Illegitimate Cuvee Non Autorisee 2017 | Prisoner Fans take note at ½ the price
The Illegitimate Cuvee Non Autorisee 2017, produced by VGS Chateau Potelle and its 100-point winemaker Kale Anderson. While crafting like a collector’s wine but priced to open without hesitation. Dark, inky-black core with a purple rim. Bold, deep and inviting aromas deliver a bounty—a colorful bouquet driven by violets and red roses are graciously complemented by sunkissed blueberries, blackberries, and freshly roasted espresso. Rich and generous with a layered structure full of fruit and tannin. An experience worth repeating over and over. Drink now through 2028.
The marriage of some intoxicatingly aromatic grapes like Zinfandel and Syrah, with grapes that provide structure and backbone like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, makes a very joyful and happy wine. After just the first sip, you know Illegitimate Cuvee Non Autorisee 2017 is serious! Loads of berries and fruit will overwhelm your senses. The ripest summer strawberries, blackberries, cherries and blueberries fill your nose with hints of fresh Tahitian vanilla, warm cedar, and cinnamon. It is delicious by itself and made for everyday enjoyment, go for it.
100 Point Winemaker Kale Anderson
While enjoying a glass of this fruit-forward and satisfying wine, I couldn’t help but think about proprietor Jean-Noël Fourmeaux du Sarte. After all, when Jean-Noël first came to California from France, it was as a wine spy for the French government.
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First, tasting the wines being made in Napa Valley as his mission. And then sending his impressions back to his waiting co-conspirators on the Continent. But, Jean-Noël was moved to stay. Not only because of the weather. And not only because he was impressed with the trajectory of the cuisine in California. But because in California he would be free to make the wines he wanted. Most of all free from the strictures put in place by French winemaking laws.
California Creativity
Fourmeaux’s flagship brand, VGS Chateau Potelle, has won a devoted following with Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet from Mount Veeder. So when the final gavel fell at the 2018 Auction Napa Valley, it brought a record tumbling down with it. Amazingly, a barrel of 2016 VGS Chateau Potelle red blend went for a staggering $114,300—more than $952.50 per bottle.
With Illegitimate Cuvee Non Autorisee 2017, Fourmeaux and Kale Anderson embrace the variety of California’s plantings. In addition, the looseness of the state’s labeling laws gives license to creative winemakers who want to blend grape varieties, across multiple regions. Fourmeaux jokes that, in his tradition-bound home country, making a wine like this “unauthorized blend” would land him in jail.
