1966 Château Franc Mayne, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Émilion, Red Bordeaux.
One of the great surprises of a recent blind Bordeaux wine tasting, this 1966 Franc Mayne showed fabulously well, it is certainly at the end of its life, but still had remarkable pleasure to deliver in the glass with a nice garnet/brick color, fine aromatics and a delicate medium bodied palate of dried cherries, vine berries, stewed plum, wild strawberry, Turkish fig and currant fruits, along with autumn leaves, old pipe tobacco, sous bois, incense, dusty spices, cedar, stone and minty notes. This fading and lightly earthy Saint-Émilion bottle, which Sommelier Ryan Cooley (ex-Aubergine Carmel-by-the-Sea) brought, says it performed very similar to other bottles within the case he has been drinking, very impressive for the age and vintage. Château Franc Mayne’s fine diverse terroir is just 1KM to the west of Saint-Émilion, and is now planted with mainly Merlot (90%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) vines that are deeply rooted in sandy clay and limestone soils. These days the Grand Vin here at Franc Mayne, overseen by Sophie Mage, who is responsible for the vineyard and winery, is now about the 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, as planted, and sees maceration and fermentation in vats, after which it is matured in French oak barrel, with 50 new wood, for 18 months, allowing current versions to be more approachable in their youth, while still structured to age. Of course, the 1966, was done without the more modern precision and certainly less oak, rustic now, but done in the style of the era.
The Château Franc Mayne is little seven-hectare jewel in the heart of Saint-Émilion with its classic 18th century mansion was originally built near an under ground quarry, and has largely been a very under the radar estate, unlike its neighbors Cheval Blanc and Grand Mayne. The current owners have worked together for over 10 years have taken great care of the property and have seen a big uptick in quality, having adding new cellars with wooden vats and stainless steel that are similar to its mentioned neighbors. Franc Mayne has classic Saint-Émilion hillside limestone based slopes, some of the most coveted in all of “Right Bank” if not all Bordeaux. Again with its historic make up 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc these wines have great complexity, structure and big flavors. In recent times, the perfume and spiciness, the winery says help lift it above almost anything in the “Right Bank” crus price range, in both Pomerol and Saint-Emilion, and the lush and full body make it very approachable to more modern wine drinkers. I hadn’t had much experience with Franc Mayne, in fact I did get it confused with Grand Mayne, but this 1966 certainly makes me want to explore the wines here with vintages 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010, being ones I would be most interested in, with most selling for less than $50, though I can easily recommend this old vintage Château to Bordeaux enthusiasts. A big thank you to Ryan Cooley, who is planning to open a new winebar in Santa Cruz, California, soon, for sharing this fabulous wine. Drinking old wine is a privilege and catching a wine in the window, as we did with this one, is pretty special and rare, it is not something to take for granted!
($100-150 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive