NYTimes: Asimov on LoireReds

Nice article in today's NYTimes by Eric on LoireCabFrancs:
NYTimes:Asimov/CabFranc

He laments how hard these wines are to interest Americans in because of their earthy/vegetal character and they don't fit the NapaVlly mold for Cab-based wines. It's sad.

Some familiar names in his list...some I don't recognize.
Tom

Well..is it sad, or is it just that people's tastes differ?

This is coming from someone whose favorite wine at a cab-centric party was a funky, spritzy Loire Gamay, so...

Now there are BIG CALIFORNIA REDS that I am sorry are just TERRIBLE. If I want cough syrup, I will drink cough syrup, thank-you-very-much, but "lamenting" other people's taste seems pointless. Even if I agree with him!

i will be reading the article; but my reaction to the given description is disbelief. i spend a week in Chinon nearly every spring and while the word 'vegetal' might have been descriptive of some of the wines even a decade ago, it certainly isn't today. everyone seems to know about leaf removal and skin ripeness and finding methoxypyrazine in todays wines is nearly impossible IMO.

[David M. Bueker]

But it does take a long time to overcome an image. Green tasting red wines are not that far in the rear view mirror.

But hopefully not completely gone., If there is NO green or vegetal note, even if it is a hint, why would one drink Cabernet Franc? I don't want to see all varietal or appellation character disappear!

Heck, too many California Francs to me are barely distinguishable from Cabernet Sauvignon...or ZINFANDEL.

gone as in completely gone; and good riddance. methoxypyrazine has nothing more to do with varietal character in Franc than it does in Sauvignon or Merlot - the other black varieties in the family. Franc has an inherently different taste than Sauvignon or Merlot and there are good reasons of taste alone to drink it. the reasons why CA reds often taste the same is that that is what happens to really really ripe grapes. then add a goodly dose of oak and the identity is complete.

But I like noticeable but not dominant green notes in my cabernet sauvignon as well! Give me Corison or Clos Du Val over "modern goopy style" any day!

So...we are back to the original point...tastes vary. It's a matter of opinion, I guess.

Can't disagree with your over-ripe grape comment. But this over-ripeness is at least partially and clumsily attributable to the "Fear of the Green" school of wine making, cannot it be argued?

But I like noticeable but not dominant green notes in my cabernet sauvignon as well! Give me Corison or Clos Du Val over "modern goopy style" any day!

So...we are back to the original point...tastes vary. It's a matter of opinion, I guess.

Can't disagree with your over-ripe grape comment. But this over-ripeness is at least partially and clumsily attributable to the "Fear of the Green" school of wine making, cannot it be argued?

I think there is some confusion about what constitutes "green" in a wine. I don't get green flavors in Corison's cabs. I don't remember green in Clos Du Val, although it's three or four years since I've drank one. The green in Loire cab francs really hasn't been there in the ones I've tasted the last few years, but I do remember when it was common.

Shaking a reputation is very difficult, especially with all the competition in wine. The conventional wisdom is that Finger Lakes reds aren't very good. When I ask people who say this if they have tried one lately they often say no with a look of "why should I?"

I don't get green flavors in Corison's cabs. I don't remember green in Clos Du Val, although it's three or four years since I've drank one. The green in Loire cab francs really hasn't been there in the ones I've tasted the last few years, but I do remember when it was common.

That could be, Lou. I guess what I taste, especially in YOUNG Clos Du Val, is a hint of vegetal/bell pepper notes. Maybe this is even a matter of oak at the moment, and not pyrazines? Not always in Corison, but her cabs are leaner than the typical in my limited experience and you can catch a bottle at a point in which the green notes are there, although never dominant.

[quote="Brian K Miller"]But I like noticeable but not dominant green notes in my cabernet sauvignon as well! Give me Corison or Clos Du Val over "modern goopy style" any day!

+1

tasted at Clos Du Val yesterday afternoon. Yep. a touch of green definitely there in the 2009 Stags Leap Cab. No complaints here, at least!

The majority of aroma precursors are located in the grape skins or underlying cell layer of most grape varieties. The grape berry has the potential to produce both “green” and “fruity” flavors and aromas. As the berries mature “fruity” flavors and aromas should become more pronounced. Since each berry is its own “biological factory” determining the “optimum” time to harvest is just a guess. The act of crushing the grapes and liberating the juice in the presence of the skins and possible the stems (and maybe some leaves or parts of leaves) triggers an enzymatic process in the lipid fraction of the must that could produce chemicals such as hexanal and 2-hexanal, which could contribute to the so called “green” aroma found in juice or wine. The ripening stage will govern the fatty acid content and enzyme activity. Extent of oxygen exposure and SO2 concentration at crush may also play a role in governing this process (or determining the outcome).
Winemaking and vine growing is (or should be) a selective process. Does this vine grow better here or there? Does this viticultural technique work better? Does this winemaking technique give “desirable” or “favorable” results? Preparing the juice or must prior to fermentation is a key element in determining the flavor and aroma characteristic and profile of the wine. IMHO it’s great, not everyone in the wine industry is doing exactly the same thing.

Salute