Domaine des Roches Neuves (Thierry Germain)
Saumur-Champigny Cabernet Franc 2011
Pulling the cork on this bottle released a bouquet of blueberries! It is more purple than red, dense, like grape juice in color. In the glass it smells like freshly fired pardons, pencil shavings, plums and perfume with a touch of oxidation. Garret said it tastes like fruit punch sangria. Tastes a little dusty with limestone and medium tannins. When you taste a wine during its ferment, there is a really lovely fruitiness that tends to go away once the yeast stop working, but somehow, in this wine, it has been captured so I say: bright fermentation qualities. This wine may be at the peak of its time, perhaps not enough tannin or acid to carry it much longer. Would be great with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. — 10 years ago
with garret
Kelly Overly
Smells yeasty, like a sourdough starter, with a little candied grapefruit, chalk and a touch of green, like freshly destemmed rachis. It's the color of a pale blood moon. The bubbles die out quick, as in; the time it took me to write the note thus far. It tastes like Pinot, with a tiny bit of sourness present when the bubbles dissipate. It smells much better than it tastes. I don't love it. — 10 years ago