- Basic info: Vieilles Vignes Chinon, Cabernet Franc, Chinon, France, 2014
- Type: Red
- Price estimate: $15 (from Chamber Street Wines)
- Look: dark red, almost blackberry in color and opaque. Legs not noticeable early, but becomes more prominent as the wine warms and opens.
- Smell: Cherry and red candy
- Taste: Not much of a specific taste up front, but tart with a little black cherry, spice and mineral notes after a few seconds. Medium finish, but not many layers.
- Conclusions: I liked this wine. It was a good, drinking wine. It was easy to sip and didn’t require a lot of thinking to enjoy. It isn’t very memorable, but still a lovely wine.
- Other notes: My first experiences with Cab Franc were not good – tree bark and dirt were the descriptions that come to mind, but a few of the recent Cab Francs have changed my mind. they can be more fruit forward (not sweet) than earthy and it is definitely worth seeking them out.
- From the bottle: No bottle notes, but from Chamber Street Wines, “The delicious Chinon Vielles Vignes of Patrick Lambert is from 55 year old vines on sandy clay soils over limestone. Hand harvested and fermented with wild yeasts, the wine gets 12 months of aging in oak barrels. The wine shows a deep red/black color and ripe blackberry and strawberry aromas with pepper, earth and citrus. The palate shows earthy blackberry and strawberry compote with prune and bitter chocolate with firm citrus acids.” 12.5% alcohol by volume.
Sixteen Paws 