Le Macchiole Paleo: The quintessential Tuscan Cabernet Franc

In a Forbes article written by Susan Gordon, Vinous wine critic Ian D'Agata is quoted thusly:

What Bolgheri is really remarkably good for is Cabernet Franc. It is probably the single best place for Cabernet Franc in the world after Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. Even when you go to taste out of barrel, in nine out of 10 wineries the best one is filled with Cabernet Franc ... Le Macchiole's "Paleo" used to not be 100% Cabernet Franc but it became 100% Cabernet Franc and has never looked back.

And it is that Le Macchiole Paleo Cabernet Franc, one of my favorite Bolgheri wines, that I will be examining today.

Le Macchiole is a 22-ha estate located in Bolgheri DOC just across Bolgheri Road from the famed Tenuta dell'Ornellaia estate and 5 km away from the sea.  According to enotecaitalia.biz, the current incarnation has its roots in an estate of the same name founded in 1975 by the father and grandfather of the late Eugenio Campolmi (co-founder, along with his wife Cenzia Merli, of the current estate) when they decided to produce and sell wines from grapes grown in their small vineyards.  These founders utilized contemporary farming and winemaking practices and this, combined with poor vineyard positioning and soil quality, yielded low quantities of poor quality wine. 

When Eugenio took control of the business in 1981, he moved decisively to change the direction of the estate.  He made the decision that the location was not conducive to success so he purchased 9 ha of land in the current location in 1983. Not being sure of what varieties would grow best in this new location, Eugenio embarked on a path that would become the hallmark of the company -- experimentation to determine the best fit for the environment. For example, Le Macchiole was the first estate in Bolgheri to plant Syrah, the first to adopt high-density planting, and the first to produce a monovarietal Cabernet Franc.

The climate that Le Macchiole contends with is temperate, thanks to its proximity to the sea, but the temperature at its location is higher than anywhere else in Bolgheri. The soil is deep and clayey with significant stone and rock deposits. Vineyards are planted to 10,000 vines/ha, are short-cordon-spur pruned, and have been organic since 2002.

Le Macchiole only works with its own grapes, drawn from the stable of vineyards shown below. The map shows that Cabernet Franc is grown in every vineyard, except for the northernmost and southernmost, with a variety of soil types and planting densities. The vineyards are farmed organically, a process that begun with the 2002 vintage, with biodynamic practices launched in 2010.

Le Macchiole Paleo

Paleo began life as a classic Bordeaux blend in 1989 before being repositioned as a Cabernet Franc monovarietal beginning with the 2001 vintage. Grapes for this wine are sourced from the Puntone, Casanuova, and Vignone vineyards. The grapes are harvested manually and double sorted prior to a 30-day fermentation/maceration in concrete vats. The wines are aged for 19 months in new oak barriques.

Tasting of Selected Vintages of Paleo

I have grown to love the liveliness of this Cabernet Franc and am not reticent about spreading the message to converts and doubting Thomases alike. Below are notes on selected vintages that I have tasted.

2013 Le Macchiole Paleo -- On the nose blueberry, mocha, licorice, mint, tobacco, and baking spices. Full-bodied. Balanced. Mouth-coating tannins. Lengthy finish. Would benefit from a little more cellar time.

2012 Le Macchiole Paleo -- Plum, dark fruits, bell pepper, red pepper, tobacco, and herbs on the nose. Focused on the palate. Balanced. Medium-long finish.

2011 Le Macchiole Paleo -- Elegant. Ripe black and red fruits, garrigue, roasted peppers and wild herbs on the nose. Full-bodied. Well integrated. Textured. Lengthy finish.

2008 La Macchiole Paleo -- Floral, with dark fruits, mint, cinnamon, cedar and smoke on the nose. Palate confirms. Bold. More cellar time needed.

