We’re urging everyone to stay close to their phones and laptops today because this large lineup is poised to be the most exciting in SommSelect history. Yes, magnum formats alone will always pique our interest, but this is more than a supersized bottle of great wine: It’s a quarter-century-old “Clos de l’Echo” directly from the ancient cellars (first built in the 900s) of Chinon landmark Couly-Dutheil. These are arguably the greatest reds of the entire region—not Chinon, but the Loire Valley as a whole—because a mature, perfectly cellared bottle from a globally revered vineyard is simply the stuff of legend. Along with today’s 1995 “Echo,” I’ve tasted releases from the ‘80s and ‘70s that have outright rejected the negative effects of Father Time. Like a rare-earth magnet, the power of attraction is incredibly strong in these wines, that is if you're partial to incredibly old-school, ultra-savory, terroir-loaded Cabernet Franc.
It’s simple: (1) Couly-Dutheil is a region-defining producer; (2) “Clos de l’Echo” is their greatest/most historic vineyard site; and (3) this wine spent its life maturing in a dark corner of their prehistoric cellar. Especially when factoring in the price, how can one not covet this spectacular magnum?! As you can see, my admiration for Couly-Dutheil is deep, but this ‘95 takes it to fathomless levels. Very limited quantities are available and two gets you complimentary Ground Shipping. Once you snag these, stay tuned for our upcoming afternoon offer (hint: the theme is mature Cabernet).
Even though 85 out of every 100 bottles Couly-Dutheil produces is reserved for the finest restaurants and retailers of France, the allure for this renowned estate is not confined to their home country. The 15% of wine that does trickle out has found an increasingly fanatical audience the world over. They’re a paragon of Chinon’s storied clay-limestone terroir and a master class on classic French Cabernet Franc, but it’s the “cellarability” of their top reds—exhibit A being “Clos de l’Echo”—that really sets them apart. As far as maturation goes, these bottlings go head-to-head with the finest of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Rhône, period.
“Clos de l’Echo” is unarguably the greatest vineyard site in Chinon—its old vines, rich terroir, and historic properties (Joan of Arc was said to make trips here often) make it so. This very site is actually how Domaine Couly-Dutheil got its start, in 1921, when Baptiste Dutheil purchased the best portion of the walled (“clos”) vineyard. His distant cousin René Couly also helped with the venture and 30 years later, was responsible for purchasing and replanting the remaining half of “Clos de l’Echo.” Subsequent generations of the Couly family have run the domaine ever since.
Today, the mature vines in “Echo” range between 60-100 years old, and they are meticulously farmed and harvested by hand. After a strict sorting, the grapes are entirely de-stemmed and several weeks of fermentation and maceration in stainless steel tanks follows. The resulting wine ages for roughly one year in these vessels before being bottled. This is a rare example of a wine that has no need for wood aging—the fabled terroir and mastery of winemaking does all the work. After two years in bottle, the wines are released but some are inevitably held back for further aging, sometimes for decades, like today’s 1995 magnums.
Old guards of SommSelect know that we taste and approve every bottle of wine that is offered, but sometimes we’re not allotted samples, so we pay for them ourselves. In even rarer instances, we buy the wine “blind.” As in, purchasing without tasting, like we did for today’s direct-from-France 1995 Couly-Dutheil “Clos de l’Echo.” But, we had no misgivings about the quality of the wine—perfect provenance, a great vintage, and a benchmark producer removes all of the guesswork. When the small trove of magnums arrived two weeks ago, I pulled the cork on one and served everyone a few ounces in Burgundy stems around 60 degrees. The wine was spectacular and unequivocally elite Cabernet Franc. Crushed stones, underbrush, green peppercorn, tobacco, dried herbs, and aniseed immediately poured out and, with time, ultra-pure aromas of dried raspberries, currant, black cherry, and plum skin entered the fold. This is everything one could possibly hope for in a wine of this caliber and age. Decades of maturation have removed the rough edges of young Cabernet Franc but retained its beautifully energizing acidity and tightly knit core of savory fruit. This is singing right now, and will continue to do so over the next 5-10 years with ease. Enjoy this special gem, and make sure it’s opened alongside today’s secondary offer…
