Jardins de Fleury, 2022 'Jardin' Cabernet Franc
No.54 | Producer Feature
Since launching Cab Franc Chronicles, I have visited the Loire with some degree of regularity, though I haven’t made any time to visit Anjou or some of the fringe viticultural areas where Cabernet Franc tends to play second fiddle to Chenin Blanc. Thankfully there are annual trade salons and other events where I have an opportunity to meet some of these producers and taste their wines. And this is how I met Carole Kohler of Jardins de Fleury some three years ago. A former engineer turned vigneronne, Carole’s energy is infectious, and you can’t help but be drawn to her enthusiasm for her domaine, which only began to come to life in 2016.
Having met Carole a few times over the years, I finally made the “trek” (a 35km drive south of Saumur) to her domaine in Thouars on a dreary day last October. Carole’s domaine and vineyards are technically in Anjou, but here we are not in the heart of Anjou alongside more well-known appellations like Coteaux du Layon, Savennières or Anjou Brissac, rather we are on what feels like the last frontier of the Loire, where Carole’s three hectares of vines planted at the lieu-dit ‘Fleury’ seem like the only vineyards for miles and miles. This area around Thouars once had a flourishing vine and wine scene, though this was back in the 15th century when the area was ruled by the Dukes of Trémouille. The last time any significant viticultural activity would’ve taken place here was prior to phylloxera, after which the grubbed up vineyard area gave way to a flourishing and growing town of Thouars.
Upon visiting this named-place of Fleury, you instantly see why this little corner of the Southern Loire was held in such high esteem. The centuries old estate, and Carole and her husband Brice’s home, is situated on an idyllic 20 hectares of land that is also planted to a wide variety of trees, orchards, and gardens, alongside a natural wooded area and a spring that would’ve provided a constant source of water for the estate many centuries ago. This tapestry of flora and fauna living among the vines enhances the area’s natural biodiversity, which Carole seeks to preserve by farming her vineyards using organic and biodynamic practices.
While the scenery is picture perfect, what lies below the surface is perhaps even more compelling for a wine nerd like me. The estate is truly situated at the frontier of where the two geological formations that define the Loire Valley meet: the Paris Basin and the Massif Armoricain. Part of the domaine’s vineyards, namely the Cabernet Franc, are planted on soils of the Paris Basin, specifically a vein of Toarcian (named for the town of Thouars) limestone dating to the Lower Jurassic period. Just a couple hundred metres away, on the other side of the centuries-old road that ingeniously marks this geological frontier, we find schistous soils of the Massif Armorcain where the estate’s Chenin Blanc vines are planted. (The below video shows how schist was used to build the wall on the west side of the road, while limestone was used to build the wall on the east side of the road - brilliantly marking the meeting of these two geological formations.)
From her three hectares of vines, Carole is making four cuvées, two Chenin Blancs (La Source and Séquoia), a delightful, co-fermented rosé of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, and her Cabernet Franc ‘Jardin.’ Her Cabernet Franc is from a half hectare of vines planted in 2016 on slope of moderate steepness with a west-northwest exposure. The topsoil is clayey, with flint, limestone and pink sandstone stones and pebbles throughout, with upwards of about 80cm of topsoil, before the hard limestone bedrock below.
Her approach to winemaking is low interventionist, using native yeast, leaving her wines unfined and unfiltered, with no to minimal SO2 additions at bottling. For her 2022 ‘Jardin,’ the fruit was hand-harvested, destemmed and the fruit fermented in stainless steel. She approaches her extractions with great care, opting for some light pumping over at the very beginning of fermentation, and then infusion for the duration, keeping the time on skins relatively short - 7 days in the case of the 2022. The aging was over a period of about 6 to 8 months in a combination of concrete eggs and older barrels.
Carole’s 2022 ‘Jardin’ Cabernet Franc (13.5% abv, SRP $35USD1) needed a little coaxing out of the gate to fully express its purity and energy. After decanting for a couple of hours, the wine’s aromas began to leap out of the glass showing a mix of dark berried fruits and earthy, herbal undertones. A mix of ripe blackcurrant, black raspberry and cherry mingle with rich evergreen notes of cedar leaves, spruce tips, boxwood and juniper. The aromatics are precise, lush and pure, hinting at the warm and sunny nature of the vintage while still being beautifully fresh.
The palate opens with vibrant, mouth-watering acidity, amplifying the sweet-tart dark fruited profile of the nose, while being accentuated by subtle floral aromatics, and the grounding spiciness of cardamom and clove, complemented by the uplifting zing of green peppercorns. The palate continues with very fine, firm tannins that have the precision and luxuriousness of high thread count Egyptian cotton, and weave their way seamlessly across the palate with the wine’s acid and fruit.
The wine's medium-bodied frame presents in such a way that makes me think that in a cooler vintage, a more classic vintage, the wine would present more lean and discreet, but in a vintage like 2022 it shows with a degree of flesh and gourmandise, while also having great balance, vitality and persistence. Carole’s 2022 Cabernet Franc is a carefully crafted, thought-provoking wine that engages with its distinctive, kinetic, and savoury energy. I suspect it will no doubt improve over the medium to long term, and will be a fun one to revisit in about five years time. I look forward to enjoying future vintages from Jardins de Fleury and following the progression of this young domaine as it and its vines continue to mature over the years and decades to come.
For my American friends, Jardins de Fleury’s 2022 ‘La Source’ Chenin Blanc and 2022 ‘Jardin’ Cabernet Franc are available in the US via The Source Imports.
What a special place! And it sounds like Carol works absolute magic with the fruit. Definitely will check out The Source. Great post!