2007 Le Macchiole Paleo -- Dark berries, green bell pepper, chocolate, cassis, baking spices on the nose. Elegant and complex on the palate. Dark fruit, milk chocolate, integrated tannins and a lengthy finish.

2006 Le Macchiole Paleo -- Ripe blackberries, baking spices, dark chocolate, cassis, herbs, and pepper on the nose. A black fruit core surrounded by a savoriness, spice, and minerality. Full bodied and fresh. Lengthy finish.

2005 Le Macchiole Paleo -- Aromatic. Dark fruits on the nose along with green peppers, earth, leather, cassis, espresso, herbs, and earth. Full round mouthfeel. Cherries, dark chocolate, and integrated tannins. Powerful. Lengthy finish.

2002 Le Macchiole Paleo -- Florality. Black/red fruits, coffee, hint of tar, herbs, and leather on the nose. Medium-bodied. Well integrated. Balanced. Red fruit and herbs. Lengthy, drying finish.

Tasting session at Capital Grille

2000 Le Macchiole Paleo -- Raw meat, lacquer, spice, black pepper, red pepper, and garrigue on the nose. Red fruit on the palate. Balanced. Lengthy, slightly astringent finish.

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Messorio, a Merlot monovarietal, is Le Macchiole's flagship wine. At a 2009 tasting of Masseto and Messorio led by the respective enologists Axel Heinz and Luca D'Attoma, Heinz opined that the wines were set apart by different visions and stylistic interpretations of similar terroir  with the result being that Masseto was "more powerful and more concentrated, with extremely 'aristocratic' tannins" while Messorio was "leaner" and "almost austere."

And this is the sense that comes through to me with Paleo: a restraint, an unwillingness to flood the zone. I love this wine.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

The Loire Valley: Classic Cabernet Franc

This is the final post in a series which has stretched over 1.5 weeks and sought to educate readers on the primary characteristics, and selected growing regions, of the "Cabs" in #Cabernet Day.  Today we close by spotlighting the region that provides the benchmark expression of the Cabernet Franc grape -- the Loire Valley.

The Loire Valley is the largest wine growing area in France and is dominated by the Loire River as it flows from the Massif Central in the heart of the country northwards to its final destination, the Atlantic Ocean.  The broader region is further divided inot four sub-regions -- Central Vineyards, Anjou-Saumur, Pays Nantais, and Touraine -- and, while better known for whites from Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, its reds from Touraine (Chinon, Bourgueil, St. Nicholas de Bourgueil) and Anjou-Saumur (Saumur-Champigny) are classic representations of Cabernet-Franc-dominant wines.

The Chinon AOC covers 18 communes on both sides of the Vienne River prior to its merger with the Loire River.  There are approximately 4500 acres of Cabernet Franc vines in the region and, in general, the wines from the area are fresh and supple with flavors and aromas of red fruits and violets.  Three different terroirs have been identified in the area, however, and the wine styles vary based on their terroir of origin.  The slopes and hills along the Vienne River are composed of a Late-Cretaceous limestone called Tuffeau and the wines from this soil have great structure and ageing capability.  The area around the commune of Veron is characterized by a Late-Cretaceous clay and produces wines that are intermediate to the lighter Chinons produced in the alluvial sand and gravel soils that can be found in communes such as Panzoult.  Chinon wines are barrel-aged but the neutral barrels impart no oak flavors to the wine thus allowing the natural character of the grape to advance unimpeded to the bottle. Quality Chinon producers include Couly-Duthiel, Bernard Bautry, and Charles Joguet.

Bourgueil and St. Nicholas de Bourgueil are both located on the north bank of the Loire River.  Winemaking in these areas stretch back to Roman times but became institutionalized with the founding of the Abbey of Bourgueil in 990 AD.  As in Chinon, the wine styles are terroir-driven.  Vineyards planted in sand and gravel soils produce fruity wines which lend themselves to early drinking.  Vineyards planted on the south-facing hillsides take advantage of the clay and limestone soils to yield richer wines with greater ageing potential.  The climate is favorable for Cabernet Franc based on the regulating influence of the Atlantic that is pipelined along the Loire Valley and the forest-provided protection from the north winds that is afforded vines on the south-facing slopes.  Quality producers from these AOCs are Domaine de la Butte, Frederic Mabileau, and Yannick Amirault.

