TN: non-weekend weekend, with Beaujolais, Bdx, and Cahors
 

Saturday we had a snowstorm coming in, and I spend most of day (and
hunk of evening) dealing with logistics of balancing keeping
volunteers safe and helping people. But we did manage to break away to
slide up to Sleepy Hollow to join friends for a long-planned "comfort
food" dinner- meatloaf, dairy-rich mashed potatoes, peas, and salad.

2006 Ch. Picau-Perna (St Emilion)
A new one to me. A bit green, light tannins, higher acids. Red plums
and currants. More Entre-Deux-Mers than St Emilion, but certainly
drinkable. B-

2004 Clos la Coutale Cahors
A Kermit import, but this doesn't strike me as a real traditional
"black wine" (I usually think of KL as doing more traditionally styled
wines). Pretty approachable, bright blackberry and elderberry fruit, a
little hint of vanilla. I like this, though I think the chances of me
identifying blind as Cahors (or Malbec) are near zero. Very pleasant
wine. B

Today wasn't much of a day off either, I "woveled" out vans before
driving to city, brought back folks for our annual meeting. By time I
returned home Betsy was leaving to watch her niece in a track meet,
but dinner only required me to turn off the kale, put chicken in the
oven, and prepare the carrots (with orange and ginger). Wine was the
2007 George Descombes Regnie. I confess I have no real sense of the
Regnie cru. Have I ever had one before? I can't recall. My first
reaction is not especially positive - red cherry and cranberry, but a
little overly floral. But with just a bit of air it smooths out- still
floral but more integrated. Red cherry and berry, good acidity, no
discernible tannin, nice length, a good chicken wine.B/B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

TN: non-weekend weekend, with Beaujolais, Bdx, and Cahors
 

DaleW wrote:

> 2004 Clos la Coutale Cahors
> A Kermit import, but this doesn't strike me as a real traditional
> "black wine" (I usually think of KL as doing more traditionally styled
> wines). Pretty approachable, bright blackberry and elderberry fruit, a
> little hint of vanilla. I like this, though I think the chances of me
> identifying blind as Cahors (or Malbec) are near zero. Very pleasant
> wine. B

From what I recall of Ian H's description of modern-day Cahors, I don't
think that there is much "black wine" in the region. And Clos la
Coutale is historically one of the top estates there IIRC. Your
description doesn't sound at all out of line with my experience of Cahors.


>
> Today wasn't much of a day off either, I "woveled" out vans before
> driving to city, brought back folks for our annual meeting. By time I
> returned home Betsy was leaving to watch her niece in a track meet,
> but dinner only required me to turn off the kale, put chicken in the
> oven, and prepare the carrots (with orange and ginger). Wine was the
> 2007 George Descombes Regnie. I confess I have no real sense of the
> Regnie cru. Have I ever had one before? I can't recall. My first
> reaction is not especially positive - red cherry and cranberry, but a
> little overly floral. But with just a bit of air it smooths out- still
> floral but more integrated. Red cherry and berry, good acidity, no
> discernible tannin, nice length, a good chicken wine.B/B+

Wassa wovel? As for the Regnie, I have only had one or two myself, so I
can't be much help. I think that I have Descombe's Cote de Brouilly
down in the cellar. Yours was an LDM import?

Mark

non-weekend weekend, with Beaujolais, Bdx, and Cahors
 

"Dale Williams" wrote .........
>
> .....I "woveled" out vans before driving to city .....


You WHAT?????????????

TN: non-weekend weekend, with Beaujolais, Bdx, and Cahors
 

Hi Dale,

Thanks as always for the notes. I read with interest even when I don't
have time to post much.

DaleW wrote:

> 2006 Ch. Picau-Perna (St Emilion)
> A new one to me. A bit green, light tannins, higher acids. Red plums
> and currants. More Entre-Deux-Mers than St Emilion, but certainly
> drinkable. B-
>

Is there such a thing as a red EDM? Thought it was generic Bdx. I'd
think you were being regional, but can't recall a specific terroir
to the rather large area.

> 2004 Clos la Coutale Cahors
> A Kermit import, but this doesn't strike me as a real traditional
> "black wine" (I usually think of KL as doing more traditionally styled
> wines). Pretty approachable, bright blackberry and elderberry fruit, a
> little hint of vanilla. I like this, though I think the chances of me
> identifying blind as Cahors (or Malbec) are near zero. Very pleasant
> wine. B
>

Thanks for the reminder, I need to contact les Ifs and buy some
Cahors. Only a few old Prince Probus in the cellar right now.

I think modern Cahors falls into 2 camps, internationalized,
even parkerized wines without much interest, and some fine
traditional wines that were probably always made but never
achieved the fame of the black wine.

These traditional village Cahors have a lovely velvety quality,
medium ripe fruit, good depth and decent concentration, no wood.
They are very enjoyable quaffers that benefit from a few (5-ish)
years in the cellar, at an extremely attractive price point.
(Pricing in Cahors is really all over the map.)

