Tasting Diaries: December 2025
No.70 | What's In My Glass
December is always a hectic month, and when you’re travelling for half of it, it can feel even more so. As I shared in recent posts (#s 68, 69), I was in South Africa for week at the beginning of the month, and that trip was bookended by short stints in the Loire Valley to fill my cup and to speak with vignerons about the 2025 vintage (more to come on that!). And then I returned home to snowy Ontario just ahead of the holidays.
So, here are some of the wines that excited my palate in the last month of 2025!
The main purpose of my trip to South Africa was to give a masterclass on Cabernet Franc for the Cape Winemakers Guild.1 I recently posted about the experience in more detail on Instagram, and I also shared the 13-wine line-up of incredible Cabernet Francs from around the world that were part of the masterclass. Each wine was intended to tell a story of people, place and a grape, while also speaking about what the future may hold for Cabernet Franc in each region, as well as broader trends and themes I’m seeing and hearing from my research and tastings. So, here are some highlights from that line-up.
Tuscany featured heavily in the tasting, with three wines from across the region, and a particular focus on Bolgheri, which has seen incredible growth in Cabernet Franc plantings in recent years. Cabernet Franc is now the #2 planted variety (behind Cabernet Sauvignon) and plantings have increased by 132% in the last ten years. One of the wines I presented was the 2021 Paleo Rosso from Le Macchiole (14.5% abv., SRP $170USD). Le Macchiole was the first to make a 100% Cabernet Franc in the region in 2001, and it has been a few years since I have tasted this wine. Of the all the wines in the tasting it saw the highest percentage of new oak (90%) for aging, and I was really impressed by the balance and integration of the wood with the fruit and structure in the wine. Fleshy, riper dark fruits were nicely balanced by notes of cypress, oregano and dried lavender. Fine, velvety tannins, with balanced freshness, it is a rich, more opulent style of Cabernet Franc with poise, polish and just the right amount of restraint.
Also from Europe, I made sure to feature a wine from Hungary, and specifically the region of Villány, which has named Cabernet Franc as its signature variety. There is around 1500 hectares of Cabernet Franc planted in Hungary (more than all of California), and Villány even has an official PDO for 100% Cabernet Franc from the region called Villányi Franc. For the masterclass, I presented the Malatinszky, 2013 ‘Kuria’ Cabernet Franc (14.5% abv., SRP $70USD), and this wine was an absolute stunner. Many examples of Villány Cabernet Franc I’ve tasted feels a little “Parkerized” and overdone for my palate, but this wine really had a sense of place and character. With notes of ripe red fruits and green Turkish fig, mixing with beautiful spice layers of paprika, chilli flake and cinnamon. It was in a beautiful spot in its evolution, with soft, chalky tannins, superb concentration and density through the mid-palate, and a fresh, elegant, lingering finish. World class.
South America also played an important role in the masterclass and one of the wines that I was really excited to pour was the Bodega Garzón 2022 “Petit Clos” Cabernet Franc (13.0% abv., SRP $65USD) from Maldonado, Uruguay. Plantings of Cabernet Franc are relatively small in Uruguay (about 200ha), but I have loved what I’ve tasted from across the country so far. Beautifully fragrant, with lifted, fresh red fruit and herbal (thyme, tarragon) aromas, finishing with succulent spicy notes of dried ginger and cardamom. Lively acidity, with firm, chalky tannins, the wine had a great sense of verticality to it, with superb tension, concentration and length. The wine has a really classic “Old World” energy about it, contemporary in styling, with subtly and finesse working in tandem with weight and depth. Impressive.
Back in the Loire Valley, my visits were primarily with domaines I know well and I usually have the opportunity to taste their wines regularly throughout the year. One exception on this trip was a visit to Domaine Michel Thibault in Bourgueil. I discovered the domaine back in August, and was instantly smitten with the wines. Officially retired since 2014, Michel is now in his late 70s and has sold off or is renting out all but 0.90 hectares of his vines, which he has kept for himself so that he can continue to farm and make wine every year. The domaine was one of the first in Bourgueil to farm organically, which they have been since 1974.
Michel’s style is old school, using foudres built in the 1930s to vinify his reds, aging them in old 500L oak barrels. His current release, the 2022 Bourgueil (13.5% abv., SRP 7.00EUR) is for lovers of traditionally-styled, earthy Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. Dark fruited, with undertones of herbs, cedar, potting soil and spice. Fine chalky tannins, with mouthwatering acidity that brings that lovely “digeste” drinkability to the wine. It does show a bit of the “solaire” character of the vintage, but with superb restraint as well. As an elder in the region from an era long since past, some might consider his style “rustic,” but the wines are clean and well-made, and I find them wonderfully charming and honest. Michel also has a superb selection of library vintages of his classic Bourgueil Rouge and also his “Cuvée Alouette” (his top wine) all priced between 7.00and 8.00EUR. Worth a stop if you’re in the region and appreciate mature, old school Loire Cabernet Franc.
And at the complete opposite end of the Loire Valley Cabernet Franc spectrum and a domaine that needs no introduction, I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with Thierry and Louis Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves on this trip, which was my first time paying a visit to the domaine in a few years. We tasted through the 2024 and 2023 cuvées parcellaires, and I got a preview of the 2025s as well. I will share a bit more on those wines in another post, but in appreciation of Cabernet Francs that are available now and drinking beautifully, I wanted to highlight the estate’s Cuvée Domaine.