Saumur-Champigny is a red wine appellation within the larger Saumur AOC and its Cabernet Franc wines may be blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and a local varietal called Pineau d'Aunis.  The Cabernet Franc vines in the AOC are over 50 years old and reside on Tuffeau cliffs on the south bank of the Loire.  The wines are described as being softer and rounder than the wines from Touraine.  In addition to serving as the base terroir for the vines, the limestone cliffs serve as underground cellars for ageing of the wines.  Domaine de Varinelles produces good Cabernet Franc wines in this region.

Cabernet Franc Digs in on Long Island

In little over 25 years, the Long Island wine industry has grown from one small vineyard to over 3,000 acres of vines and over fifty wineries producing world-class wines.



Located in New York State, on the east coast of the United States, Long Island extends approximately 120 miles into the Atlantic Ocean. The Long Island wine region encompasses Nassau and Suffolk Counties, with the majority of wineries and vineyards at the East End, on the North and South Forks, which are separated by Peconic Bay. These two peninsulas were created by the Wisconsin Glacier during the last Ice Age, over 10,000 years ago. Long Island is in essence a huge sandbar that was pushed down the Hudson Valley and deposited when the glacier finally receded. The soils are mostly sand and fine clay, extremely well-drained, with little topsoil, making them ideal for grape growing.

The first commercially viable vineyard on Long Island was planted in 1973 by Louisa and Alex Hargrave. The Hargraves were recent Harvard graduates who planted their vines using Virgil’s treatises on agriculture and a basic text on viticulture from the University of California - Davis as guidance. With no history of successful vineyard management on Long Island as a guidepost, the Hargraves and other early Long Island vineyard owners applied techniques that had been successful in the Finger Lakes region of New York and in California, neither of which took into account the specific climatic factors they faced on Long Island. It was not until they looked across the ocean to Bordeaux that they found the proper model.

It took several years to perfect techniques, realizing, for example, that canopy management techniques utilized in hot locales such as the Napa Valley provided significant shading that prevented sunburn, but in a cooler maritime climate such as Long Island actually inhibited ripening.

Long Island is on the same latitude as Madrid, but its climate is nothing like that of the capital of Spain. The summer heat is tempered on the island by the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound, and Peconic Bay. These waterbodies also help to prevent late spring frosts, effectively giving Long Island a growing season of approximately 210-220 days, similar to Bordeaux. The number of degree days (a means of judging the ability of fruit to ripen in a given time period) is similar to northern Sonoma County in California. With all of these factors, vintners on Long Island have found they get ripe fruit at lower sugar levels, leading to plush wines with naturally lower alcohol levels.

The Bordelaise assisted the Long Island vintners in 1988, when a two day symposium of Bordeaux wine researchers and producers was held on the island. The outcome of the symposium was the realization of the startling similarities of the terroir between Bordeaux, and in particular Medoc, to that of the East End of Long Island. The Bordelaise focused most of their recommendations on the vineyards and not the cellars noting that the islanders were (to that point) more concerned with winemaking than grape growing. Thereafter they changed the focus resulting in the steady increase of quality to the conditions seen today.

The first commercial wines from Long Island were released in 1977, and soon the Long Island wine industry began to grow by leaps and bounds. Proximity of the early vineyards on the North Fork to the Hamptons on the South Fork brought an influx of people in the late 1980s and early 1990s coming to winemaking from successes in other pursuits. Many bought existing farms growing other crops (primarily potatoes) and converted them to vineyards. With the influx of new blood and new money also came business acumen and a drive to produce quality wines. The new wineries hired consultants, many of them from famed Bordeaux chateaux.

