Decant Stop Tasting Wine Blog

First off, we probably shouldn’t have openned this wine yet… 2007 vintage, red, France… bad idea.  Anyway, we were mixed on this wine… I like it, Rika doesn’t.  For her I think there isn’t enough fruit.  In a way, I agree… but then, it is complex, dry, and there’s nothing foul about it.  It is a dark garnet color with a violet fringe.  It looks dark, but doesn’t taste that dark.  It has an interesting nose, that you’ll mostly appreciate after a couple of days of decanting (or wait a few years to open it), with flowers, spices, citrus, cedar, and wild berries.  The vegetal component is immediately evident as soon as the wine touches your tounge, but is soon mixed with leather, wood (not really oak), and a variety of subtle fruit flavors, fairly evenly mixed red, blue and black.  There is some acidity, good enough for medium weight meals.  On the finish I like the spices that linger, with cherry, tobacco, and… some kind of wood.  I’m not a fan of oak in my wine, and I’m not saying this wine is oakey, but I can’t escape the taste of some sort of wood.  I get a little flashback from when I was a little boy… and chewed on a piece of wood from time to time.  I guess I liked it.  I guess I still do!  I’m giving it a combined rating between mine and Rika’s… because that’s how we roll.

Rating:  88

Price:  Paid $10 (K&L)  Retails for $17

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K&L:  Damien Delecheneau’s future is bright. He is respected widely and thought of as one of the most promising young vignerons in the Loire Valley. Damien continues the work of his family domaine in the Touraine-Amboise appellation but with renewed vigor and respect for the vines. He is fortunate to have 11 ha of vineyards with an average age of 60 years which he farms without the use of chemicals. Harvest is done by hand, fermentation is carried out by native yeast and there is no pumping after the initial pressing. Both he and his wife studied winemaking and did a stage here in California, he at Clos Pegase and she at Cain. He also plays the clarinet quite well, hence the musical references on the bottles. The Côt Vieilles Vignes, yes that is right Malbec, is from a plot of vines 127 years old and could be my favorite among this very strong lineup. This wine is explosively aromatic with a core of sweet cassis, a sappy “old vine” intensity and chewy rich texture. It is dense and packed with flavor, a wine to drink now or over the next 10 years.

By: Gary Westby |  K&L Staff Member  |  Review Date: 2/11/2009  | Send Email