Loire Love Letter: Ross Wassermann, Vice President, Benson Marketing Group
This week, Ross Wassermann of Benson Marketing Group shares his memorable visit with Frederic Mabileau on a press trip to the Loire Valley.
A visit with Frederic Mabileau
On one of my press trips to the Loire Valley, we made a visit to Frederic Mabileau to taste Bourgueil and St Nicolas de Bourgueil. After the usual (very good) tasting of the current and recent vintages, our hosts asked if we had any extra time to visit an old cellar carved unto the limestone hillside. The cellar was no longer in use. Erosion had made holes in the ceiling and a thick soft carpet of mold covered the floor and walls. It was romantic and creepy at the same time (it reminded me of scenes in The Lord of The Rings) and Mme Mabileau said that her children loved to play there.
A picnic of bread, cheese and bite-size dry sausages was spread out on top of a barrel and M. Mabileau produced a bottle with no label and told us we had to guess the vintage. It was obviously older than any of the wines we had tasted but still in perfect condition. One of our guests suggested 1996 (making the wine about ten years old) but that was not correct and M. Mabileau, so M. Mabileau offered a hint; “I didn’t make this wine,” he said. Our guests became reticent, so I said I thought it was 1976, not because I had ever tasted a Loire Valley red wine from 1976 but because I had heard that ’76 was a good vintage and I thought I would flatter our host by guessing that the wine was much older than it could possibly be. “My father didn’t make this wine,” said M. Mabileau. One of the guests then guessed that the wine was from the mid-‘60’s but that too was wrong. When we all refused to guess anymore, M. Mabileau revealed that the wine was from 1947, a legendary vintage.
In addition to being deeply touched that the family would share such a treasure with us, it was a revelation about the aging potential of Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. I have, since then had a few other wines (Chinon from Couly-Dutheil and Bourgueil from Breton) and they have demonstrated that the wine we tasted that day was not an isolated phenomenon.
Our next visit was to a very (and deservedly) prestigious Chinon producer whom I had wanted to visit for years…and I can’t remember a thing about it.
- Ross Wasserman, Vice President, Benson Marketing Group