There are approximately 188 acres of vineyard dedicated to Cabernet Franc on Long Island, representing less than 10% of the lands under vine, compared to Merlot, which represents over 35% of the planted vineyards. But despite its smaller presence, Cabernet Franc is gaining prominence. Many Long Island wineries are discovering that, as the star rather than as part of the supporting cast, Cabernet Franc can have its own charm and character.

The phenotypic Long Island Cabernet Franc typically exhibits an aroma of red berries (raspberry, cherry, and cranberry) and floral notes, with hints of leather, tobacco, and freshly turned earth. The palate typically shows some of the spice characteristic of the varietal with hints of menthol / peppermint and pepper, and the fruit shows blackberry, raspberry, and boysenberry notes.

Long Island Cabernet Franc producers of note include Castello di Borghese (the original Hargrave Winery), Wölffer Estates, Roanoke Vineyards, Palmer Vineyards, Shinn Estate Vineyards, and Osprey’s Dominion.

#Cabernet Day -- Cabernet Franc Review

Cabernet Franc, for the most part, exists locked between the death grip of the hard tannins of Cabernet Sauvignon and the suffocating, chocolatey embrace of Merlot, with just enough room available to allow its fruity aromas to escape as it gasps for the life-sustaining air of Bordeaux.  There is a growing "Free Franky" movement that is seeking to peel away the Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot bonds and to give this varietal its own stellar place in the sun.

Cabernet Franc (also known as Bidure, Bouchet, Cabernet Blanc, Cabernet Franco, Capbreton Rouge, Kaberne Frank, and Noir Dur) has the distinction, along with Sauvignon Blanc, of being a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon but, like many a parent, has been outshone by the capabilities and broad-based acceptance of its offspring.  With large clusters of blue-black grapes, Cabernet Franc looks a bit like Cabernet Sauvignon but the similarity ends at the first view.  Both varieties are grown in Bordeaux but while Cabernet Sauvignon has the starring role, Cabernet Franc is primarily used as a blending grape for Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot-dominated wines.  Chateau Cheval Blanc is one of the few Bordeaux wines to have as much as 50% Cabernet Franc as part of the blend.

Cabernet Franc is a vigorous varietal which flourishes in a wide variety of soil types and, unlike Cabernet Sauvignon, it does well in cooler climates.  The grape buds early and ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon, providing a hedge against Cabernet Sauvignon losses resulting from inclement weather during harvesting.  The grapes are large and have thick skins but the higher pulp-to-skin ratio renders it less tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon.  The vine is prone to vigorous foliage production in cooler climates and this has to be managed to ensure that it focuses on fruit ripening.

The most heralded characteristics of Cabernet Franc are the tannin/acidity balance and its fruitiness.  The fruit flavors associated with the varietal are blackberries, ripe plums, strawberries, raspberries, and cassis.  The non-fruit flavors that can be identified are meat, green olives, licorice, green peppers, nutmeg, herbs, leather and violets.

Cabernet Franc comes into its own as a varietal in the cooler Loire Valley.  This region is best known for its whites but in Saumur, Chinon, and Bourgeil the red wines are Cabernet Franc and are renowned for their value and ageability.  In the New World, Cabernet Franc is being planted with increasing frequency and made into a standalone varietal but the best adaptations appear to be in the cooler climates of New York's Finger Lakes, Hudson River Valley, and Long Island regions.

Warm weather Cabernet Francs have less acid and more tannins and, as such, pair well with the same foods as does Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  Cooler weather Cabernet Franc pairs well with fish, light chicken and German Schnitzel.

Today I picked up a 2006 Chinon Cuvee Terroir by Charles Joguet and a 2005 Anjou Vendanges by Domaine Philippe Delesvaux to drink during the course of #Cabernet Day.  Do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.  Pick up a Cabernet Franc wine for #Cabernet Day. Free Franky.

