Wine Blogging Wednesday #44 – French Cabernet Franc
This month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday entry is hosted by an obscure wine store owner named Gregg Vandercharles or somesuch? heh no, Gary Vaynerchuk of course the ridonculously popular host of video blog Wine Library TV. This month’s theme is Cabernet Franc from France. I had some help selecting a wine during my visit to Wine Library this past weekend from an accommodating distributor whose name I didn’t catch. I was aware that this varietal had a reputation for having overly vegetal flavor characteristics and wasn’t wild about drinking liquid broccoli, so he selected one for me where the fruit was generally expected to be more forward. Not sure if that has to do with the appellation of Saumur-Champigny in general or the producer Thierry Germain in particular. The wine he picked out for me: 2005 Thierry Germain Saumur-Champigny. 100% Cab Franc. Saumur-Champigny is an appellation in the Loire Valley. Label says: Mis en bouteille a la propriete pour Thierry Germain Selection (49).
So I took the bottle out of my handy new 28-bottle wine refrigeration unit, popped and poured it. I think I know what broccoli and bell pepper smell like, but I don’t sniff any here. More like black cherries and maybe leather and perhaps a bit of minty herbal eucalyptus. Mouth drying tannins but not too much. Medium-bodied, or maybe a little lighter. Nice drink. I’d give it an 87 in CellarTracker.
Thanks to GV for an interesting choice.
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I write about wine events, wine media, wine happenings, and ocassionally post film reviews. I live in eastern MA and usually work in IT, most recently as a Website Developer/Marketer. Email me at luvallgems@gmail.com.
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Bloviatrix 
Wow!
Another Thierry Germain. Which one did you taste? Is it the entry cuvee (Domaine) that you drank? I drank a 2001 Terres Chaudes and share similar notes.
Glad you like it.
Thanks for your comment. Several people tasted this wine for WBW #44… according to this blog, a negociant made this bottling ‘for’ Thierry Germain.. this cuvee isn’t from Domaine des Roches Neuves:
http://wickerparker.blogspot.com/2008/04/for-wbw-44-french-cabernet-franc.html
Yes, now mystery solved.
Thanks for visiting my blog, Bloviatrix, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that you reviewed the exact same bottle I did. I had the entry Roches Neuves ’05 cuvee (w/ reddish-purple label) last fall and found more there there, if you know what I mean — similar to this negociant bottling but racier, with more explicit mint, tobacco and sharp green olive on the nose. So a bit more vegetal, but not quite liquid broccoli. Serve it to friends and it’ll slap them upside the head, whether they like it or not. Check it out if it’s available!
The pleasure was mine – Thanks for the heads-up re: the entry Roches Neuves ’05 cuvee – I definitely will try it some time! Sometimes my head needs a good slapping.