There we were finishing off a vertical wine tasting at Vertical Detroit, and my Bride and I were guests courtesy of the Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  The first part of the evening was almost done, as we had tasted six wines from 2002 to 2010 from Chateau Gaby Canon-Fronsac, and we were getting ready to sit down for dinner, but I was surprised, as there was one more to totally get us excited, before dinner, as they began pouring Chateau Gaby Cuvee Canon-Fronsac 2007. This wine is from select plots on the estate and has limited production, featuring their older vines grown on the limestone rich hills of the estate.  This vintage has become regarded as a classic, but it started out with very poor weather from June to mid-August, and then followed by a perfect September of hot days and cool evenings. This wine is a blend of eighty percent Merlot, and twenty percent Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit was hand-harvested on the second week of October and was aged for twenty-four months in all new French Oak.  A deep ruby colored with wine which offered notes of ripe black and red fruits, spices, and some described it as mushrooms or forest undergrowth that adds to the mystique of the wine.  On the palate there were layers of red fruits like strawberry, and black fruit like cherry and plums, with rich tannins and a good decent finish that was evoking dark fruit and terroir.  I was a bad boy and had seconds on this wine, which helped with the final purchase for the evening.

Now some of the “chateaus” of the Bordeaux region are in name only, Chateau Gaby has that grandeur from the road, that one envisions in their mind’s eye of what a chateau should look like.  The estate is an hour drive east from the city of Bordeaux, and the jewel of the Canon-Fronsac appellation.  The 18^th Century chateau is nestled on a hilltop overlook the vineyards.  The first vines were planted in the 1600’s, and the estate underwent a restoration in 2006; and is considered one of the finest panoramic views in all of Bordeaux.  At one time the wines of the Dukes of Richelieu. The soils are more sandstone and limestone, instead of clay, and this aids the vines resistance to hotter weather.

After having seven wines under our belts from Chateau Gaby, there were still more wines to be poured and enjoyed all under the fine work of the Directeur General Damien Landouar, the winemaker, and he also has this title for the other wines made under the umbrella of Vignobles Sullivan and their other estate wines.  They list eight collections at the moment, with perhaps more on the horizon, of one read between the lines.  As I was nursing a second tasting of the Cuvee 2007, they had started requesting everyone to sit down for dinner, and I guess the turnout was even better than they had expected, as it may have looked like I was a host, they had to add a table to the long row, and my chair was at the end.  And as anyone there knew, I was hardly the host, but as our hosts and guests of honor were seated in the middle of the long table to regale all the guests.  Not only did I not get great photos of our hosts and honored guests, but I almost didn’t record the fact that I was there, but there was a tell-tale sign amid all the wine and tumult of the evening.