Highlights: Le Rocher des Violettes Côt Vielles Vignes 2017 Touraine

I’m quite a fan of Loire reds, and this Malbec (known locally as Côt) was a nice surprise. It’s very drinkable. Is it 100% pure (as in free from any slight defect)? I’m not sure, but any rusticity is really sitting well in the background, and this is a lovely drinkable wine with lots of personality.

Xavier Weisskopf worked running the cellar for Louis Barroul at Saint-Cosme for four years, before moving to the Loire and buying 9 hectares of old vines in Montlouis. His main focus is on Chenin, but he also makes this wine from a 1 hectare old vine plot in Montlouis (average age 80 years old; the oldest vine in the plot was planted in 1891). Soils are sandy. Winemaking is 50% whole cluster ferment then ageing in old oak.

Xavier Weisskopf Le Rocher des Violettes Côt Vielles Vignes 2017 Touraine, Loire
12.5% alcohol. This organic Malbec from Touraine really hits the spot. Bright, juicy and exuberant with fresh red cherries, plums and berries. There’s also some meat, spice and charcoal with a hint of pepper. This wine shows a restrained sort of wildness, but overall it is drinkable and vital. 92/100 (drunk in at Bedales, Spitafields Market)

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