> Today wasn't much of a day off either, I "woveled" out vans before
> driving to city, brought back folks for our annual meeting. By time I
> returned home Betsy was leaving to watch her niece in a track meet,
> but dinner only required me to turn off the kale, put chicken in the
> oven, and prepare the carrots (with orange and ginger). Wine was the
> 2007 George Descombes Regnie. I confess I have no real sense of the
> Regnie cru. Have I ever had one before? I can't recall. My first
> reaction is not especially positive - red cherry and cranberry, but a
> little overly floral. But with just a bit of air it smooths out- still
> floral but more integrated. Red cherry and berry, good acidity, no
> discernible tannin, nice length, a good chicken wine.B/B+
>

I like the Regnie from Jacques Trichard a lot. Sort of a lighter
Morgon, in a way. Sort of. :)

-E

TN: non-weekend weekend, with Beaujolais, Bdx, and Cahors
 

On Jan 12, 12:09�am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > 2004 Clos la Coutale Cahors
> > A Kermit import, but this doesn't strike me as a real traditional
> > "black wine" (I usually think of KL as doing more traditionally styled
> > wines). Pretty approachable, bright blackberry and elderberry fruit, a
> > little hint of vanilla. I like this, though I think the chances of me
> > identifying blind as Cahors (or Malbec) are near zero. Very pleasant
> > wine. B
>
> From what I recall of Ian H's description of modern-day Cahors, I don't
> think that there is much "black wine" in the region. �And Clos la
> Coutale is historically one of the top estates there IIRC. �Your
> description doesn't sound at all out of line with my experience of Cahors..
>
>
>
> > Today wasn't much of a day off either, I "woveled" out vans before
> > driving to city, brought back folks for our annual meeting. By time I
> > returned home Betsy was leaving to watch her niece in a track meet,
> > but dinner only required me to turn off the kale, put chicken in the
> > oven, and prepare the carrots (with orange and ginger). Wine was the
> > 2007 George Descombes Regnie. I confess I have no real sense of the
> > Regnie cru. Have I ever had one before? I can't recall. My first
> > reaction is not especially positive - red cherry and cranberry, but a
> > little overly floral. But with just a bit of air it smooths out- still
> > floral but more integrated. Red cherry and berry, good acidity, no
> > discernible tannin, nice length, a good chicken wine.B/B+
>
> Wassa wovel? �As for the Regnie, I have only had one or two myself, so I
> can't be much help. �I think that I have Descombe's Cote de Brouilly
> down in the cellar. �Yours was an LDM import?
>
> Mark

A "wovel" is a snow shovel with a large (about the size of a bicycle
wheel) tire attached to the shaft of the shovel on a pivot. I have
one and in some circumstances it works great but not as good as my
Honda snow blower!

TN: non-weekend weekend, with Beaujolais, Bdx, and Cahors
 

"Bi!!" > wrote:

> A "wovel" is a snow shovel with a large (about the size of a
> bicycle wheel) tire attached to the shaft of the shovel on a
> pivot. I have one and in some circumstances it works great but
> not as good as my Honda snow blower!

Google pix gives the solution.

I have never seen such a thing before.

M.

TN: non-weekend weekend, with Beaujolais, Bdx, and Cahors
 

On Jan 12, 12:09�am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > 2004 Clos la Coutale Cahors
> > A Kermit import, but this doesn't strike me as a real traditional
> > "black wine" (I usually think of KL as doing more traditionally styled
> > wines). Pretty approachable, bright blackberry and elderberry fruit, a
> > little hint of vanilla. I like this, though I think the chances of me
> > identifying blind as Cahors (or Malbec) are near zero. Very pleasant
> > wine. B
>
> From what I recall of Ian H's description of modern-day Cahors, I don't
> think that there is much "black wine" in the region. �And Clos la
> Coutale is historically one of the top estates there IIRC. �Your
> description doesn't sound at all out of line with my experience of Cahors..
>
>
>
> > Today wasn't much of a day off either, I "woveled" out vans before
> > driving to city, brought back folks for our annual meeting. By time I
> > returned home Betsy was leaving to watch her niece in a track meet,
> > but dinner only required me to turn off the kale, put chicken in the
> > oven, and prepare the carrots (with orange and ginger). Wine was the
> > 2007 George Descombes Regnie. I confess I have no real sense of the
> > Regnie cru. Have I ever had one before? I can't recall. My first
> > reaction is not especially positive - red cherry and cranberry, but a
> > little overly floral. But with just a bit of air it smooths out- still
> > floral but more integrated. Red cherry and berry, good acidity, no
> > discernible tannin, nice length, a good chicken wine.B/B+
>
> Wassa wovel? �As for the Regnie, I have only had one or two myself, so I
> can't be much help. �I think that I have Descombe's Cote de Brouilly
> down in the cellar. �Yours was an LDM import?
>
> Mark

Mark (et al):
(OT) As to the wovel, Bill answered and Michael found a picture (also
at wovel.com). I love mine, with a 3-4 inches I'm actually far faster
than neighbors using blowers. Without the noise and pollution! Plus it
folds, so I threw it in back of Betsy's RAV4 and used to get my vans
clear. Especially good for that, I can move snow distances without
effort (it's a church lot, and a blower would require several passes
to move snow far enough. I consider my Wovel my best Christmas present
ever! I did my neighbor's drive while he was out, no effort.