From a selection of parcels, the 2024 Cuvée Domaine (12.0% abv., SRP $30USD/ 15EUR) from Domaine des Roches Neuves is a really exemplary expression from the vintage. If you recall, 2024 was a challenging year. Cooler than recent vintages, with significant rainfall throughout the year, which continued through harvest. It might be considered a “classic” Loire vintage, but with improvements in viticulture and winemaking in recent decades, it means the wines are markedly better than what we would’ve seen from a vintage with similar conditions from the 1980s or 1990s. Like many of the top estates, Domaine des Roches Neuves did “declassify” some parcels and cuves from their single vineyard wines to add to the domaine cuvée to improve the estate’s offering from the vintage as a whole. I love this expression of Saumur-Champigny. Pure, delicate, floral, it playfully dances across the palate with energetic, snappy acidity and fine, silky tannins. Tense and nervy, sophisticated and refined, this will continue to round out with a bit of time in the bottle. Just lovely.
The day I visited Roches Neuves, Jeanne Germain was also at the domaine tasting her range with some clients. Jeanne has charted her own course as a vigneronne and is working with some of the family’s parcels in the communes of Saumur and Dampierre-sur-Loire. In the cellar, she works meticulously following a zero-zero philosophy (no additions or SO2 whatsoever). Her 2023s are drinking beautifully at the moment. The 2023 Saumur-Champigny “Bavardages” (12.5% abv., SRP 15EUR) is her “vin de soif” expression of Cabernet Franc, and the wine totally delivers on this promise. Lively, crunchy, with juicy red fruits, and subtle herbal undertones, it is delightfully quaffable, crushable and a joy to drink. The 2023 Saumur-Champigny “La Foulée” (13.0% abv., SRP 20EUR) is a bit more classically styled from parcels in the same lieu-dit as Roches Neuves’s La Marginale, which is a very clayey site. Sometimes in years with a bit more rainfall (like 2023 and 2024), these clayey sites produce wines that take a bit more time to come around, but the 2023 La Foulée is drinking superbly, showcasing a varietally-forward fruit profile with darker fruit and fragrant earthy-woodsy undertones (cedar, thyme), enveloping tannins that are cashmere-like in texture with cleansing acidity, and an energetic, peppery finish.
I also paid a visit to Domaine Yannick Amirault in Bourgueil to get Benoît’s take on the 2025 vintage and also tasted some of their current releases. At the end of our tasting, we enjoyed a simple lunch with the team, and knowing my love for older vintages and it being close to the holidays and all, Benoît opened a bottle of the 2008 St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil “Les Malgagnes” (13.0% abv.) for us to try. These parcels in eastern St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil on the slopes represent the estate’s heritage and where it all began with Benoît’s great-grandfather back in the 1930s. The Les Malgagnes, for me, is always a bit more about charm and subtlety versus their Le Grand Clos, which I always find to be a bit more of an “impact” wine that is luxurious and regal. A more classic vintage, 2008 is one that I enjoy quite a bit and I find many examples to be showing quite well at the moment, and the 2008 Les Malgagnes is no exception. Fine, silky, with heady florals of rose potpourri, sandalwood and dried tarragon, and a kiss of star anise through the finish, it is generous without being “gourmand,” that is to say it is giving and enveloping, but also remaining poised and reserved. Exquisite.
Finally, as it is the holidays, it is worth mentioning what graced my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day tables.
You could say that this might be too nerdy an exercise to do for the holidays, but I wanted to do a little multi-region, “Cabernet Franc-on-Clay” exploration. So my Christmas Eve duck confit was accompanied by the Bernard Baudry, 2017 Chinon ‘Le Clos Guillot’ (13.0% abv.). (This parcel does have a tuffeau impact, but there is a good depth of clay in the topsoil before hitting the bedrock.) Admittedly, I probably should’ve opened this wine up much earlier in the day than I did, but it did deliver on the aromatic and structural profile I was hoping for to match with the crisp-fattiness of the duck confit and the savoury, earthy braised flageolet beans with lardons that I made to accompany the protein.
Christmas Day dinner was a classic, English-style roast beef dinner with all the fixings (including Yorkshire pudding). I opted for Cabernet Francs from clay-dominated terroirs because normally I find the tannins to be a bit more dense and impactful, which I thought would stand up well to the beef. So, the line-up included the 2019 Saumur-Champigny “La Marginale” from Domaine des Roches Neuves (13.5% abv.), the 2016 Gran Enemigo “Agrelo” (Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, 13.5% abv.) from El Enemigo, and the Vineland Estates Winery, 2022 Cabernet Franc Reserve (Niagara Peninsula, ON, Canada, 14.0% abv., SRP $53CAD). All three wines delivered the tannin and structural profile I was hoping for, that is, broad and enveloping with densely packed velvety tannins. The Marginale was more red fruited, spicy and energetic, while the Gran Enemigo Agrelo was more dark fruited, supple and luxurious, and the Vineland Reserve fell somewhere in between, with a youthful, plush fruit profile that gives it this moreish drinkability. Everyone at the table graciously appeased my nerdiness and all wines were whole heartedly enjoyed by those that imbibed.
Thank you for reading this issue of my newsletter! Wishing you all a 2026 filled with balance, happiness, prosperity, and wine glasses overflowing with deliciousness (Cabernet Franc or otherwise!). My sincerest thanks for all your continued enthusiasm and support for Cab Franc Chronicles. I raise my glass of Cabernet Franc tonight to all of you!
I also took advantage of my time in South Africa to taste as many Cabernet Francs as I could in the span of a week, and but I’m saving all of those notes and insights for my South African Report, so you’ll just have to be patient until that is released in early 2026!
Such a great set of reviews. Thanks, Allison. This makes me want to jump in the car and go visit all the Loire estates mentioned. Again, thanks!!!