The Cellar: 3 French Wines at Great Prices
Friday, March 04, 2011
It would be impossible to highlight all the wines of France in one weekly review, so I have decided to wait with the Rhone, Bordeaux and Burgundy, and highlight three smaller, but equally important wine-producing areas of France. This week: a Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley area, a Gewurztraminer from the northeast region of Alsace and a Gamay based wine from the southernmost part of Burgundy known as Beaujolais. If you are looking to expand your palate, this week's reviews are for you. Grab your passport and prepare your taste buds.
2009 Domaine de la Chanteleuserie Cabernet Franc, Bourgueil, France
The backstory: The wine growing region of Bourgueil is situated across the Loire River from Chinon, the most famous Cabernet Franc producing region in France. Domaine de la Chanteleuserie has been in the Boucard family for seven generations and wine maker Thierry Boucard’s vineyards are ideally located on a plateau protected from the northern winds by a large forest and benefit from full southern exposure. In France,
location and price goes hand in hand. Had this wine been from across the river in Chinon it would have cost twice as much. This wine is imported by renowned importer Kermit Lynch, who is famous for finding great wines at very reasonable prices.
The wine: The 2006, 2007 and 2008 vintages of this wine all received 90 point scores from Wine Spectator Magazine, so when I saw that the 2009 vintage was available on the local market I couldn’t wait to taste it. Cabernet Franc is definitely not for everyone, but if you are interested in expanding your palate or if you have never tasted a Cabernet Franc before, this is one for you. On the nose I detect dry fig, some rusty nails and damp earth. On the palate the wine comes across very focused, however the flavors are neither sweet or fruity, but herbaceous and acidic, especially on the mid-palate. It finishes nice and long with lingering red currant flavors.
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The backstory: Alsace Willm winery was founded in 1896 by the Willm family. The estate is located approximately 22 miles south of Strasbourg in the town of Barr on the ‘Route du Vin d'Alsace’ (the wine Road of Alsace). In 1930, just as prohibition was repealed, Alsace Willm was the first Alsace producer to export its wines to the United States. Gewurztraminer is the most typical Alsatian wine. The word ‘Gewurz; means “spicy”
in German. This is no coincidence as spice is the main characteristic of the varietal. Gewurztraminer was first grown in Alsace around the 19th century and covers roughly 20% of the vineyards in the region today.The wine: Willm only makes around 1.500 cases of their Reserve Gewurztraminer but I have seen it all around Southern New England, so finding one shouldn’t be difficult. The key to a good Gewurztraminer is balance. There is so much going on in these wines – the flavors are so pungent – that they can get quite overwhelming if they aren’t balanced properly. Thankfully, this wine is. It is very aromatic; fresh peach and lychee dominates the nose. I think a lot of people will think this wine is too sweet, but don’t be fooled. This wine is considered semi-sweet. The sensation of sweetness comes from the massive amount of tropical fruit, which, along side minerality, spice and a hefty dose of acid, are the key flavors and components of this wine.
2008 Domaine Depeuble Pere et Fils Beaujolais
The backstory: The Gamay based Beaujolais wines are known around the world. There are four categories of Beaujolais; Beaujolais Nouveau, which is a simple fruit forward wine released as a celebration of the harvest in the month of November; straight Beaujolais, which contains juice from grapes sourced from all over the Region; 60 villages in all. Then there’s Beaujolais-Villages, which is made from grapes sourced from only
39 villages. At the top of the Beaujolais latter we find Cru Beaujolais which is specific to 10 villages (the wine will have the name of the village on the label). Normally, the more specific you get in terms of the sourcing of the grapes, the more expensive the wine is. But when it comes to Beaujolais the differences are almost insignificant with Nouveau’s ranging from $7-$14 and Cru’s rarely costing twenty bucks more.
The wine: Considering the little price difference between low and high quality Beaujolais, I would normally review a Cru. But when I noticed that the 2008 Domaine Depeuble Pete et Fils Beaujolais was another Kermit Lynch Import, I decided to review it. On the initial attack this is a very straight-forward Beaujolais with nice bright red fruit flavors, but the wine quickly turns more complex. There is a smoky component and the fruits turn darker as the wine rushes over my palate. There is also nice acidity and tannins in this wine, a trait that is unusually reserved for a (on paper) better quality Beaujolais.
Enjoy!!
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