Côt or Cabernet Franc?

I'm hoping that someone is going to help me out here. Yesterday passing through the vines of Saint-Georges-sur-Cher it was clear that a big majority of the grapes have now been picked. There was a block that still had some unpicked black grapes, so I stopped to take some photos. These are with Côt or Cabernet Franc. Initially I thought they were Côt (Malbec) from the colour of the leaves but then I noticed that some leaves were indented indicating that they might be Cabernet. Now looking again at the photos I'm inclined to go back to my first guess – that these are Côt. Your thoughts please.

The leaves

Then on to the Clos du Porteau in La Vallée Pitrou (part of Saint-Georges-sur-Cher) where I caught up with Aynard de Clermont Tonnerre and Henri Chapon. Aynard has again been busy this year during the harvest with his thermo-vinification system helped in 2011 by Henri as they rush around the Loire vineyards heating up their customers' must with the thermo machine.

Aynard: "We have been very busy, especially as there is quite a lot of rot about, mainly in weed killered vineyards, and one of the advantages of thermo-vinification is that it removes the taste of rot. There is much less rot in grassed over vineyards."

Aynard's 2011 Sauvignon (made by Isabelle, la vigneronne du Clos du Porteau) tasted promising. We tried vats from a number of different parcels. The fruit was picked around 12%-12.5% alc and has some weight and good clean flavours. They are increasing relying on the natural yeasts.

 Shop@Antoine Simoneau

Open day@Antoine Simoneau, Le Domaine de la Rablais, 20 Rue des Vendanges, 41400 Saint-Georges-sur-Cher, tel: 02.54.71.36.14, www.antoinesimoneau.com 

 

Isabelle de Clermont-Tonnerre (winemaker)

A quick call yesterday evening to Isabelle de Clermont-Tonnerre (Clos du Porteau, Saint Georges-sur-Cher)  established that they had just picked the last of their Cabernet that day, which had come in a 14%. Apparently a number of other producers in Saint-Georges also also finished yesterday including Norbert Berry.

Aynard, le chauffeur extraordinaire, is still very busy hiring out his thermovinification machine in many parts of Touraine. Demand appears to have been boosted significantly this year due to the prevalence of rot. Apparently heating the must up to 60˚C gets rid of the taste of rot and the thermomachine has been used on a wide range of wines including Sauvignon Blanc in Touraine and Chenin in Vouvray and Montlouis. It will be interesting to taste the wines as I think it is similar to the technique used in parts of Beaujolais and the Côte Roannaise as the process emphasises the fruit. I don't know whether this reduces the wine's potential to age, although many of these wines will be made for early consumption so it may not be an issue.

Further research required I fancy.