A night out in Angers: Cercle Rouge and Barco Vino
Websites: https://www.barcovino.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/lecerclerougeangers?locale2=fr_FR#
Had a really nice evening with a good crew in Angers. Two excellent drinking spots: Cercle Rouge (a natural wine bar run by Joseph Mosse, of the Mosse wine family), and Barco Vino, a wine bar on a boat.
Both venues have amazing wine lists, and we plundered these well.
Mosse Aïda 2023 Vin de France
11% alcohol. This is a vineyard that was replanted from Cabernet Sauvignon to Savagnin in 2018. It’s north facing with a shallow topsoil over schist. This is grainy and a bit salty with pear and lemon fruit and fine spices. Detailed and really appealing with a stony edge. 94/100
Catherine & Pierre Breton Vouvray Bois Guyon 2019 Loire, France
14% alcohol. This is off-dry. Rich, textural and showing fine spicy detail to the sweet fruit. Rich, intense and mouthfilling. This was bottled with crown cap as an insurance in case it started refermenting. 92/100
Dominique Belluard Gringet Eponyme 2020 Savoie, France
12% alcohol. Textured, fine, salty and spicy. This is concentrated with lovely detail. Such a beautiful expression of Gringet. 95/100
Guiberteau Clos de Guichaux Monopole Bizay 2018 Saumur, France
Crystalline and finely spiced, this is stony and mineral with focused lemon and pear fruit, as well as a hint of aniseed. Lovely stuff. 95/100
Lapierre Morgon 2021 Beaujolais, France
This is the ‘S’ cuvée, which means it has some sulfites added before bottling. Silky and sweetly fruited, this is bold with nice depth of fruit. Good concentration and a lot of ripe fruit, with wild strawberries and cherries to the fore. So textural. 94/100
Clau de Nell Grolleau 2020 Loire, France
This is dense, firm and concentrated, and not what you’d usually expect from Grolleau. Polished with some notes of tapenade and spice, gravel and black cherries. Not typical but quite fine in this rich style. 94/100
Maxime Mignon Métisse 2021 Corbières, France
Very pale red in colour, this shows strawberries, cherries and sweet rhubarb with some pear and spice notes. Sleek, silky and enchanting, this is really fine in this lighter style. 94/100
