Claude Courtois
Racines
2005
12.5% alc.
Loir-et-Cher, Fr.
Claude Courtois is an eccentric French producer whose wines are fashionable in chic Paris restaurants and bars. He makes singular wines in the Loir-et-Cher, a northeastern outpost in the Loire Valley, where serious viticulture had been declining for quite some time but is now producing interesting wines. The label of the 2005 Racines, with its artfully primitive sketch on the front of a vine with its roots (Fr. “racines”) prominently displayed under the sun and, on the back, a delicate little sketch of a rustic scene (wooded pond, rowboat and hare) reflects a place Courtois calls “Les Cailloux – Le Paradis” (“Rock of Paradise”) in Sologne. Courtois’ vineyards rest on arid stony soil under clay. The grand cuvée Racines is a Bordeaux-style assemblage of cabernet franc, cot (malbec) and cabernet sauvignon. These grapes typically are produced in the Loire, but this vin de table is not a typical Loire blend.
If you open the 2005 vintage now, allow a little aeration to let the high firm tannins soften and the taut palate round out a bit. Initially, you’ll encounter a complex pleasurable aroma of clove, dark cherries, leather, plum and blackcurrants. On the palate, this dry, concentrated wine had appealing flavors of tea, orange peel, plum, cinnamon, tar and earth that gave way to more noticeable fruit flavors as it opened. The length was long and the finish had a slight anise note. You can see—that is, you can taste—how this hearty, balanced, reasonably priced wine is popular among the Parisian wine drinking cognoscenti. It’s available here, and you should make an effort to find it. Importer: World Wide Wines, Ltd. (Jenny & Francois Selections). $27.00. 12/8/08.
