Description

100% Cabernet-Franc. Tart, fine, mineral, very pretty nose of violets, roses and red berries. A hint spicy and meaty, this is really gluggable. Serve with grilled meats or soft cheeses. Drink over the next 5 years.

There is a long history of fine wine from this Bollinger are the major shareholder in this Saumur based estate. Saumur make some of my favourite whites and reds in the whole world. But they also have the raw material to produce sparkling wine too.

Loire Valley Can any white wine rival Loire Valley Chenin Blanc for elegance, grace and poise in the cellar? Definitely some Rieslings would give it a run but not much else. Chenin, whether sweet or dry, produces wines with a lovely balance of taut, unrelenting acidity and pillowy soft fruit that sits on top. The best wines, think Savennières, Vouvray and Montlouis, can age for a surprisingly long time (25, 50, 100 years even). Only surprising due to the amazing balance the best producers can find in the wine. Then you get stuck into the stunning sparkling wines that are such great value too and the reds from Cabernet Franc that will make lovers of Burgundy or Bordeaux swoon.

Cabernet Franc – Is actually one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon… along with Sauvignon Blanc (oh! The name makes sense now!).  It is most famous for being the third most important grape in quality Bordeaux but also excels in the Loire Valley (where it lived before it went to Bordeaux), especially Chinon and Saumur. The wines are bright red in colour, highlight aromatic with raspberries, rose petals, violets along with tobacco, cassis and some herbal elements. The best examples can live as long as any great wine.