Le Clos Guillot Chinon Cabernet Franc

At dinner at Le Cabotte. Entering a gorgeous drinking window. The nose is classic Chinon, loaded with red currant, crushed herbs, mineral dust, and hints of cassis. Beautiful Cabernet Franc herbaceousness, not green or vegetal, but alive. Red currants, crushed herbs, a little tobacco leaf, iron, stone, and that unmistakable Loire freshness. The fruit has enough generosity from the vintage to give a subtle fleshiness underneath the structure. The palate is all tension and energy. Incredible freshness, mouthwatering acidity, and a long mineral spine carry the wine across the palate. Unlike Baudry’s larger, more powerful bottlings, this is about movement. The fruit feels suspended in the acidity, and every sip seems to pull the next sip forward. After forty minutes of air, the wine became even more expressive. The red currant and herbaceous notes moved to the forefront, joined by gorgeous minerality and tremendous freshness. It is not thick or heavy like Cabernet Sauvignon, nor does it possess the density of Baudry’s biggest cuvées. Instead, it is all acid, tension, energy, and precision. Juicy, vibrant, and effortlessly drinkable, with the kind of electric persistence that makes great Cabernet Franc impossible to put down.

Textbook Loire CF in a perfect spot. Vibrant raspberry and purple flowers, graphite, bell pepper, umami elements. Finessed and balanced.

Iconic. Absolutely love this Chinon.

Raspberry coulis, blackberry juice, mushroom, violet, minerals and barnyard. Tart, explosive purple fruit, some feral, bramble notes on the structured palate, and a succession of furry, prickly tannins. Finish is smoky and bitter. Really massive and opaque, in its own way, hard to evaluate even on day 2. Expect this could gain .2 or more in score as elements resolve.

The 2018 Chinon Clos Guillot is a rich, focused powerhouse that's firm and direct, with dark blackberries and smoky notes. If we lived in an ideal world, this would be aged before releasing, as it's ripe yet tight and tannic, with the limestone soils providing grip along the sides of the mouth and a sense of direction. Lengthy, serious and complex, leaving the mouth full of dark berry fruit, spice and tea leaves. A baby. (Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous, October 2021)

Pencil shaving iron medium weight cherry fruit

As always with chinon, this screams cab franc. Pencil lead shavings, earthy funk, wild/chalky raspberry(if that's a thing..), weighty; whilst being light on the palate. Really getting to the point where Loire cab francs are some of my fav wines. And with food, forget about it..

A sign of the Times when my Lemelson Pinot Noir from same vintage scores same aggregate score: 90 in Delectable. These are not the same experience. This Baudry is a powerhouse with multiple layers. Robust and almost bursting at the the seams with blackberry & cassis. A remarkable concentration of color, flavor, & nose-like a Volnay but more on cassis & black fruit spectrum. Also bay leaf, menthol, & eucalyptus. While I’ve held several Raffaults for our daughter’s birth year, I regret not laying down a few Baudrys given they are less prone to bottle variability. What a delicious, profound wine. Dressner import.

A lot of fun with this beautiful Cab-Franc de Loire. Dark, shiny purple color. open nose on black fruits and mineral touches of graphite. The green notes that are sometimes found prominently on this grape are discreet and let express a beautiful round and lively juice that magnifies the fruit. It is a magnificent natural wine, unfiltered. Favorite 💓

Énormément de plaisir avec ce beau Cab-Franc de Loire. Robe violine sombre, brillante. nez ouvert sur les fruits noirs et touches minérales de graphites. Les notes vertes qu’on trouve parfois sur ce cépage de manière proéminente sont discrètes et laissent s’exprimer un beau jus rond et vif qui magnifie le fruit. C’est un magnifique vin nature, non filtré. Coup de cœur 💓

Classic no. 2 pencil lead nose. White pepper, purple flowers. Palate is tart, and pretty rustic. Fine grained tannins. Unfolds to a bouquet of lavender. Still needs time. Planning on holding another 2-3 years before opening another bottle.