Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury
Single-vineyard Cabernet Franc from Anjou Noir schist. Bright red fruit, violets and graphite lift over fine tannin and herbal Loire freshness.
Cuvées
Busardieres
4.5
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Elegant
Single-vineyard biodynamic Bourgueil from a clay-flint parcel. Mid-weight, dark-fruited Cabernet Franc with iron-mineral grip and a long saline finish.
Chevalerie
4.7
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
The estate's flagship cuvee, drawn from the oldest tuffeau-limestone parcels around the historic cellars. Demeter biodynamic Cabernet Franc with long ageing potential.
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Walled single-vineyard from tuffeau-limestone soils. Thierry Germain's flagship cuvee blends old oak and amphora ageing for a perfumed, mineral Cabernet Franc with serious cellar potential.
Clos de l'Echo
4.7
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
The walled clos opposite Chinon's chateau, owned by Couly-Dutheil since 1921. Tuffeau-limestone terroir gives cassis, cedar and a chalky mineral length in the estate's flagship Chinon.
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
The Joguet flagship from an old-vines clay-limestone clos planted in 1953. Powerful, structured Cabernet Franc with cedar, graphite and a leathery, slowly-evolving finish.
Cot Vinifera
4.4
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury
Cot (the Loire's name for Malbec) from ungrafted pre-phylloxera-style vines on sand soils. Dark-fruited, structured Touraine Cot with iron-mineral grip distinct from Cahors.
Coteau de Noire
4.7
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
South-facing tuffeau-limestone parcel above the Vienne. Alliet's most structured cuvee: cassis, cedar and a chalky mineral grip in the Left-Bank-influenced house style.
Crescendo
4.5
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Bold
Couly-Dutheil's prestige cuvee from the best clay-limestone parcels of Clos de l'Echo. Heavily barriqued, structured for long ageing, with cedar, sweet spice and a chalky graphite finish.
Franc de Pied
4.7
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Bottled from ungrafted Cabernet Franc planted on sand soils. Lighter-footed and more aromatic than the limestone cuvees, with rose and wild raspberry over a fine-grained mineral spine.
Grand Mont
4.6
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Single-vineyard Bourgueil from the Grand Mont tuffeau-limestone slope at Bourgueil town. Pierre-Jacques Druet's structured, age-worthy Cabernet Franc with cassis and chalk.
L'Huisserie
4.6
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Savoury
Clay-flint single vineyard at Cravant. Denser and darker than Vieilles Vignes, with blackberry, iron and a saline length from the unusual soil mix.
La Croix Boissee
4.8
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Limestone-grown Cabernet Franc from the highest, latest-ripening parcel at Cravant. Denser, more vertical and slower-developing than Les Grezeaux, with chalky minerality and high-toned cassis fruit.
La Petite Cave
4.6
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Single-vineyard Bourgueil from a tuffeau-limestone parcel at Benais. Yannick and Benoit Amirault's structured, age-worthy Cabernet Franc with cassis and graphite.
Le Bourg
4.9
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
The Foucault brothers' cult cuvee, born from a single tuffeau-limestone parcel at Chace. Dense, perfumed Cabernet Franc with cedar, graphite and a chalky, mineral length that defines what Saumur-Champigny can be.
Le Clos Guillot
4.5
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury
South-facing clay-limestone clos planted in 1989 just below the La Croix Boissee parcel. More aromatic and floral than its sibling, with red-plum fruit, fine-grained tannins and a saline length.
Les Grezeaux
4.6
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Savoury · Elegant
The Baudry single-vineyard on gravel-over-clay terraces above the Vienne, picked from vines planted between 1969 and 1980. Mineral, dark-fruited Cabernet Franc with savoury depth and an iron-tinged finish.
Les Perrieres
4.7
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Old-vine biodynamic Bourgueil from a tuffeau-limestone parcel. The Bretons' flagship: cassis, chalk and graphite Cabernet Franc with serious cellar potential.
Les Picasses
4.7
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Rustic
A clay-limestone single vineyard that has produced Raffault's library-aged flagship since the 1940s. Released only after long bottle age, it shows leather, dried fruit and tertiary forest-floor depth.
Les Poyeux
4.9
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Cult Saumur-Champigny from the Les Poyeux climat. More aromatic and slightly lighter-footed than Le Bourg, with dark cherry, tobacco and a long, fine-tannin mineral length.
Lisagathe
4.7
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
The estate's flagship single-vineyard cuvee, named for Philippe Vatan's daughters Lise and Agathe. Tuffeau-limestone Cabernet Franc with cedar, chalk and a savoury, espresso-tinged finish.
Marginale
4.5
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury
Old-vine Cabernet Franc from clay-limestone parcels. The estate's structured mid-range cuvee, sitting between Cuvee Domaine and Clos de l'Echelier in profile.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Easygoing
Pelle's flagship Menetou-Salon Rouge from Kimmeridgian limestone. Pure red cherry and rose petal over silky Pinot Noir with the cool freshness of the central Loire.
Pierre de Tuf
4.6
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
Old-vine Cabernet Franc from tuffeau limestone parcels at Ligre. Denser and more vertical than Les Chiens-Chiens, with dark berry fruit and a chalky, mineral spine.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative
Top-of-La-Moussière Pinot Noir from Buzançais limestone. Mellot's most Burgundian-styled red, with the structure to rival Génération XIX in cellaring capacity.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Contemplative
Pinot Noir from 50-year-old vines on pure silex. Burgundian in feel: macerated cherry and chestnut mushroom over cool, silken tannin and a smoky finish.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury
Pinard's flagship Sancerre Rouge from limestone-clay terroir in Bué. A brooding nose of pure red cherry fruit with chalky tannins and integrated oak.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Easygoing
Joseph Mellot's flagship Sancerre Rouge from limestone-clay parcels. Pure red fruit on silky Pinot Noir with the cool freshness of the central Loire.
Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Easygoing
Sancerre Rouge from limestone-clay parcels across the Bourgeois estate. Vibrant red cherry and rose petal over silken tannin and savoury herb.
Vaumoreau
4.7
Dry · Full-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant
The estate's library-aged flagship from old-vine tuffeau-limestone parcels. Released only after extended cellaring, with cedar, chalk and a savoury, espresso-tinged length.
Vieilles Vignes
4.5
Dry · Medium-bodied · Firm tannin · High acidity · Elegant · Savoury
Bordeaux-trained Philippe Alliet's old-vine Chinon, picked from gravel terraces along the Vienne. Mid-weight, structured Cabernet Franc with dark fruit and iron-mineral spine.