TN: The Cabernet Franc Show-Off - Loire vs. Hungary (+ one Italian)

Yet another tasting report from the spring!

Originally this was planned to be a Loire vs. Hungary Cabernet Franc tasting, but since my friend couldn’t find a fitting 4th bottle for the Team Hungary, we decided to have one stand-in from Italy instead.

Although Team Loire won this match pretty easily, I was surprised how my favorite player B. Baudry performed so badly this time, especially when it was from the classic 2010 vintage! Fortunately the other members of the team played their parts with real grace and finesse.

Team Hungary-Italy suffered badly from rather overdone winemaking - two of the four bottles were huge, overripe and oaky blockbusters with no real sense of place or varietal color. However, the team had one ace up their sleeve: Horst Hummel! Hummel is a lawyer from Berlin (originally from Stuttgart) who bought a winery in Villány in 1997. He makes wines according to a quite strict hands-off philosophy, but unlike so many other natural wines, his wines have been consistently showing remarkably purity, depth and sense of place. Hummel performed as expected, and even though his team suffered a defeat, I’m still adamant that his wine was the best bottle of the evening! These are truly spectacular wines and I should really buy any and every bottle of Hummel I come across.

Armin Kobler makes some very serious wines and the last time I had this vintage of Puit, it was pretty lovely and very classic in style. However, this bottle was very different, having a sweet and quite distracting streak of buttery diacetyl that made the wine feel quite disappointing compared to the previous experience with this label.


(The wines here were tasted from right to left)

  • 2015 Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur-Champigny Franc de Pied - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny (2.4.2021)
    100% Cabernet Franc from an ungrafted vineyard farmed according to biodynamic principles. Fermented spontaneously in oval foudres over 8-10 days. Aged for 12 months in oval foudres. 13% alcohol.

Luminous, moderately translucent dark ruby red color. Ripe, still remarkably youthful and slightly closed nose with aromas of blackcurrants and fresh bilberries, some bretty funk of leather and earth, light rubbery notes of reduction, a little bit of ripe damson and autumnal leafy hints without any obvious herbaceous green notes. The wine is quite ripe yet fresh and crunchy on the palate with a medium body and intense, dry flavors of fresh bilberries, crowberries and tart cranberries, some brambly notes of raspberries, light autumnal notes of damp leaves, a little bit of sour red plum, a bretty hint of horse stable and a touch of old leather. The structure relies mostly on the fresh, high acidity as the silky tannins feel very sparse and gentle, barely gripping the gums at all. The crunchy finish is dry and lengthy with fresh flavors of tart cranberries and crowberries, some bretty notes of leather, a little bit of brambly raspberry, light bilberry tones and a hint of barnyard funk.

A very tasty, fresh and playful Cabernet Franc that feels very Burgundian in the sense that this wine emphasizes bright red fruit and acid-driven structure over any herbaceous tones or blackcurrant notes more typical of Cabernet Franc, or more tannin-driven structure. At first the wine seemed to be slightly closed and even a bit reductive, but it opened up nicely in the glass. There seems to be a little bit of brett here, but the overall feel is nevertheless wonderfully pure and precise, letting the funky notes remain nicely in the background. Seeing how very youthful and even slightly reductive the wine is now, I heartily recommend either decanting it well ahead or then just letting it age more. The wine shows good potential for future development and I can imagine it will improve for at least another 5-10 years, if not longer. Good value at 26€. (90 pts.)

  • 2015 Yannick Amirault Bourgueil La Petite Cave - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Bourgueil (2.4.2021)
    100% organic Cabernet Franc from a 50-yo vineyard. Fermented and macerated for 5 weeks in tronconic oak vats. Aged for 12-24 months in old oak barrels. 13% alcohol.

Dark, almost fully opaque black cherry color. Fresh, crunchy and moderately dark-toned nose with aromas of tobacco, some herbaceous notes of cooked bell pepper, a little bit of blackcurrant and dark plummy fruit, light inky tones, a hint of fresh bilberry and a touch of farmhouse funk. The wine feels ripe and fruity yet dry on the palate with a medium-to-moderately full body and dark-toned flavors of bilberries and juicy blackcurrants, some plummy fruit, a little bit of farmhouse funk and leather, light tobacco notes, a hint of stony minerality and a herbaceous touch of cooked bell pepper without any obvious green tones. The structure is just on point with the rather high acidity and gently grippy medium tannins. The finish is long, slightly funky and gently grippy with a dry aftertaste of leathery funk and tobacco, some blackcurrants, light plummy tones, a little bit of cooked bell pepper, a bretty hint of stable floor and a woody touch of pencil shavings.

