2018 Chinon Gabare

The bottle of the 2018 Chinon Gabare I had was most probably slightly TCA’ed, thus a question mark after the score. The wine displays an elegant and intense bouquet of ripe, dark cherry and berry fruits intertwined with spicy notes of toast, nougat and cigar box. The full-bodied, silky-textured and elegant wine is intense and dense on the palate, very juicy, full of power and provided with ripe and silky tannins. The finish is a bit astringent, and I am pretty sure this is not due to severe extraction or oak tannins but is most likely due to TCA. 14% alcohol. Tasted in June 2021.

Certified Fr-Bio organic. On the back label: 'vignerons en polyculture'. 40-year-old vines. Hand-picked. Vinified in cement vats. Woodland-strawberry scented with a lovely, lively undercurrent of black pepper and freshly ground coriander seeds and crushed clove. This has a rich seam of umami running through the tip-toe-tart strawberry fruit – not quite as salty as soy, but perhaps more like an aged aceto balsamico. Hints of autumn sous bois to come, of wild mushrooms fried in brown butter. Complete on the finish. Exciting stuff! (TC)

The Gabare is very 2018 in its ripeness and generosity of fruit. This hot vintage has lent a heat, tipping the balance and detracting somewhat. It matured entirely in concrete for more than a year before going into bottle and spending another two to three years there before release. Silken and easy to approach, it still shows red cherry fruit, but this is starting to show an almondy character with some savory notes. Drink up.