It’s going to take some time to became that granular . But with my still limited experience with Val de Loire and Argentinian cab-franc I would say that the closest match is Bourgueil, a little bit more rustic than Chinon or Saumur, with the typical green pepper notes but without the brets.
I attended a portfolio tasting 3 years ago and Alejandro Vigil, winemaker and co-owner of “El Enemigo”, was there presenting his wines. When he talked about cab-franc he only mentioned “Old school Pomerol”, no mention of Chinon, Saumur, Bourgueil or Val de Loire in general. His winemaking style, however, is deeply influenced by Michel Rolland, so I don’t see the “Old School” there. We tried the “Gran Enemigo Gualtallary Single Vineyard Cabernet-Franc” (don’t remember if it was the 2013) and my sensation was that he had excellent fruit quality to worked with but the wine was over extracted / over oaked for my palate.
Very interesting, since Luis and Robert are very different. I wonder how Luis would rate Pavie 2000 or Pavie 2003 today. And how Parker would rate a Comando-G wine (El Reventon or Rumbo al Norte).
I remember a contest in Madrid.
On one red, I said Rougeard Bourg 2012, Luis Chinon Pallus and a french wine journalist friend of mine Lafleur (CF) … the answer ? Sassicaïa 2014 !
One thing that I noticed since Luis Gutiérrez is rating the wines from Spain is that in the USA market the frenezie for Toro and Jumilla went down while at the same time we see a lot more of Comando-G (I saw La Bruja de Rozas in a gas station market some weeks ago!), grenache from Avila in general, more Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra in the shelves. I don’t know if it’s only a coincidence or if Luis is influencing the market with his ratings, but personally I celebrate this new trend
Luis rates very high Casa Castillo Pie Franco (Jumilla). A lovely wine, I admit.
Ribeira Sacra is very interesting.
La Bruja de Rozas seems a good bargain.
My last visit in Sierra de Gredos in 2019 : Comando-G La Bruja de Rozas 2018 : 16/20
Comando-G Rozas 1er 2018 : 16,5/20
Comando-G Las Umbrias 2018 : 18/20
Daniel Landi Las Uvas de la Ira 2018 : 16,5/20
Daniel Landi El Reventon Ladera (grande parcelle plein sud – 0,7 ha) 2018 : 16,5/17
Daniel Landi El Reventon (petite parcelle – 0,3 ha) 2018 : 17/17,5
Comando-G Labrena 2018 : 14/20
Elevage en oeuf pour marché sur Hong-Kong.
Comando-G Tumba del Rey Moro Pie Franco 2018 : (15,5/20)
Daniel Landi Cantos del Diablo 2018 : 16,5/20
Daniel Landi Las Iruelas 2018 : 17/20
Domaine du Monteillet St-Joseph 2019 : 15,5/20 – 16/5/2021
Fruits en confiture, floral, poivre, réglisse, pointe fumée. Bouche très mure mais à l’équilibre sauvegardé, tout en douceur, d’impact moyen. J’attendais plus d’éclat aromatique.
Fronton Château Bouissel le Rang Versant 2020 : 13/20 – 12/5/2021
Riesling et gewurztraminer. Parfumé mais bouche flasque, anodine, quelconque.
Côtes Catalanes Terrasses de l’Agly Danjou-Banessy Roboul 2019 : 15/20 – 18/5/2021
13,5° d’alcool. Grenache et mourvèdre. Style du domaine, en retenue d’extraction. Fleurs, réglisse, fruits, épices. Très nature mais net (même s’il y a un soupçon de pomme blette). Semble moins gracieux (et sensiblement plus riche en alcool) que La Truffière 2018. Austère avec un goût fortement réglissé.
Côtes Catalanes Clos del Rey L’Episcata 2018 : 16/20 – 31/5/2021
Très beau grenache fruité, cacaoté et épicé, tout en finesse. Solaire (14,5°) mais sans brûlure. Volume moyen, très bonne persistance. Beau rapport Q/P (13 euros caviste).
