WBW #44: French Cabernet Franc: Domaine Gasnier 2006 Chinon Cuvee Les Graves
This month’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted by none other than Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV, is one I’ve been looking forward to for sometime for a few reasons.
First, as the founder of this here virtual wine tasting club, it’s great to have Gary on board this month. Like him or hate him, he’s big time in the online wine world. He’s been on Ellen, Conan, Nightline and now he’s hosting WBW. You’ll notice that we wouldn’t let him host WBW until after the other gigs. We had to make sure he was for real and not just a flash in the pan.
Second, I love cabernet franc, as you all know.
Third, this theme gave me an excuse to put down the New York wines for a moment and uncork a bottle of Chinon, one of my favorite French wine regions.
But, I broke one rule that I always have for myself when it comes to WBW — this is a wine I’ve had before. In fact, this is a wine that I had once a while back, and I liked it so much that I bought a lot more of it. It’s our house red when we want a break from local reds.
I’m drinking this bottle right now as I type this…and it’s just as good as I remember. There’s plenty of black and red plum up front and a little blackberry too, but there’s all of the other things I love about cab franc as well. There’s earthy notes, some asparagus (a good thing!), black pepper and a stony, mineral quality on a medium-long finish that is really nice.
It’s medium bodied with medium tannins, it’s versatile with food too. I’ve had it with Thai food. I’ve had it on it’s own. And I’ve had it with pizza.
If you like your cab franc without (or with barely any) oak, you should definitely check this one out.
I bought this wine from Greene Grape Wine in Brooklyn.
Hey Lenn,
Glad to see you’ve been enjoying Gasnier’s wines. I thought I might be the only one to cover one (the 2003 Cuvee Fabrice) and am pleasantly surprised not to have been. I’m curious though, as your picture does not match the title of your post. Have you been drinking the 2006 “Les Graves” or the 2005 (or 2006) “Vieilles Vignes”?
I’ll have a winery profile, based on a visit with Gasnier back in 2004, finished and posted in the next couple of days. Stop on by and check it out when you have a chance.
cheers,
McDuff
I visited Gasnier back in 2000 (or was it 1999) and was pleasantly surprised.
Reading your post makes me want to go there again.
Michael.
http://ukwinedirect.com
I really love a good cabernet franc. A lot of people I talk to about it much prefer it in blends due to a perceived lack of depth, but I really like that clean crisp feeling it gives you. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for this one, but I’m not sure if I’ll find it in my part of the world, alas.