Fronsac, France
Regular Price $34.99
Sale Price $27.99
So here’s the thing…by and large, we stock wines that we like. And, again, by and large, that translates into classic, elegantly styled, subdued wines that pair well with foods. I like to call these ‘table’ wines. (Yes, I know that the term ‘table wine’ has historically referred to an unpretentious wine from a unheralded wine region.) The wines that I’m referring to are wines that really benefit from being served in conjunction with food, largely because of their relatively high acid level.
There exists (in my opinion) another type of wine, that I’ll call ‘cocktail wines’. These are wines that one can easily consume without food as they are lower in acidity and more fruit forward, viscous and, yes, often sweet. I’m not saying these wines are bad, they are just not the type of wines that I prefer. Sometimes, they are very well made and, frankly, delicious. But, you won’t typically see them in this space.
Until now. This wine’s for you…
Chateau Vieille Cure has been growing grapes and producing wines from the Right Bank village of Fronsac since the 17th century. Merlot (no, not the insipid California swill that crashed the Merlot market, rather the thick-skinned and bold half-brother of Cabernet) has been planted here traditionally (along with Cabernet Franc and, you know, those other grapes) and has made stately and well-regarded wines that age slowly and splendidly. In the mid-80’s, the estate was sold to some, er, Americans and they set out to improve things. Which they did. (Really, I’m not being snarky here.)
The wines now are big, rich, plush, full throttle, high alcohol (15%!) oak wrapped beasts that over-perform for the money. This same style and quality wine would sell for 3 times as much if it was from Napa, both because its more expensive to make wine in Napa and, for some unknown reason, consumers will spend more money from wines from Napa. I really don’t know why.
Anyway, if you like this style, if you think big, thick, fruity, purple wines are just the bomb, you’ll like this wine. Alot. Me, I respect this wine. I think they set out to make a wine that many people will enjoy and they succeeded. Its rich and seamless and polished and really easy to like. If you like these kinds of wines.