Cabernet franc

gerald

Where did you get this idea. I wrote nothing of the sort. Of course much of the best Cabernet Franc (and plenty of very common stuff) has long come from the Loire in France, but it usually is named for a subregion and often an individual vineyard for the best examples. Tons of poor Cabernet Franc under various names, often nearly a rose, imported into the US in the early days gave this grape a bad name. More recently a few really outstanding Loire examples can be found here. For example Clos de la Dioterie (from Chinon in the Loire) SCEA Charles Joynet 1990 was an outstanding example and has aged very well. There are several other top producers.

Yes there were vegetable tastes in many white and red wines in the 70s. Because of urban sprawl and the need to expand vineyards, many planted vineyards in new regions. Some regions were not suited for some grapes, and the way the vines were pruned and trained often had to be changed. Excessive leaves sometimes had to be removed. I can recall many reviews of wines from new regions in that era that mentioned asparagus, weeds, etc in describing the taste and smell of the wines. Of course the best growers in the 70s already had a long track record of making outstanding wine. For example, Ridge usually made a top Monte Bello CS, and they made many top Zinfandels from various regions. Many of these wines still are drinking well. BV has had ups and downs, but they made many top Private Reserve CSs in the 50s and 60s, and some of these still are drinking well.