Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur-Champigny Clos de L'Echelier

Classic Loire Cabernet Franc. Savory herbs, whiff of green pepper and slight barnyard on the nose. Medium bodied, cherry and perhaps raspberry nice acidity and herbs on the finish. Everything in balance drinking beautifully.

It's OK.It should be great. This 2014 is still to "hard" and does not release enough of flavours. Disappointing

Tasted blind with the 2015. Very much a classic Loire Cab Sauv. All of preferred the 2014. Green pepper up front with cherry, earth notes, hints of truffle. More of same on the palate with good balanced acidity and tannin. Its in a great spot right now. Looking at earlier comments I have to think this went thru a 2-year dumb faze like many reds can do. This was really enjoyable.

Bought this bottle 4 years ago. Considering the quite elevated price for being a Saumur-Champigny I had quite high hopes. The reviews on this site made me a little apprehensive, but I thought "what do they know"? Turns out that they were right - this is not a very good wine, and for ~37€ it's a downright rip-off. It's in some way impressive that a wine can be this tart and young-tasting after 10 years, but with the lack of …

Vinetasters: Loire red (Wilmette, IL) : Served double blind. High-toned Sharpie marker on the nose with some black currant notes including the astringency of the pips of said blackcurrants. The weight on the palate feels meagre especially in comparison to the ripeness of the fruit here. My 8th, group's 8th.

Stone fruit more than cassis, bitter chocolate, and some leafy varietal notes on the nose. It's midweighted and a bit polished on the palate. There's good ripeness and balancing acidity, with more of the same fruit and savory notes on the palate. Very well made, but it comes off a bit polished. Still outstanding, just lacking some excitement. I feel kind of the same as decauturwine dude about this. Varietally correct, technically outstanding, and a bit boring. 90

Nothing flawed but simply not a very good wine. Some interesting savoury notes but dominated by some stalky, unripe blackberry. The least convincing cuvée from this estate and in 2014 at least, overpriced. Avoid.

It finally felt like fall today and I decided to braise some short ribs and pop a little Thierry Germain. This really takes some time to come on. Decanted about 30 mins, and first glass was a decent drink, a good compliment to braised short ribs, but rather unremarkable. It is well made. Pure. It is solidly Cab Franc, some green pepper, earth and tart cherry. With air, it definitely puts on more personality, and becomes more complete. A good …

Decanted. Took about 30 min to open up and now 1h after decant. Initially some bretty barnyard aromas that have now present but very mild, blackberry and currant aromas with herbs, brown stems, green peppers, and forest floor. Palate w dark blackberries, dark cherries, herbs, green peppers, and damp forest floor. Nice acids give the wine brightness on a medium bodied frame. A hair thin on midpalate that fills out toward the back end as mild tannins come on. Nice …

In two past reviews (and a third tasting I didn't post), I've been highly critical of this wine. Yet today (tasting non-blind), I'm a fan. Go figure. I like the combination of bright strawberries and green bell peppers, which I consider the signature of Loire cab franc. There is also a touch of ocean-like minerality in the nose. The wine is bright but not too bright; great for food pairing.

Tasted blind again -- I was even less enthused than last time. The wine is light and tart, which is typical for Loire reds, but I found the flavors murky, even gamey, this time. I noticed much less of the green bell pepper note, though I was able to identify this wine confidently out of a lineup of three (including a malbec and a monastrell--two plumper, riper-tasting wines).

Tasted blind. Prominent bell pepper aroma with some freshly sliced strawberry. Light/medium-bodied and tangy with subtle tannins. Better as a food wine than a relax-on-the-couch wine due to the high acidity and light weight. Rating: 88 Guess the wine. Loire cab franc. ~4 years old.