A very tasty and serious Bourgueil that is less about classically herbaceous, green-toned Cab Franc and comes across as more like an old-school Bordeaux with its dry, dark-toned and blackcurrant-driven aromatics. You can taste that this is from a solar vintage in the emphasis on the ripe fruit tones and the lack of herbaceous greenness, but the wine is nevertheless fresh, dry and crunchy - exactly as I want my Bourgueils! All in all, a wonderfully balanced and harmonious Cabernet Franc. Drinks wonderfully now and will most likely improve for at least a handful of years more; probably peaking in 4-6 years. Terrific. (92 pts.)

  • 2010 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon (2.4.2021)
    Fermented spontaneously, macerated for two weeks in cement tanks and oak vats, aged for 12 months in used (2-5 yo) oak barrels, followed by 9 months in cement tanks. 13% alcohol.

Luminous, very dark and only slightly translucent black cherry color. At first very green nose with aromas that remind me more of geosmin (tilled soil, raw beet) rather than the more herbaceous notes of Cab Franc. As the nose opens, it starts to exhibit aromas of leafy greenness, crunchy notes of blackcurrants and crowberries, some green bell pepper, a little bit of pencil shavings, light notes of dusty earth and a hint of leathery funk. The wine is dry, somewhat lean and medium-bodied yet not austere on the palate with flavors of fresh blackcurrants and crowberries, some leafy greenness, a little bit of tart red plum, light green, earthy notes of raw root vegetables, a hint of pencil shavings and a funky barnyard touch of brett. The overall feel is enjoyably structured with the high acidity and moderately grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is long, dry and rather grippy with flavors of tart cranberries, leathery funk, some leafy greenness, light earthy green notes of tilled soil, a little bit of crunchy redcurrant and crowberry, a hint of green bell pepper and a touch of pouch tobacco.

Well this was an odd one. I tend to love the herbaceous qualities of Cabernet Franc, but this wine is tiptoeing the fine line between something that is aggressively green rather than enjoyably herbaceous. I wonder if there is a little bit of geosmin here, since I feel the greenness reminds me more of tilled earth and raw root vegetables rather than the leafy and bell peppery notes I associate with Cab Franc. However, the wine underneath is enjoyably fresh and focused with a wonderfully muscular, structure-driven core. A good and quite enjoyable Chinon, although I’d like it more if it was less earthy-green. (88 pts.)

Slightly evolved and moderately translucent pomegranate red color - although matured, the appearance is more youthful than what I expected! Somewhat evolved, slightly sweetish and subtly leafy nose with aromas of wizened blackcurrants, some ripe raspberry, light roasted bell pepper tones, a little bit of inky character, tertiary hints of meat stew and nuttiness and a touch of pruney dark fruit. The wine is dry, evolved and still pleasantly fruity on the palate with a medium body and layered flavors of juicy redcurrants and wizened blackcurrants, some inky tones, light herbaceous notes of cooked bell pepper, a little bit of tobacco, tertiary hints of meat stew, beef jerky and licorice root and an autumnal touch of damp leaves. The age has granted a nice illusion of sweetness to the dried fruit flavors. The overall feel is quite firm and structured, thanks to the bright, high acidity and still rather firm and grippy tannins. The finish is long, dry and rather evolved with flavors of wizened blackcurrants and prunes, some cooked bell pepper tones, a little bit of evolved meat stew, light notes of licorice root and a hint of earth and tobacco. The tannins make the aftertaste end on a somewhat grippy note.

A very nice, dead-serious and classically built Cabernet Franc. The overall feel is enjoyably evolved, yet still very much alive and even surprisingly structured - the wine turned out to be slightly more youthful than I expected. Nevertheless, I’d say the wine is - and has been for some time - on its plateau of maturity; the fruit won’t evolve anywhere from here but down, only the structure might resolve a little bit more over the years. An excellent old Bourgueil; drink now or within the next handful of years. (93 pts.)

Luminous and moderately translucent ruby red color. Big, dark-toned and rather sweet nose with voluptuous, oak-heavy aromas of chocolate milkshake and butterscotch, some ripe blackcurrants, a little bit of juicy red plum, light herbal tones, a sweet hint of purple fruits and a touch of cherry marmalade. The contrast between this wine and drier, more herbaceous Cabernet Francs of Loire is huge. The wine feels ripe, full-bodied and velvety on the palate with juicy, sweet-toned and quite oaky flavors of blackcurrant jam, some chocolate milkshake, light notes of butterscotch, a little bit of vanilla, sweet hints of cherry marmalade and ripe strawberry and a touch of sour cherry bitterness. The acidity feels moderately high, but the ripe tannins are almost fully resolved, contributing very little to the structure or to the texture. The finish is rich, juicy and moderately warm with a subtle hint of tannic grip and lengthy flavors of mocha oak and butterscotch, some cherry marmalade, light vanilla tones, a little bit of sweet dark plum and a savory hint of woody oak spice.

