Pusher Man

Couly-Dutheil
Chinon, Loire, France
Cabernet Franc
Rating: 9.0


There's nothing wrong with Domestic wine. Trust me, I'll start covering them more, soon. We've got plans.

But can California beat this kind of history???

Okay, so check this out:

Apparently the "Couly" and the "Dutheil" namesakes originally joined in ownership of the chateau because they married. Big deal, eh?

Well, guess what?

They were cousins....

I win.

Anyway, not only that, but one-time owner of the land was the Rabelais family (including Francois Rabelais, a Renaissance man condemned by the Roman Catholic Church for being so outspoken on their habits/traditions). Fred Franzia is a dildo, but man, France is way more interesting.

In the last year, I've tried about 6 wines from Chinon, liking all to some extent. None were great with subtlety, though. However, all those I've tried were a 90-second snapshot. That's it.

I've got time tonight to watch this evolve, and it's been a shocker. Motherfucking-bravo.

This. Is. Worth. It.

Chinon is 100 percent Cabernet Franc (usually a minor grape in red Bordeaux wines), and at the beginning it's all the usual: Loads of angular green pepper, mustard seed and black soil. This was looking to be 7.0-7.5 at best. But in a mere hour of being open, it became a stellar value, built on mojo.

That's not hyperbole. If you could just feel it change. It came alive, and became something wild and lovable. I smelled the garlic farms of Gilroy, CA, a just-bitten-into plum, softer sautéed bell peppers, and just a touch of blueberries.

The acidity is slightly noticable, but the glass-half-full of the situation is when you serve this with a meal, this will prove to become a wine that can take the back seat. It's not a showoff, but it feels obvious that combination of extroverted style, green herbs, wild fruit, and an uncanny ability to evolve so quickly means that this is a winner. This Chinon won't be for the fruit-seekers. But it should be for everyone else.

And you might ask yourself a few things:

What helps me get laid? Are you female? If you are female, do you think batting your eyes and touching a man's arm when he talks about his dreams will get you a few hours of action?

Gentlemen? Do you think that you're dexterous game of sensitivity and machismo will drop her underwear into a ball of memories hurriedly picked up in the morning?

Listen, the night changes every second. Like this wine. And, for my money, there's only one man that understood the best of power and the best of love. And you know him. And love him.

And that's Curtis Fucking Mayfield.

So In Love is the best song of all time. Trust me.

-Justin