Domaine de Noire Chinon Soif de Tendresse Rouge 2009
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Robert
Parker
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Noire 2009 Soif de Tendresse – latest installment of a March-bottled, earlier-drinking, fruit forward cuvee inaugurated in 2007 – is full of ripe cassis, elderberry, and nut oils, with a polished feel and juicy exuberance, its long, lip-smacking finish subtly tinged with piquant toasted nuts, pungent herbs, invigorating salinity, and otherwise crystalline mineral notes. This 13% alcohol (by vintage standards, virtually light) Chinon will prove a delightful value as well as excellent introduction to its appellation over the next 12-18 months. President of the Chinon growers’ syndicat and long-time (though no longer) regisseur at next-door Chateau de la Grille, Jean-Max Manceau continues to turn out exceptionally fine wines from his own small estate. He echoed the sentiments of many red wine growers (not only of Franc or on the Loire) in noting that the trick in 2009 was to achieve fermentative extraction via “infusion” rather than the slightest degree of force.
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2008-
Robert
Parker
Manceau and his wife Odile care for just over 20 acres of vineyards in Chinon, a region that sits at the crossroads of the Loire and Vienne rivers. It's hard not to be infected by their combined enthusiasm for Cabernet Franc—these are very dedicated artisans (albeit hobbyists—Manceau runs a larger property as his "job") who seek above all to capture the purest expression of this native varietal.
The domaine draws its name from a legendary neighboring vineyard, "Clos de Noire." This high-altitude plot is renowned in the Loire for its alabaster soils, rich in minerals and chalk. It's the same sort of porous rock one can find in Champagne, and more immediately, in the walls and towers of the Loire's breathtaking chateaus.
Manceau's Cabernet Franc vines, on average 60 to 70 years old, share similar soils as "Clos de Noire." This great terroir, a combination of gravel and chalk, is ideal for Cabernet Franc. Manceau's "Cuvée Elegance," a 100% Cabernet Franc wine, is both full-bodied and fresh, with characteristic notes of violets and flint in the nose. Manceau also crafts a rare, 100% Cabernet Franc rosé, vinified completely in tank.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
An important red wine appellation in the Touraine district of the Loire, Chinon produces fanciful, light-bodied reds from the Cabernet Franc grape. Chinon also makes charming rosés from the same grape as well as white wines from Chenin blanc. But the reds give the area its fame. Often scented with fresh herbs, black tea and violets, Chinon reds show a lovely combination of fruit and acidity. However, styles have become more concentrated and ripe in recent years from improvements in vineyard management. Modern methods include planting grass between vineyard rows, using higher trellises and deleafing to increase sunlight to berries and therefore improve ripening. Even still, red Chinon is intended to be a light to medium bodied, refreshing wine to be enjoyed in its youth.
Fuller-bodied Chinons come from vineyard sites on the clay and tuffeau limestone slopes, usually from the southern exposed slopes of Cravant-les-Coteaux, and the plateau above Beaumont. Lighter styled wines come from the sand and gravel vineyards near the Loire or Vienne Rivers with the most refined examples coming from the area around Panzoult