Who's cross?

Florida Jim

Florida Jim

Florida Jim
2005 Baudry, Chinon La Croix Boisse:
When I was in CA last, I tasted a Napa cabernet franc that really tasted like good Chinon but then, there is good and there is . . .; this is fantastic Chinon the nose is expansive, penetrating and all encompassing tobacco, seasoned plum compote, Bakers chocolate; rich but firm in the mouth, super fine tannins that are ripe but not sweet, classic black fruit, some mineral this seems to morph as it slides across the tongue worsted texture, precise balance; endless, nuanced length.
Much as I loved that well-made CA cab. franc there is no substitute for the real thing; this wine is spherical but also expansive in a way that lets me know that this variety can produce world class wines of extraordinary potency. Its possible that this will live a very long time but right now, its a reminder that glory and greatness exist in the world concepts that seems to be in short supply.

Best, Jim
 
Jim-

I had this last night and was wondering if it would be a waste to open one now. It wasn't. As you say, this is an extraordinary wine, and likely even better in 5-10 years.
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
How many is "a few?"
Click to expand...
The '96 is still pretty tight. Maybe it'll be more like the '97, which is drinking well, and that reminds me I should pull a couple.

The '05 was still a bit early in the period of more gentle handling and consequently softer tannins at Baudry. IOW, it still has a good dose of them and will need some time.
 
I think 15 year-old Chinon can be super, and this sounds like it could improve until then.
If you can, be sure to save a bottle or two.
 
I do wonder how tight it will shut down or if it will shut down.

The wine is tannic now, but drinking it now is still fun to drink now. If you have only 1-2 bottles, I'd wait until October 11, 2018.
 
Actually, CF is the chief varietal in Cheval Blanc, isn't it? CB is thought in some quarters to be the best overall B'x. So it's definitely up to world-class.

'Spherical' is a great descriptor.
 
Or maybe an interdiction board?

And to answer the original question, Cheval Blanc is roughly 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, with a little Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec used to varying degrees depending upon the vintage (they've got those varieties planted in their vineyards but don't necessarily feel compelled to use them unless appropriate).

-Eden (I say "tomato")
 
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
You say variety, I say varietal, let's call the whole thing off ....
Click to expand...
These are not the same thing, and the one is not a variant pronunciation of the other. (Or, is it your usual stance to simply redefine words as you go along?)
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
You say variety, I say varietal, let's call the whole thing off ....
Click to expand...
These are not the same thing, and the one is not a variant pronunciation of the other. (Or, is it your usual stance to simply redefine words as you go along?)
Click to expand...

Not usually, but given the pressure I'm getting on this, I may make an exception, just for the heck of it.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
(Or, is it your usual stance to simply redefine words as you go along?)
Click to expand...

I'm not usually averse to such an approach, as long as your audience is willing to buy into it.

The thread on "Transparency in Translation" started out about wine and then books and then apples in Vermont in the fall with references to a book written by an Argentine writer born in Belgium, beautifully translated into English from its original Spanish by a guy from Yonkers whose father was Cuban. In translation, all of these influences get mangled together and the definitions of certain words do get shifted about, but it's all toward the end of capturing the vibe of the story the author is telling. This same guy (Cortzar) also wrote a book called "Cronopios & Famas" that's all about messing with our perceptions of what anything really means, our social/political foibles and what plane of existence we function in, so he'd probably be a good person to weigh in here, were he not deceased.

So rather than leap upon Ian in a suffocating scrum of vocabulicular intolerance, I think we should embrace the inspiration behind the grammatical envelope-pushing, even if he'd be hard pressed to find much support here at Wine disorder for a seachange switch to the use of "varietal" when the actual term for the matter at hand is "variety". Me, I'd vote against it, but it's not as if we all don't know what Ian meant by the word, and that's either halfway to changing the definition on a wider scale or it's halfway down the slippery slope to word hell.

And this is just English. Are there such fine delineations between these words in French or Japanese or Urdu?

-Eden (hell, I've been known to fly totally off the handle when someone pompously refers to "microclimate" when what they're really talking about is "mesoclimate", but then I guess that we all have our pushable buttons, so watch out, lest the Glock keeps ticking as the language takes a licking)
 
Eden, you're being kind (and brilliant, as is usual; stuff of winegeek dreams, your posts), but somewhat antiintellectual, which is sucky. Of course we know he means "variety" when he says "varietal." Should I say, "Me and him went to the store"? Or "Between you and I" (uuuuugh)? Stand staunch.

-Sharon (just hoping SFJoe cooks up some Axolotl next time I'm in NY)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top