A very ripe and rather weighty blockbuster of a wine. Feels too rich, sweet-toned and oaky for my taste. I guess it would be possible from the slightly herbaceous note in the nose to recognize this as Cab Franc if it were served blind, but as a whole the wine feels like a very generic new world red with no varietal character or sense of place. This is just way too ripe and over-oaked. Seeing how youthful the wine still is, I can imagine it could benefit from further aging, but as the wine isn’t particularly good now, I doubt it will get much better with any amount of cellaring. (74 pts.)

  • 2013 Hummel Cabernet Franc Villány Nagytótfalu - Hungary, Dél-Pannónia, Villány (2.4.2021)
    100% organic Cabernet Franc from the Várerdö vineyard located in the comune of Nagytótfalu. 13,64% alcohol, 1 g/l residual sugar and 5,6 g/l acidity.

Very dark, only slightly translucent blackish-red color. Savory, somewhat wild and subtly reductive nose that feels somewhat closed and slightly skunky at first, but opens up quickly and turns quite attractive with aromas of fresh blueberries and blackcurrants, some notes of sous-bois and damp coniferous forest, a little bit of meaty character, light woody notes of pencil shavings, slightly funky notes of leather and something slightly animale and an understated, lifted touch of sweet VA. The wine is rich and full-bodied yet dry and savory on the palate with pleasantly open-knit texture. Vibrant flavors of fresh blackcurrants, some old leather and bretty notes phenolic spice, light earthy tones, a little bit of crunchy crowberry, autumnal hints of leafy tones and a touch of savory wood spice. The overall feel is enjoyably firm and quite structured, thanks to the rather high acidity and enjoyably ample and moderately grippy yet not aggressive tannins. The finish is long, dry and rather grippy with savory flavors of blackcurrants and tart lingonberries, some savory leafy tones, a little bit of old leather, light bretty notes of smoky phenolic spice, a hint of fresh bell pepper and a ferrous touch of blood.

A dry, structure-driven and dead-serious Cabernet Franc that reminds me of good old-school Bordeaux which doesn’t try to emphasize richness or ripeness, but instead firm structure and pure, fresh fruit. This is definitely not a crowdpleaser, but neither is it a tough and forbidding old-world wine. The wine is very approachable, although with its structure it is definitely more a food wine than a pleasant sipper. At 7½ years of age the wine doesn’t feel youthful, nor particularly evolved - perhaps it is in its early years of middle age. I can imagine this will continue to improve years more, perhaps even decades. An excellent wine that is going to make beautiful old bones. Hummel never seems to fail. Highly recommended. (94 pts.)

Exceptionally dark, almost fully opaque color that feels atypical for a Cabernet Franc. Very dark, inky dark appearance with an evolved maroon hue. Dry, very evolved and somewhat oxidative nose with quite tertiary aromas of beef jerky and soy sauce, some wizened dark berries, a little bit of tree bark, light notes of sous-bois, a hint of old leather saddle and a touch of moist coffee grounds. The wine feels dry, chewy and rather extracted on the palate with a full body and tertiary flavors of beef jerky, soy sauce and some madeirized rancio character, a little bit of meaty umami, light pruney notes and nuances of dried dates, a hint of earth and a touch of savory wood. The structure feels rather tough, more due to the ample, assertive and quite mouth-drying tannins than to the medium-plus acidity. The complex finish is long, juicy and noticeably grippy with rich, sweet-toned flavors of dried dates and prunes, some beef jerky, a little bit of tree bark, light earth notes, a hint of soy sauce and a touch of smoke. The high alcohol lends some warmth to the aftertaste.

A rather massive, extracted and ponderous Cabernet Franc that seems to be already past its peak. The wine isn’t fully oxidized yet, but it is obvious that the wine is already on a decline and has been for some years. I guess they tried to make a bold and structured wine that could age for a long time, seeing how very extracted and structure-driven the wine feels like, but it only seems to reinforce my hypothesis that these overripe, overextracted wines just don’t age well. Their structure might remain virtually intact for decades, but the fruit just doesn’t seem to hold up. The wine impressive in its own way, but it isn’t particularly pleasant with its clumsy, extracted feel - and I doubt it has ever been. (79 pts.)

