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Altus OK News

Jan 8, 2016

What to expect in the coming year

Provence rosé called Mirabeau Pure. Cabernet franc is forecast to be the new “hot” varietal and we have a few. Highly respected Jonathan Maltus takes his team at Château Teyssier in St Émilion to Napa Valley, where he produces Against the Wind cabernet franc at his World’s End winery. Here is what critic Stephen Tanzer had to say about the 2009 that we currently stock: “Good floral lift to the aromas of bitter cherry, redcurrant, liquorice and chocolate. Menthol and minty nuances emerging with air. Sweet, energetic and fine-grained with lovely spice to the flavours of red berries and flowers with a suave finish.” This is a very good vintage and it is ready to enjoy. $47.90. Decanter magazine awarded our Fabre Montmayou 2013 cabernet franc their regional trophy for Argentinian red bordeaux varietal under £15. We sell it for $14.90. This French family that moved from Bordeaux to Argentina in the early 1990s does honestly make some of my favourites and they are such good value. If I may digress, let me mention Christmas Eve in our home as it also has to do with Fabre Montmayou. My wife always makes venison meat pie at Christmas time, a treat her family have no doubt enjoyed for centuries in the area that we now call Wisconsin. The wine we chose was just perfection with this dish that also included Muscovy duck breasts. I refer to Fabre Montmayou Grand Vin 2007 from Lujan de Cuyo and I confess to writing about this wine in September. But it is just so good! I quoted Robert Parker: “Glass-coating opaque purple colour, smoke, toasted oak, incense, black cherry and plum that is supple-textured, ripe and concentrated.” This blend of 85 per cent malbec from vines planted in 1908, 10 per cent cabernet sauvignon and 5 per cent merlot is just so beautifully developed at this time, but if you would like to cellar it I suggest drinking it all up before 2023. We were selling it for more than $35 but our wine team has convinced me that I overbought and so it has been reduced to a ridiculous $20 a bottle for now. It is felt that organic farming will be more appreciated in 2016 for its care of our planet. Personally, I am such ... (Royal Gazette)