WTN: 2020 Loire CF

With a sausage/cabbage strata, the 2020 Guion “Grand Mont” Bourgueil. Oh this is grumpy and reticent. There’s some cassis, blackberry and bell pepper,, but it’s buried under tannin. After 2 hours a little more fruit emerges, and some tobacco leaf aromas. But really for drinking now it’s a C+/B-, though think it will be a good bottle in time.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was the only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Some of the Cab Francs are a tad testy. I have a bunch of Canadian ones that are usually pretty decent, but only a couple of French, a 2020 Yannick Amirault Bourgueil Le Grand Clos that needs time, and a 2017 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges that came across a tad agrarian last time I opened one. The BC ones seem to lack that, which is a good thing.

I also have an Argentine example - 2017 El Enemigo Cabernet Franc, which is quite good and avoids the wildness of the others.