Château Franc Mayne: Tasting & Drinking
The Côte de Franc is perhaps an overlooked section of the limestone côtes, one reason being that the slope sits on the north side of the finger of plateau that reaches out westwards at La Gomerie. Thus although the terroir is ideal, the north-facing slopes are perhaps not as benevolent as the south-facing slopes just a few hundred metres away on the other side of the plateau, where we find numerous famous names including Château Beauséjour, Château Beau-Séjour Bécot, Château Bellevue, Château Angélus and Vieux Château Mazerat, among others.
In addition I feel the approach to winemaking here has a significant influence on the style of wine. The fruit is dark, overlaid with a diffuse definition suggesting sur-maturité at times, with a chocolate-laced richness, big and bold tannins, and an imposing texture. It is very much St Emilion in the modern style, as I hinted in my introduction to this profile. These are wines set to wrestle you down to the ground if you don’t succumb at the first sip. Of recent vintages I have tasted I found the wine made in 2010 to be one of the most appealing, with all the dark and sooty tannin I would usually expect to find, but with a confident seam of fruit and a little chewy substance which fortunately didn’t detract. No vintage since has provided the same experience, although the rather roasted 2015 vintage came close. (12/5/16)
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