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Domaine Druet is one of the notable Bourgueil producers. Druet and his family have been growing Cabernet Franc for a very long time, and his vines are old and established on favourable shale are clay marl slopes
You could buy his 2001 Chinon for £7.99 last year. Prices, wine tax escalator, logistics and VAT have worked against us. This cuvee is at the bottom of Druet's price tree, yet the vines are old, and produce a classic and concentrated flavour.
The new offer is for the 2003 Chinon vintage, and it is the best for several decades for ripening cabernet franc, so £9.99 is not unreasonable. The wine is very dark in colour for a cab franc, and lighter in body than say, a côtes de Bourg, it's shorter legs do grow a little in the glass. A solid core of **black cherry fruits sweeten as the wine opens, and floral notes do actually arrive. The wine tastes as if there was a small amount of oak, now very well integrated in this cuvee, I just don't know ?
Indicative of this vintage, the finesse and creamy fine grained tannins are very good indeed for a Loire red, nicely mature, a touch of game, some sandlewood, a lovely cab franc. One of the highlights for me, is the sawn mahogany notes in the middle palate. I was sanding down new Burmese teak table legs in the Autumn, this wine took me straight back to that afternnon - If you can find a nicer Chinon in the UK for this money - please post a reply here.
** I'm trying to nail that black cherry core on this ripe 2003, and it is much more in the guise of the rustic morellino sangiovese that I TN'd recently, than a cotes de nuits pinot noir. Hope that helps.
A good and an interesting wine.
19/03/2013
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Duncan
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