Frenchtown Farms "Chasse Patate" Sierra Foothills Malbec 2023

Vin Chicago: 90+ Points

(7/2025) Chasse Patate is a scrumptious, refreshing, 100% Malbec from Frenchtown Farms in California. The grapes are all fermented whole-cluster, with half of them foot crushed and the the other half uncrushed. The wine is aged in neutral French oak for 6 months. This wine is certainly crushable, but there's a depth of flavor here, too, with cherry, cherry wood, red and black raspberry, and black tea notes. A note about the name--a 'chasse patate,' which literally translates to 'potato hunt,' is a cycling term that refers to a situation in which a rider fails to catch the breakaway and is stuck in no-man's land between the main peloton and the breakaway.