Moderately translucent black cherry color with a pale raspberry red rim. Sweet, youthful and fruit-driven nose with almost primary aromas of blackcurrant marmalade candies, some rich creamy notes of diacetyl, a little bit of ripe black raspberry and boysenberry, light cherry juice tones, a hint of licorice and a touch of autumnal leaves. The wine feels ripe, juicy and very youthful on the palate with sweetly-fruited flavors of cherry juice and boysenberries, some blackurrant marmalade, light creamy notes of diacetyl, a little bit of brambly raspberry, an autumnal hint of damp leaves and a woody touch of pencil shavings. The wine feels balanced in structure, thanks to the moderately high acidity and somewhat grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is long, fresh and moderately grippy with lush flavors of sweet black cherries, brambly raspberries, some juicy blackcurrants, a little bit of creamy diacetyl, light brambly raspberries, a hint of alcohol warmth and a touch of peppery spice.

A ripe, rich and fruity Cab Franc - weirdly this feels a lot less herbaceous compared to the bottle I had 2½ years ago. Instead of coming across as somewhat green, which would be more typical of the variety, this was noticeably sweeter and fruitier with a rather pronounced streak of diacetyl, which seemed to grant the wine a somewhat sweet, creamy overall quality and boost the fruitier notes into more marmaladey department. I wonder if there is just lots of bottle variation here, seeing how noticeably different this wine is compared to my previous experience. This is good, but nothing particularly memorable. Priced according to its quality at 16€. (87 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Otto: Thank you so much for these notes.We will be in Hungary for the very first time next Spring and will be very excited to try the cabernet franc plus other Hungarian wines. I have to admit that i know very little about them.

Cheers! [cheers.gif]
Marshall

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Which part of the country? Are you in for some winery visits or just looking for wine shops and bars in the bigger cities?

Be warned that Villány (which is in the southern part of Hungary) is nowadays a very warm region and this is only exacerbated by the style of many wineries, which tends towards very modern, ripe, extracted and oaky.

While they do make some wonderful reds in Hungary - especially Szekszárdi and Egri wines, aka. wines from Szekszárd and Eger, can be stunning - my two favorite regions are Somló and Tokaj. Somló is a tiny region known for their exceptionally mineral, volcanic whites - especially wines made from Juhfark and Hárslevelu varieties are simply outstanding - and, well, everybody should know the Tokaji wines. At least the sweet ones. However, they do make some really outstanding dry Tokaji wines as well.

If you want a list of producers you really want to check out, be it wine bar purchases, winery visits or bottles to take home, here are some of exceptional producers:
Eger:

  • Ostoros-Bor
  • Thummerer
    Somló:
  • Fekete (old man Fekete retired in 2013, so if you find any vintages from 2012, grab them - they are some of the most stunning dry whites there are, and they are the last remaining bottles in the world)
  • Peter Tóth (very bold and expressive whites from Somló, where the ripeness - borderline overripeness - serves as a counterpoint to the pronounced minerality)
  • Somlói Apátsági (another producer making dry whites only from overripe grapes, yet the wines don’t feel overripe one little bit, thanks to their pronounced minerality and acidity; very unique wines)
  • Somlói Vandor (my Hungary-obsessed friend says this newcomer is now the greatest name in Somló after Fekete retired; very exceptional, complex wines)
  • Tornai’s Top Selection range (Tornai is one of the biggest producers in Somló, and while most of their range is pretty pedestrian, they do make some dramatic single-vineyard whites. Their Juhfark from Grófi vineyard is a huge wine)
    Sopron:
    -Ráspi
    Tokaj:
  • Disznókö (exceptional sweet Aszú wines)
  • Lenkey (very unique wines that can often be aged for more than 10 years before release, enormous complexity here - these are like Hungarian counterparts of the whites wines of Musar or Lopez de Heredia)
  • Samuel Tinon (very pure, distinctive and unadulterated Tokaji wines made by a Frenchman, thrilling stuff)
  • Szepsy (hands down the best producer in Hungary; if you see any wine that bears the Szepsy name, be it dry or sweet, get it - you won’t regret it)
  • Zoltan Demeter (one of the most ambitious winemakers in Hungary, making really world-class dry whites along with lots of other styles as well)
    Villány:
  • Any red, white or orange by Hummel
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Found the Hummel for less than 18 euros in the 2014 vintage… out of money… must resist…

You fool! You must not resist! Give in! Immediately!

