All of us geeks are looking for the next Rougeard. Rougeard is like d’Yquem, in a class of its own. We hear a lot of buzz about new estates, like Guiberteau and Domaine des Roches Neuves, as being next in line, filling in the void as Rougeard prices most of us out. These domaines are still not there, not even close.
I just popped a 2010 Rougeard base domaine last week, the thread got some fun attention by our local Loire geeky expert, Chris Kissack a/k/a Wine Doctor. I always appreciate his palate and insight on all things Loire. He’s a big fan of this domaine. I keep sampling bottles and vintages, some are major winners, others are nice, some fail to impress. The Franc de Pied bottling is, IMHO, the best of class.
As I loved the 2012 Franc de Pied, I assumed I would be floored by this special cuvee, which is comprised of 112 year-old vines, half of which is original root stock. Sadly, in this vintage, this wine just does not have that extra gear to command a $60+ dollar price point for a Loire Cab Franc. I will concede this wine is young, but these are new cuvees so someone has to give some input, fair or not. What this wine lacks for me is depth of fruit. The range of red fruit is very tart, very tight. Bear in mind that I like slightly under-ripe fruit. This is lip-smackingly tart, like a sweet tart of one flavor. Here on night two, nothing has changed, it immutable. I saved 1/2 glass in this bottle, stuck it in the fridge, to see what happens on night three.
I know this sounds exceedingly critical. It is a very nice wine. Lovely texture on the finish, a fine, grainy minerailty and crisp tannins. I’m critical because of the cost. I’d buy this wine all day long at $20-$25, which is the price point on many very good Loire CFs. For example, Baudry’s 2014 Les Granges, one of its basic cuvees, is a better wine and I picked it up at $16.99. I may buy the 2014 Les Memoires, giving this domaine the benefit of the doubt with this lovely parcel, taking a shot that a killer year like 2014 showcases what can be done here. I have the 2013, but that is an even leaner year.
(89 pts.)