Dom. de la Butte Mi-Pente 2018

Doing a search through the website it seems I haven’t yet opened a Jacky Blot Bourgeuil during the walk. I’m astonished by that – either my memory is rubbish (undeniable) or the search facility is (heaven forfend.)

Anyway – the Blot Bourgeuil hierarchy goes, in order of cost and quality, Pied de la Butte (vines at the bottom of the slope), Haut de la Butte (top), Mi-Pente (middle.) All three are 100% Cabernet Franc. Pied de la Butte, by the way, does not translate as ‘kick in the arse’ as one wag suggested.

I can certainly distinguish Pied from Haut or vice versa. Pied has slight hints of the rustic, green pepper, vegetal notes that I sometimes get in CF, but is nonetheless a very decent wine indeed. Haut on the other hand seems rather more refined, the obvious CF notes sublimated to the degree that it takes on a rather more right-bank claret style in my view. It’s lovely.

This is my first bottle of Mi-Pente. It’s from 2018 and thus probably has more yet to come. But for now at least – well, I thought it tasted rather similar to Haut. Without having the two in front of me side-by-side I doubt if I’d be able to separate them. Possibly not even then. One day I’ll give it a go, but for now I’m happy enough to stick to the Haut and spend the difference on drugs. Sorry, records. I meant records.