Clos Bonnefare Bergerac 2016
WineSpark Price €17.95
Wine fairs are not for the faint hearted. Your calendar is stacked back-to-back. You’re tasting 50-100 wines per day. There’s no time to get to know people amongst the hustle.
And then sometimes, rarely even, a wine turns up by surprise, and stuns you.
This is what happened when I tasted this wine.
I met a friend, who runs a wine club in France, at her stand to taste wine from a Rhone producer. Before I left, I asked one question:
‘If there’s one wine here that I can’t leave without tasting, what would that be?’
She produced a bottle with a striking, colourful label. One sniff and I was blown away already. The intense cassis and wild herb on the nose had me drooling. And then the taste - dark, juicy, powerful… just how I like my big reds.
Francois used to be a filmmaker, until 1997 when he decided to change career and became a winemaker.
He gained experience in Burgundy, Oregon and New Zealand, before buying a small vineyard in Bergerac in 2011.
The wine doesn’t taste of classic Bordeaux or Bergerac - and it turns out that this experience working with Pinot Noir is what influences his style.
It’s a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. The vineyards sit on flinty-clay soil which gives a lot of freshness in the grapes. He then works the wine in a Burgundian way - picking early and fermenting in open-top tanks.
Give it a try and hopefully you’ll be as blown away as I was!
| Wine type | Red |
| Grape(s) | 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Malbec |
| Country | France |
| Region of origin | South West |
| Appellation | AOP Bergerac |
| Vintage | 2016 |
| Alcohol % | 13.5 |
| Oak? | Yes |
| Months in Oak | 10 |
| Type of Oak | French oak |
| Allergens (e.g. does it contain Milk, Egg, Fish, Nuts) | None |
| Average age of vines | 25 years |
| Average altitude of vines (m) | 80 |
| Soil type(s) | Siliceous clay with presence of flint |
| Closure Type | Cork |
| Is this wine organic? | Conversion 1st year |
| Biodynamic? | No |
| Sustainably produced? | Yes |
| Suitable for vegans? | No |
| Ageing potential | 10 years |
| Ideal drinking window | 2022-2025 |
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