~15$US, 100% Cabernet Franc, Bourgueil, Loire Valley, France

The unsung red wines from the Loire Valley tend to be my goto wines when I’m having trouble deciding on a food-wine pairing. They tend to be lighter-bodied than most domestic reds, and less of a gamble in the sub-$20 range in terms of oaking/manipulation/obliteration that can rob a younger wine of it’s food-friendlieness.

The major red grape of the Loire is Cabernet Franc (Cabernet Saugivnon’s old-school Dad - Sauvignon Blanc being the Mom), and in regions like Chinon and Bourgueil the varietal has been taken to great heights in terms of quality and experience. The best of these wines are very age-worthy and in the past they’ve held as much esteem as great Bordeaux. But as daily drinkers, they offer solid values for the old-world palate.

This entry-level Bourgueil is a little shy on the nose, but typical sugar-snap peas and bing cherries come through. The nose is echoed on the palate - but much more lively and snappy - with an over-riding cleanliness to the fruit. Some Bourgueils can get a little “boggy” with wet leaves and soggy tobacco - but this stays out of the muck with bright cherry and some hot spice (cinnamon?) flavors. Great acidity and medium-fine tannins make this terrific with any meat dish that has a lots of vegetables along with it.

Sleek but solid, and not over-the-top in any one aspect.

~$20US, 100% Nebbiolo, Langhe, Piedmont,  Italy

Vibrant ruby color, with some transparency. Lively aromas after about an hour of breathing - yielding black cherry, roses, violets and some wet-stone aromatics. Fairly tannic and upright on the palate, bright and fresh but astringent towards the end. More black cherries and black tea, with a strange latex-balloon component that seemed to come out over time. Medium bodied - (the fruit probaby comes from younger vines and saw very little oak) but a handsome food partner with heftier pastas, veal, or pork.

When this wine was on, it was on - long and effortless. But on day 2, it started to pull apart a bit - the fruit softening a little while the tannins remained firm and separate. A baby Barolo. Drink this wine on the younger side, and with food, and it will bring serious enjoyment.

~$15US, 100% Cabernet Franc, Bougueil, Loire Valley, France

Via Kermit Lynch. Berry patch vs. vegetable garden. Fresh spinach and tart cherries, with a slight bell-pepper aroma. I expected a bit more brawn given the vintage, but the wine proved to be light-medium bodied with surprisingly bright acidity. Dusty tannins smoothed out and sweetened as the wine breathed. Chalky mineral-laden finish. Oh-so-drinkable weeknight food wine - it was empty when I went for that last glass.

Old-skool, old-world Loire Cabernet Franc, for pasta primavera and grilled chicken. Another year or two in bottle would beef up this this mustachioed-vest-wearing-sonumagun-of-a-wine.

~$40US, 100% Syrah, DuBrul Vineyard Yakima Valley, Washington

Luxurious and rich reddish purple. Massive red and black berries on the nose, some ripe plum. A curious lanolin ointment and dried mint components underlying. Mouth-filling body, very round and weighty with an unconscious balance of tannins and acidity. The alcohol nips a little in the midpalate, but the wine is extraordinarily lengthy in the finish.  A slight maple-syrup edge speaks of the oak, which adds to the overall delicious impression.

A generous and satisfying wine, hitting that great sweet spot of complexity and accessibility. This wine makes a great case for Washington’s Syrah potential, and portents great things in the next decade as the vines age and mature. Drink now and through the next 2-3 years to enjoy the freshness and poise.

~$14US, 100% Gamay Noir, Chenas, Cru Beaujolais, France

Ruby color. Pencils and crayons and cherries. Zesty acidity but a lovely round ripeness to the fruit. Complexity via herbal notes in the finish - sage and thyme, with a little woody asparagus. Medium bodied an edge of firm tannins to close the deal. A very fine Chenas with at least  2 more years of upside potential.

~$13US, 100% Cabernet Franc, Saumur, Loire Valley, France

Wine Blogging Wednesday 47 is upon us, and this month the theme is simply the letter ‘S’. Slim pickins in the Bestdrinkever HQ cellar - It was either this Saumur, a Spatburgunder (which just felt wrong), or a choice of Syrahs (too ordinary).  My daughter thought this one looked cool, especially the kitschy alligator-skin capsule that just screamed ‘drink me’.

The Saumur Rouge (Saumur also produces Blancs with Chenin Blanc) poured a deep magenta purple, and had an unmistakable pickled jalepeno pepper spice on the nose. There was something ‘twiggy’ or ‘leafy’ about this wine on the nose and palate - a crispy vegetal/earthiness that overwhelmed any fruit character. A big bolt of acidity and astringent tannins on the backend gave the wine an overall inaccessibility. Food pairing is a must - Just not sure what exactly…maybe rabbit or game with a mushroom ragout? Cheeses? Twigs?

While I routinely enjoy old-world old-school wines, and I prize acidity and earthiness quite a bit - this  didn’t really tickle me as much as I’d expected. Maybe more time in the bottle would help the mid-palate fatten up - but more time in the glass just made it skew more tart and thin. I respect the Chateau’s natural winemaking techniques, non-filtration, and low yields, but I’m just not feeling this particular bottle.