Dupasquier Roussette de Savoie 2016 : 15/20
Une altesse mûre et pleine pour un net air entraînant de Riesling (mirabelle, épices, terpènes, pamplemousse et ses amers). An excellent producer. Excellent Q/P too.
Looking forward to tasting the Marestel 2016 (as good as the wonderful 2010 ?).
Your discipline in posting these notes is admirable. I find this to be a great running list that provides plenty of options for value-minded selections for anyone to enjoy.
This is my wine diary. Wines rarely commented on this forum and perhaps not always available abroad.
I do not comment all the wines I taste (I tasted 20 quite uninteresting wines in a blind horizontale last friday and there should be the same ratio tomorrow).
I do not comment many “nature wines”, too approximative, often flawed.
Some dinners concern great worldwine wines, shared with good friends.
Côtes Catalanes Clos del Rey L’aragone 2018 (carignan) : 15,5/16 – 7/6/2021
Très mûr, épices, laurier. Le cépage explique un style un poil plus austère pour des tannins un plus prononcés que sur l’Episcata 2018 (cuvée de grenache). Beau style, net, élégant. Bonne densité, longueur. Très gourmand.
IGP Comté tolosan Coteaux et terrasses de Montauban Muriel Zoldan Antocyâme Libre cours 2018 : 15/20 – 18/6/2021
Syrah foncée, dense, animale (rognon), rustique. Elevée en cuve ovoïde. Intéressante à découvrir.
Francesco Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi 2016 : 16,5/17
Superbe expression traditionnelle, tout en finesse.
Michel Gros Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlées 2006 : 16,5/20
Particulièrement riche, sur un millésime difficile. De la douceur, finale sur la cerise acide et la fumée.
San Giusto a Rentennano Chianti classico 2010 : 16,5/20
Pensé à un beau Rosso di Montalcino, doté d’une belle évolution.
Franck Balthazar Côtes-du-Rhône 2019 : 16/20
Belle syrah, solaire (pour penser au départ à un grenache du Rhône Sud). On peut penser à St-Joseph. Trento DOC Ferrari “Perle Nero” Riserva Extra Brut 2009 : 17/20
Très belle effervescence, du niveau de celle d’un beau champagne.
Côtes Catalanes Riberach Synthèse 2019 : 15,5/20
Very white Roussillon, with good depth and acidity. Maccabeu, grenaches blanc et gris, carignan blanc et gris. Thomas Rivier Régnié Tomix 2019 : 15,5/20
Ripe and yummy. Clos de Coulaine Chinon blanc 2018 : 16/20
A beautiful chenin, perfumed, concentrated, long.
Baumann-Zirgel Riesling Streng 2018 : 16,5/20 - 9/7/2021
Discovery for this very good bottle, thin, balanced, pure. Perfect with the ceviche.
Bénédicte et Stéphane Tissot Arbois Chardonnay Patchwork 2018 : 16/20 - 9/7/2021
Dense, spicy, tasty. St-Joseph Pierre Gaillard red 2018 : 15,5/20 – 9/7/2021
Thin and ripe, thought Southern syrah (Faugères). A current mistake on this opulent vintage (and the climate change).
Sicile Nicolo Grippaldi Le Domeniche di Teo (Nerello Mascalese) 2018 : 15,5/20 – 24/6/2021
Ripe with a good acidity and thin tannins. Solar/fresh.
Vin de Savoie Dupasquier pinot noir 2017 : 17/20 - 24/6/2021
An elegant pinot noir, ripe, thin, with lovely fruity, spicy and flowery “chambolian” perfumes. Much better than the quite rustic gamay 2016.
Domaine de Chardigny St-Véran Au bois de fée 2018 : 15,5/20
An interesting chardonnay.
Anjou Pierre Chauvin 2020 : 15,5/20
A fruity soft chenin. Foillard Morgon 2019 : 16/20
I really liked this wine, flowery, fruity. Balanced by an elegant acidity. Thin and very neat (that was not the case for the fragile almost flawed Côte de Py 2018 a few months ago).
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. But with my still limited experience with Val de Loire and Argentinian cab-franc I would say that the closest match is Bourgueil, a little bit more rustic than Chinon or Saumur, with the typical green pepper notes but without the brets.