Sam Harrop MW A personal view from Project consultant Sam Harrop MW
Last night, in search of inspiration for this piece, I opened a bottle of 2008 Bourgueil (one of those selected as a 2009 Ambassador) and it was mind-blowingly good. What a wine. What a vintage. What a bargain!
I won’t mention the producer for fear of courting claims of bias, but what I will say is: why anyone would want to look beyond the Loire for Cabernet Franc is beyond me. Bottom-line - hand-crafted wines from small estates in the Loire sell for a fraction of the cost of most Cabernet Francs from newer, less interesting (in my opinion) wine producing regions. The best of the vintage 2008s will undoubtedly improve with age for the next two decades but they can also be enjoyed today.
How many wine regions can honestly claim this? The obsession with alcohol, oak and oxygen that prevails in too many wineries around the world today means that while the wines they produce might be soft and sweet in the first couple of years, there’s a good chance they will end up flat and flabby well before their pre-destined use-by date. The Loire is an exception and if its recognition at top international wine competitions over the last few years (and for lesser vintages than 2008, I might add) is anything to go by, the reputation of the region and its noble red variety is finally on the ascent. With a broader selection of 2008s from top producers hitting the show circuit next year it will be intriguing to see how they are received in 2010. If they are anything like the one I quaffed last night, it could be time to buy up large, so watch this space!
Looking to the future, things continue to look rosy for the Loire with favourable reports on the 2009 growing season so far. August was very, very dry - in fact the driest August in the Loire for 48 years! With grapes still on the vine it’s hardly time to start making comparisons with vintages like 1961, but it’s difficult not to get a little excited! Indeed all looks set for a great vintage in 2009, like in other great years such as 1989, 1999 – maybe it’s a nine thing?
Up until the end of August summer temperatures were very closely aligned to the impressive vintages of 1995 and 1999. The first half of September saw some showers, but the second half was dry and settled, and with the better wineries looking to start harvesting in the second week of October things are at a critical stage. At the time this piece went to print, fruit condition throughout the region was looking stunning. The analysis was looking great as well.
Samples were taken on the 1st October from 14 parcels from around Chinon, Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de- Bourgueil and the average sugars recorded were forecasting alcohol levels of 12.2 percent. The better sites in the region will be beyond 13 percent, so ripeness won’t be a problem this year. Overall pH levels seem to be a little higher than last year (but still in check and healthy) and acids a little lower, but this will help the texture of the wines and allow for the wines to be drinking better in their youth. Fingers crossed the rain stays away for the next couple of weeks, for if so we could be in for a cracker!
The temptation for winemakers to intervene is ever-present, even when the fruit is free from disease and with near perfect analysis. Assuming the conditions are right for another great vintage this year, in the case of the Loire, the measure of the Project’s effectiveness will be in producers doing less rather than more. For the Loire, continuity is crucial to winning the confidence of buyers, many of whom hold the view that Loire Cabernet Franc is inconsistent. Such inconsistency is not good for business and it’s understandable that UK buyers have historically seen wines from the sunny south of Europe as a safer bet.
The problem is all too often these warmer and drier regions tend towards over-ripe red wines that lack freshness, definition and personality. With climate change, things are going from bad to worse for many of these warmer regions, and savvy wine buyers are already on the lookout for wines to fill this imminent gap. Assuming the Loire and its Cabernet Franc continue to raise their game (as they have over the last few years), the traditional claims of inconsistency will become a thing of the past, and buyers need look no further than the Loire for a plethora of great value reds with an abundance of personality.
2009 Cabernet Franc in Chinon: 8th October 2009
(From the autumn 2009 issue of the newsletter: Loire – Project Cabernet Franc)
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