~$15US, 100% Carignan, Vin de Pays des cotes de Thongue, Languedoc, France

The Carignan grape has been quietly awakening in old parcels of land surrounding the Mediterrean for the past decade. The grape was an easy bet in creating the ‘jug-wines’ of 19th and early 20th century - due to the vine’s high production and vigor. Since then, many very old plots have been grafted over to the more ‘marketable’ varieties like Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah.

Luckily, a good amnount remains, and vignerons are focusing on taking advantage of these old, ‘wise’ vines. In Priorat, Carignan’s importance has been recognised as a key component (sometimes sole varietal)  in world-class wines, so long as yields are controlled and the wine is carefully vinified. Similar old plantings exist throughout Southern France, where the same care is being used to restore the vineyards- and wine-making techniques like carbonic maceration and whole-cluster fermentation can improve Carignan’s expressiveness and strength.

All that being said, the 100% Varietal Font de L’Olivier is a solid artisanal French wine for $15. Milk-chocolate covered-cherries give way to a very straight, honestly-structured wine. It begins and ends stronger than the midpalate, but there is enough going on to keep things interesting…like good acidity and big tannins, some secondary herby and licorice flavors. Very dry, even after lots of breathing-time, but moutherwatering finish. The stucture here make this a natural food partner, and I’d go with a fattier meat, like duck or sausages.  Old-word styling - It’s probably not going to convert any hardcore-Shiraz drinkers,  but I’d recommend it to them anyway just to try something out of-the-box/critter-kennel.

~$25US, approx 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah, Gigondas, Southern Rhone, France.

I had fun with this one…Saw the single ‘99 sitting in a bin-end & having read great things about Barruol and the Gigondas appellation but never having the opportunity to try either, I bit. I had intended to pick up a Chateauneuf, but I couldn’t miss an opportunity to try something new.

Popped and decanted on Saturday. Had a sip and it tasted good - but the fruit, alcohol and herbiness seemed out of wack. Ended up drinking beer…Put it back in the bottle after 3-4 hrs in the decanter, recorked and threw it in the fridge.

Sunday afternoon, I took it out of the fridge and let it warm up a touch. Beautiful. The time had softened the wine considerably - to almost Pinot-Noir suppleness. Really exciting stuff coming into play. The Thyme/Sage herbal flavors really locked themselves into sweet strawberry and red cherry juice. Great acidity and medium body. Firm and lengthy finish; after all this playing around, the end-grip balanced the fruit’s fullness perfectly.

After nearly a decade, this wine was showing all kinds of beautiful, and had the cojones to go another 10 in bottle. This is a tough wine, but kinda  tough in it’s principals and resolve more than brute force or brawn.

While Chateauneuf-du-Pape is getting expensive and trendy (though always near and dear),  I’ll be buying up all the older Gigondas that I see, thank you very much. And playing with wine for a day or two can be really rewarding.

~$15US, Gamay / Pinot Noir Blend, Cheverny, Loire Valley, France

Cheverny is one of the many unheralded appellations within the Loire Valley a.k.a. The Garden of France. By appellation law both red and white  wines must be blends - so the actual mix is here unknown, but Gamay Noir and Pino Noir are both in play - predominately Gamay.

After popping there was definitely some barnyard funk and a rustic edge, so I decided to decant to let things blow off. After about an hour, aromas were much more harmonious; obvious cherries and something like the smell of the forest right after a rain…damp and earthy. Home-grown, understated, but over-achieving, like a back-woods guitar prodigy that can play like the devil, but doesn’t realize it’s anything special.

A great food partner with medium-bodied cuisine - nothing too exotic and bold, and nothing too delicate. Grilled pork, salmon, simple pastas, and goat cheeses all would make easy friends.

~$50US, 100% Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain

This is the 2nd wine of the cult-garagiste-super-hyped Dominio de Pingus, in Ribera del Duero. Peter Sisseck brings a Bordelais heritage and strict selection with obnoxiously low yields to the Tempranillo grape. I just saw the 05’s come out, so I was temped to try this bottle. I popped and decanted about an hour before tasting.

It just smelled big - an overscaled bowl of cherries and strawberries like a massively rich California Pinot Noir. There was something primal about the nose - not earthy, but of-the-earth. Given the power of the aroma, I was expecting the palate to be jammy-jam extracted, but it shocked me with a very acidic and bright punch to the mouth. Young and vibrant. It didn’t give much in the midpalate and the tannins were grip-tight, but the finish just wouldn’t quit. One of the most lingering wines I’ve had in awhile, ripe with red cherries and dusty leather.

This is obviously a wine built for the long haul - 5 hours in the decanter, and still tight. A new-world nose, with an old world palate - fascinating, but just not in a pleasurable place right now. Like getting a masterful massage when you have a really bad sunburn - sometimes it’s best to wait a little longer.

Update: I left about 1 glass worth in a half-bottle overnight. Softer overall and more even-keeled. Chewey (almost chunky - depositing strange residue specs on the glass) with leather dominating along with coffee flavors. Acidity still coming through most prominently. Not quite there…but much more interesting than day 1.