New Zealand - Not Just for Sauvignon Blanc Anymore

While the South Island of New Zealand has garnered all of the attention for many years with the Sauvignon Blancs from the Marlborough region and, more recently, the Pinot Noirs from Central Otago, more and more we are seeing quality Cabernet Sauvignons, Cabernet Francs, and Bordeaux blends coming from the North Island, particularly from Hawkes Bay on east side of the island (southwest of the town of Napier) and from the Waiheke Island area outside of Auckland.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc arrived “down under” through Australia with James Busby in 1832, and originated from cuttings and rootstock collected in France and Spain. Given the maritime climate in most of New Zealand, Cabernet Sauvignon tends to take on a lot of the flavor characteristics (floral, spice, herbal notes) typically associated with Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Franc was not widely planted until the 1990s, with only about 210 hectares (525 acres) planted as of 2006, compared to close to 1,700 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. These are both relatively small plantings, when compared to the 42,000± acres planted to Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.

Hawke’s Bay

Hawke’s Bay is New Zealand’s oldest (with recorded plantings in the Taradale and Meanee areas dating to 1851), and second largest (after Marlborough) wine producing region. Almost three-quarters of the Cabernet Sauvignon in New Zealand is planted in this region. The region is marked by two inland mountain ranges formed from a compressed sand referred to a greywacke rock. Through centuries of weathering and climatic forces, the rock was broken down and transported down the mountain slopes by one of the five rivers that flow east through the area to form alluvial deposits at the base of the slopes and in areas where the water slowed, similar to patterns seen in the Napa Valley. Soil types in the vineyards can range from coarse gravel (Gimblett’s gravel) to combinations of sand, silt, and clay. Another component in the soils is volcanic ash and loess (a mixture of fine particulates bound together by calcium carbonate).

Much of the plantings in the Hawke’s Bay region are focused around the alluvial fans left by the Ngaruroro River. The rivers were means of early transportation and settlements and towns formed along the rivers. The early vineyards were planted in iron-rich, gravelly soils and along rock terraces deposited by the moving waters as the river changed its course over several thousand years. The presence of the gravel and rock in the vineyards is one of the keys to the ripening of Hawke’s Bay Cabernet, in that the rock collects energy in the form of heat from the sun, and gradually releases the heat at night, modulating the often drastic variations in temperature. The gravel also encourages rapid infiltration and drainage of water through the soil, forcing the vines to send roots deep in search of moisture.

Although plantings date back to the 1890’s, recent plantings have focused on hillsides and terraced vineyard plantings on Te Mata Peak, at Bay View, and at Maraekakaho. These vineyards take advantage of favorable sun exposures and the ability to shed cool night air, and have become a popular location for Bordeaux grape varietal plantings.

Hawkes Bay producers of note include Craggy Range, Mills Reef, Te Mata Estate, Sacred Hill, Mission Estate, and Babich.

Waiheke Island

Situated in the Hauraki Gulf to the east of Auckland, Waiheke Island is sheltered from the prevailing colder/wetter west and southwest winds, making it both drier and warmer than the rest of the Auckland area. Until the early 1980s, Waiheke had been known more for its hippies and marijuana production than anything else. Some of the first vineyard plantings occurred in 1978 at what is now Goldwater Estate.

Being located in Hauraki Gulf, the breezes off the water act to keep the vineyards cooled in the heat of the summer, and tend to moderate the temperatures at night. The overall effect is that the island has average temperatures comparable to much warmer growing areas without any of the extremes, and these favorable conditions extend well into March and April (the southern hemisphere’s autumn). These extended conditions allow the wineries to allow the grapes more hang time, encouraging both physiologic and phenolic ripeness (getting both the right sugar content while also developing all of the desired flavor components).

Notable producers on Waiheke Island include Stonyridge Estate, Te Motu, Kennedy Point Vineyard, and the aforementioned Goldwater Estate.