny).

The spots we went to probably don't do a whole lot of wine tourism, but all three were open to it and they were very accommodating. I swear the lady at Baudry thought we were lost and just needed directions. Once I assured her I had come to taste their wine specifically she was much more open.

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Sounds like a great adventure, I appreciate you sharing!

I can't wait to get back to Tuscany. Someday...