Although 2014 was quite a lousy vintage in Hungary, whereas 2013 was exceptional, so you might want to hold your horses and look for a better vintage…

It was actually 2013, i looked at the wrong wine…

GET IT NOW

The wine inflation rate across the Atlantic should be a case for economic studies. I’ve been buying form this producer in the last 1/2 year or so and I should consider myself lucky if I can score a Franc the Pied for less than 40€. Your (always excellent) notes on this cuvee reflects my experience with the 2015 L’Echelier and I think that the wine will significantly improve with some cellaring, however the 2014 Franc de Pied is singing now, if you can put your hands on it (specially at 26€) you won’t regret. So far I’ve tried only 1 white from Thierry Germain, the 2015 Saumur Clos du Moulin (100% Chenin Blanc), so complex and expressive that it made a 2014 Guiberteau Saumur Blanc Les Moulins that we were drinking side by side look shy and rather austere.

I have a very limited experience with Baudry, but recently tasted a 2011 Chinon Les Granges, quite herbaceous at the beginning but after 45’ or so the metamorphosis to floral, mainly violet notes made the wine impressive.

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I want to emphasize that:

a) I love the herbaceous pyrazine character of Cabernet Franc; I haven’t had 2011 Les Granges, but I’ve had 2012 - among some other vintages - and while Les Granges often seems to be from the more herbaceous end of Baudry’s wines, I’ve never had a too herbaceous Baudry when it comes to pyrazines.
b) The greenness in this 2010 bottle didn’t seem like the pyrazine herbaceousness (raw bell pepper, leafy tones, chopped chili) but instead like geosmin (it’s the green earthy aroma you can smell in freshly-turned damp soil or unwashed root vegetables that still have soil in them. Geosmin doesn’t come from grapes, but instead it’s a bacterial metabolite and can is quite prevalent, as it can be found virtually everywhere. It can end up in a wine especially after a rainy spell as some geosmin-producing bacteria can end up on a grape bunch in a damp weather. (I’m pretty sure some aggressively green Champagnes from the lousy, rainy 2011 vintage are not actually unripe, but instead suffer from geosmin.) While I can’t be sure, the greenness in this Baudry was very distinct and noticeably different compared to the herbaceous notes of Amirault and quite vegetal notes of Chanteleuserie, which showed the typical pyrazine greenness one expects from a Cab Franc. And it didn’t really change at all over the evening, but remained just unpleasantly green and earthy.
c) And even though I love the herbaceous notes of pyrazines, it’s very context dependent; in most Cab Francs and Cab Sauvignons it works really well, in Sauvignon Blancs it can work quite nicely, too. However, in varieties that need to be unripe to exhibit any pyrazine character can be quite vile - for example one Pinot Noir I’ve tasted was so unripe that it didn’t have much body or any fruit, just tons of vegetal pyrazine character. That wasn’t particularly nice.
Nor do I like the Chilean Carmenère wines - I just don’t “get” the combination of quite noticeably herbaceous bell pepper character and overripe, jammy-sweet dark fruit. It’s just a combination that doesn’t really work!

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Clear as spring water. In my stage of wine appreciation I love when the pyrazine is noticeable enough to add character and emphasize terroir, but it’s comfortably placed in the back seat, giving the front stage to the brightness of the fruit. That’s the characteristic that I’ve found in Germain’s wines, clean, pure and bright fruit but never polished, still very Cab Franc, still very Loire. But If I have to face the choice of drinking and extremely herbaceous Cab Franc vs a polished fruit forward one I’ll go with the herbaceous without any doubt.
An in the unlikely case that I decide to start a publication entirely dedicated to criticize Chilean wines, it would be an honor to have you as an editor in chief [snort.gif]

I know the 18’s are quite young but I do worry Germain’s lack the ‘still very Cab Franc, still very Loire’ character. There’s just so much fruit in there that in the couple of bottles I’ve cracked so far it’s been hard to find anything else. Tried them over a couple days and just didn’t see the things we love about the Loire. The 19’s showed more promise though.

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Honored, although I’d rather taste and write about the wines I love, not hate. :smiley: [snort.gif]

Sounds quite typical of 2018. Seems to be common with some producers. The same with some 2015s as well.

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I haven’t tasted any '18 Cab Franc from Thierry Germain, only '14 and '15. I bought some '13, '16 and '17 but haven’t arrived yet. Your experience with the '18 definitely raises some red flags so I’ll be very cautious before buying from that vintage. Out of curiosity, which cuvee did you tasted? In my case Franc de Pied and L’Echelier, never tasted La Marginale, which I’ve read that tends to be more fruity.

Mariano so far both the ‘18 Franc de Pied and Terre Chaudes, against the ‘19 Franc de Pied.

The ‘19 was generous with fruit but I didn’t think over-done. There was still the herbaceous quality I like and also some structure. Against that, the ‘18s… while the fruit wasn’t overly-ripe, the wines were just soft.

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