WTN/QPR Laroque Cab Franc

[Robin Garr]

Really nice QPR in an $11 Cab Franc from Carcassonne.

Domaine Laroque 2019 Cité de Carcassonne ($10.99)

Labeled 100% Cabernet Franc and "grown in high-altitude vineyards" in the region around the historic French castle village Carcassonne, Laroque Cabernet Franc is a dark reddish-purple wine with delicious if subtle red-berry aromas backed up by the "green" herbal notes typical of Cab Franc and an earthy background perhaps attributable to it being fermented (but not aged) in fresh oak. On the palate it's mouth-filling and tart, brisk acidity and lasting astringent tannins surrounding good red-berry fruit that lingers. Moderate 13% alcohol. U.S. importer: Aquitaine Wine USA LLC, Berkeley, Calif.; a Jean-Christophe Calvet Selection. (Feb. 21, 2022)

FOOD MATCH: The back label suggests, rather broadly, pairing it with Mediterranean cuisine, pasta, lamb, chicken, pizzas and hamburgers, all of which makes sense. It went very well with a full-flavored pasta with feta and green olives recipe posted in The New York Times last month by Emily Weinstein. (Paywall.)

WHEN TO DRINK: This well structured and tannic cab franc, protected by a taint-free DIAM technical cork, should remain good to drink and perhaps evolve under proper cellar conditions for five or even 10 years.

VALUE:
Wine-Searcher.com's $12 average U.S. retail matches my local price. It's an excellent value.

WEB LINK:
Domaine Laroque's US importer provides this extensive document about the wine.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Laroque Cité de Carcassonne on Wine-Searcher.com.

Follow this Wine-Searcher link to find information and listings for dozens of other wines from IGP Cití de Carcassonne.

This Wine-Searcher link will take you on a tour of Cabernet Franc and representative wines from around the world.

That's an interesting one, Robin. I'm not usually a fan of Cabernet Franc from Languedoc but the Carcassonne area usually brings greater freshness being situated close to the watershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean. I ought to be able to find it here but my first Google search got confused by a Château Laroque in St.Émilion, a Domaine Laroque d'Antan near Cahors and a Château La Roque at Pic-St.Loup. I should persevere. It sounds stunning QPR.

Yeah, I tried to find too but gave up!!

I've tried again. I can't find a website for this estate and it looks as if its wines are not available from any internet suppliers in France. Furthermore I got no hits on Wine Searcher anywhere in Europe but several in the USA!?

[Robin Garr]

Sounds to me like a small producer that made a deal with a US distributor. All I know is that I've liked the wines that I've had from La Roque in Cité de Carcassone, and sorry you guys apparently can't have them.

Google "Domaine Laroque" "Carcassonne" and you'll get a ton of glowing comments for various bottlings, all from retailers (including some major grocers like Kroger), all American. No hits in France. None from wine publications. Garnet, a NYC wine shop, had this info about the property:

Domaine Laroque is a historical estate in the ancient region of Carcassonne that produces an extraordinary and unique wine made from 100% Cabernet Franc. Domaine Laroque (from the latin roqua) derives its name from the Menhirs (a single standing stone that dates back to the middle of the Bronze Age like Stonehenge) which are found on estate. During the Middle Ages, the estate belonged to the Bishop of Carcassonne, who was renowned for making the best wines in the region. Local legend has it that the devil, upset with the Bishop of Carcassonne for stealing his “clients,” tried to stone the Bishop with giant rocks. Following the attack, the Bishop constructed the fortress of Cazilhac with these Menhirs and marked the event by placing a cross on the last remaining Menhir. After this, processions were undertaken around this oratory and all the parcels of vines that surrounded it, including those of Domaine de Laroque, in order to ward off the devil. Today, Albert Sarail and his family own the estate and are making an easy-- drinking wine that combines the structure, minerality, and dusty rose characteristics of Cabernet Franc with the lively, fruitiness of wines from the south of France.
https://www.garnetwine.com/main.asp?req ... try=france

It really is a mystery. This has all the earmarks of an industrial wine under a fake label made for the American mass market, but it's typical of the variety and the region and it is good.

Maybe the most useful information on the label is this:

Mis en bouteille par EMB 33118A - F33360
pour Aquitaine Wine Company

So not estate-bottled, despite the Domaine name.

F33360 is the city of Carignan-de-Bordeaux is located in the township of Créon in Gironde in Aquitaine.

Aquitaine is a distributor based in Berkeley, Calif., with a pretty broad stable of French wines.
https://tastefrance-wineandspirits.com/ ... ranc-pw163

And that's about all I've got!