Back to wine:
As to Cahors, I've only seen a single example of true black wine. But
most of the non-luxury cuvees I had tried had far more severe tannins
than this one at this age.

Emery,
I was just referring to regional Bordeaux grown in EDM, most are
probably labeled 1er Cotes de Bordeaux nowadays, but as most estates
have white and red, I know where they are! Though I think that Bonnet
labels red as EDM, or at least used to.

TN: non-weekend weekend, with Beaujolais, Bdx, and Cahors
 

On Jan 12, 12:09�am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > 2004 Clos la Coutale Cahors
> > A Kermit import, but this doesn't strike me as a real traditional
> > "black wine" (I usually think of KL as doing more traditionally styled
> > wines). Pretty approachable, bright blackberry and elderberry fruit, a
> > little hint of vanilla. I like this, though I think the chances of me
> > identifying blind as Cahors (or Malbec) are near zero. Very pleasant
> > wine. B
>
> From what I recall of Ian H's description of modern-day Cahors, I don't
> think that there is much "black wine" in the region. �And Clos la
> Coutale is historically one of the top estates there IIRC. �Your
> description doesn't sound at all out of line with my experience of Cahors..
>
>
>
> > Today wasn't much of a day off either, I "woveled" out vans before
> > driving to city, brought back folks for our annual meeting. By time I
> > returned home Betsy was leaving to watch her niece in a track meet,
> > but dinner only required me to turn off the kale, put chicken in the
> > oven, and prepare the carrots (with orange and ginger). Wine was the
> > 2007 George Descombes Regnie. I confess I have no real sense of the
> > Regnie cru. Have I ever had one before? I can't recall. My first
> > reaction is not especially positive - red cherry and cranberry, but a
> > little overly floral. But with just a bit of air it smooths out- still
> > floral but more integrated. Red cherry and berry, good acidity, no
> > discernible tannin, nice length, a good chicken wine.B/B+
>
> Wassa wovel? �As for the Regnie, I have only had one or two myself, so I
> can't be much help. �I think that I have Descombe's Cote de Brouilly
> down in the cellar. �Yours was an LDM import?
>
> Mark

PS on another forum Rahsaan M reports that the Coutale is part Merlot,
which explains part of the approachablity. He calls it "slightly
modern" styled.

TN: non-weekend weekend, with Beaujolais, Bdx, and Cahors
 

Hi again Emery (and Mark)

On Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:50:16 +0100, Emery Davis
> wrote:

>> 2004 Clos la Coutale Cahors

>Thanks for the reminder, I need to contact les Ifs and buy some
>Cahors. Only a few old Prince Probus in the cellar right now.

I have tried to like Prince Probus and remain somewhat unconvinced by
it.

On a recent (last spring) trip to Cahors, we went to about a dozen
producers and found it a fascinating experience. A BIG difference in
the quality of the welcome from one place to another, despite having
approached them all in the same way (email explaining who I was,
followed up with a phone call making a date). In some places the owner
was there, waiting for us and we had a famous visit with - in general
- interesting wines. In others, a very polished performance, with
plenty of wines to taste, and occasionally some excellent wines -
usually at the lower price point. At yet others, no one was expecting
us, and we wondered why we'd bothered to make a date.

As for "Black wine". Originally this was a wine made from a must that
was concentrated by cooking down. Remember that at the time this wine
was developed, Bordeaux merchants had the right to block all the
"upcountry" wines from passing through on export until their own
production had been sold. Remember also the British name for red
Bordeaux ("claret") comes from the french name for a type of very
pale, almost rosé wine - Clairet, which some producers are making
again, by the way. So the black wine was blending wine, used to give
body and colour to "clairet". Cahors is desperately trying to
capitalise on the fame of this wine, which was largely unjustified,
IMO. So nowadays a few of the large, more commercially minded
producers are trying to make a drinkable "Black Wine". The few I
tasted failed to convince me.

The wine I liked best in the visit, and which I thought had about the
most promising future, was Clos la Commanderie from Ch. la Caminade.
However, there is another grower that I recommend you should look out
for. Johan Vidal at Ch La Reyne. He's struggling hard against all
sorts of disadvantages to pull himself up by his bootstraps, but hs
better wines were gorgeous and his basic one, excellent vfm.

>These traditional village Cahors have a lovely velvety quality,
>medium ripe fruit, good depth and decent concentration, no wood.
>They are very enjoyable quaffers that benefit from a few (5-ish)
>years in the cellar, at an extremely attractive price point.
>(Pricing in Cahors is really all over the map.)

I can't say I'm 100% in agreement with you on this. I think - as a
fully paid up oenogerontophile - that a good Cahors only become
drinkable when it's at least 10 years old.

Even these high class wines are very well priced, though.
--
All the best
Fatty from Forges