I remain a staunch supporter of Loire reds. I find they are very food-friendly, refreshing and the fruit is rarely cloying. And thanks to the fact that RP can't be bothered, there's still first class value around.
Lavigne is a long time QPR favorite, it's widely distributed with a pretty big production. Still I was suprised to find this one, complete with gold medal from Macon, in the supermarket "medalled" section. A little dearer than usual at around 6 EU.
This monster weighs in at 14 degrees! A big brambly nose, it's soft in the mouth with deep and sweet fruit finishing slightly bitter and with a characteristic Cabernet Franc mouthfeel. Not at all hot, it shows good balance for drinking now but will probably not improve. Well made and showing great versatility under difficult conditions. A Loire red Parker might like... shhh. :)
Now, for comic relief, would some non-francophones please give me phonetic spellings for "Aieules?" :)
-E