Greetings from Chinon!

No.17 | Out & About

Bonjour à tous!

Today is the first of five days of programming with the Chinon AOC, which will include visits with vignerons, tastings, cultural activities and above all LOTS of delicious Cabernet Franc. I was first in the region nearly two years ago, and this will be the first opportunity I’ve had to devote all of my time to exploring the region and improving my understanding what makes Chinon such a special region in the world of Cabernet Franc.

We kicked things off last evening with an incredible meal at Les Jardiniers. Located in the commune of Ligré, this tiny establishment takes farm-to-table to the next level with a expansive garden on site from which they source nearly all of the restaurants ingredients; in addition to this, they partner exclusively with other local purveyors for cheeses, meats and fish to create their menus. Next to the restaurant, they have established a 12-hectare truffiers where they have planted 20,000 truffle oaks for the cultivation of both summer and winter truffes de Touraine. The restaurant’s commitment to hyper-local cuisine just recently earned them a green star in Michelin’s 2024 Guide, making them one of only nine restaurant in France to have earned this distinction.

Naturally the wine list featured a broad selection of wines from Chinon, and we started the meal with a lovely bottle of 2022 Chinon Blanc from Domaine Fabrice Gassier, which paired beautifully with the starter dishes that featured a bevy of local spring veggies and herbs. Next we enjoyed the 2020 Chinon “La Vallée du Roi” from Domaine de la Commanderie. Based in Panzoult, the domaine was established by Philippe Pain in the early 1980s, and is now run by his two daughters Clothilde and Honorine. This wine is from a single lieu-dit on the alluvial terrace in Panzoult close to the Vienne, and exhibited impressive depth and concentration, with supple tannins, plush fruit, and a beautiful underlying spiciness. This was followed up by the top bottling from Eric Santier’s Domaine du Saut au Loup. Based in Ligré, all of Eric’s parcels are within a single lieu-dit, le Saut au Loup, long considered a “premier cru” site on Chinon’s left bank. From older vines located mid-slope in the lieu-dit planted on clayey-sand over the Upper Turonian yellow tuffeau, this wine was all about tension, vertically and structure, and was a superb pairing with my local breast of pigeon with white and green asparagus.

The evening concluded with a stunning example of aged Chinon - Domaine de la Noblaie’s 2011 Pierre de Tuf. From two different parcels near the hamlet of Le Vau Breton in Ligré, this wine is vinified in tuffeau, a vat that was carved out of the chalk many centuries ago from the slope where domaine’s estate is situated. This wine was in a beautiful place in its development, exhibiting plenty of layers and compelling tertiary development, while still showing lots of youthful energy and persistence. While enjoying this bottle, I had a great discussion with Jean-Martin Dutour, proprietor of Domaines Baudry-Dutour and president of the Chinon AOC, about vintages and Cabernet Franc, and how to better understand what to expect from wines and how they mature based on vintage conditions throughout the summer and fall. More on this discussion at a later date, but suffice it to say, I now have a bit better idea of how to interpret Loire Valley vintages with regards to Cabernet Franc and how to approach cellaring wines and optimal drinking windows.

Today, I will be at Vignerons Dans La Ville, where more than 60 vignerons will be showcasing 3 to 4 different cuvées in an annual festival that marks the first “official” release of the new vintage.

Lots more to come from Chinon, so stay tuned!