Château du Petit Thouars, 2017 Chinon "L'Épée"
Cab Franc du Jour #4
The château itself was built in the 1500s, and Sébastien, the current proprietor, is in fact the 12th generation of his family to live at Château du Petit Thouars. The modern viticultural history of the estate begins in the 1970s with Sébastien’s father, who planted the vineyards. The estate has 13 hectares of Cabernet Franc vines planted between 1978 and 1988, situated on a Turonian limestone plateau with Upper Turonian yellow tuffeau chalk bedrock and a light clay topsoil, in the commune of Saint-Germain-sur-Vienne on the south side of the Vienne River.
What is particularly interesting about this commune is that when the original Chinon appellation regulations were drawn up in 1937, Saint-Germain-sur-Vienne was not included in Chinon but rather in the Touraine appellation. It was not until 2016 that Saint-Germain-sur-Vienne and seven other communes were added to an expanded version of the Chinon appellation. As a result, any vintage prior to 2015 from this estate would be labelled as Touraine Rouge rather than Chinon.
The colour is quite striking, with a beautiful purplish glint. The nose is dark and brooding, with a brambly, woodsy quality and forest berry undertones. The herbaceousness is particularly expressive, almost cooling in character, like cedar leaves or rosemary, with a hint of violet tucked underneath. There are definitely layers here. The fruit carries through on the palate, supported by a lot of structure: clean, cleansing acidity and fine, velvety tannins, with that chalky minerality coming through clearly and a definite chewiness to the texture. This is the kind of wine that would be wonderful with food and would genuinely benefit from some time in the cellar. I would easily give this 15 or more years. It has a mysterious, alluring quality that makes you want to linger over the glass and see how it unfolds. A beautiful, structured, age-worthy expression of Chinon.
Wine Details
Producer: Château du Petit Thouars
Appellation: Chinon
Communes: Saint-Germain-sur-Vienne
Soils: Bedrock of Turonian chalky limestone with a light clay topsoil
Alcohol: 13.0%