Tasting Diaries: June 2026
Back in the most magical place on earth for Cabernet Franc...
I am back in the Loire Valley - my home away from home and the most magical place on earth for Cabernet Franc. If you think I’m biased or exaggerating, let me take a moment to remind you that this is the grape’s ancestral homeland, the only place on earth with centuries of tradition producing single varietal Cabernet Franc, and with over 15,000 hectares of the grape under vine, there is more Cabernet Franc planted in the Loire Valley than Italy, Hungary, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, United States, and Canada combined. The Loire is (or should be) for Cab Franc-o-philes what Burgundy is for Pinot-philes - this is Mecca.
All that is to say, I’m delighted to be back in the Loire, even with the excruciatingly oppressive heatwave that persisted over 5+ days last week - the short and long terms impacts of which have yet to be fully understood. Thankfully, this week the temperatures have returned to more “normal” summertime conditions, and there was some welcomed scattered showers over the weekend in parts of the region to give the vines some much needed water.
Since being back, my glass has rarely been empty (and, yes, I’ve balanced my water and wine consumption to stay hydrated!). Here are some highlights from what I’ve been enjoying this month.
From the 2024 vintage, a trio of deliciously juicy and crunchy wines from Saumur-Champigny, Fabien Duveau’s 2024 “Le Bourg,” Domaine de Nerleux’s 2024 “Cuvée Printemps” and Château de Villeneuve’s 2024 “Clos de la Bienboire.” Each benefit from being slightly chilled and they all highlighted the unique characteristics of this cool, Ligérien vintage in their own way. Fabien Duveau’s Le Bourg leading with fragrant herbal notes, fine, chalky tannins and a touch of austerity that brings tension while never tipping the wine out of balance. Nerleux’s Printemps shows buoyant acidity, moreish fruit-forwardness, and a light-as-a-feather tannic profile. And Villeneuve’s Clos de la Bienboire, which I wrote about in a recent feature, showed the delicate florality and pepperiness I’ve come to adore from this vintage with thirst-quenching acidity and elegant tannins.
I’ve also enjoyed a trio of new releases from Bourgueil from the much heralded 2025 vintage. Based on my tastings in recent years, these three producers consistently demonstrate exceptional prowess in crafting these fruit-forward, early-release expressions of Cabernet Franc. From Lamé-Delisle-Bouchard, the 2025 Bourgueil “Déchainée” shows lush purply fruits and florals (think: mulberry, opal basil, lilacs) with soft but refreshing acidity, fine, chalky tannins, and finishing full in flavour but light on its feet with energetic pepperiness and plenty of lift. From Benoît Thibault’s Domaine des Perrières, their 2025 Bourgueil leans the most “old school” of the three I tried this month, and I adore it for this quality. Fragrant, classic varietal undertones (red fruit, fennel seed, cedar, tarragon), with plush, juicy acidity, impressively fine tannins, it perfectly balances fruit-forwardness and savoury-earthiness, in a package that is deliciously drinkable and wonderfully charming at the same time. Finally, Yannick Amirault’s 2025 Bourgueil “Côte 50” is, to put it quite simply, a very sexy Cabernet Franc. Delectable, dark fruited, dried sage and mint, acacia florals, exquisitely velour-like tannins, concentrated without feeling heavy or opulent, it is enveloping, caressing, with just the perfect amount of mouth-watering acidity to make you say “oh yes, please, I’d like another glass.” It should be part of every warm climate/vintage Cabernet Franc winemaker’s homework to taste this wine. Period.
A heatwave wouldn’t be complete without some rosé, and with the forecast expected in July, you can bet there will be more rosé tasting notes to come. I enjoyed my last bottle of Bernard Baudry 2024 Chinon Rosé, which was showing beautifully after a year in the cellar, with lovely creamy, melon notes, layered with fine white pepper and ground ginger spice, crisp and vibrant, full-flavoured and deeply satisfying. And I also enjoyed a delightful treat I brought back from South Africa in December, the 2024 Cabernet Franc Rosé from Zorgvliet in the Banghoek ward in eastern Stellenbosch. Lively and delicate, it displayed quite a pretty fruit profile that was “sunny” and fleshy while still feeling quite fresh. Notes of pomelo, Rainer cherry, with floral undertones (white lilac, rose and jasmine) and a touch of micro basil. Plush and a touch creamy, it delivered just what to doctor ordered on a steamy June evening in the Loire.
Last week I attended the 14th edition of La Paulée d’Anjou, which was held this year at Grenier St-Jean in Angers. This is one of the great events in the Loire celebrating Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc from the terroirs of Anjou: Anjou Noir (the schists and sandstones of Western Anjou), Anjou Blanc (the limestones of Eastern Anjou and Saumur) and the “Bourgueillois” (the terroirs of Bourgueil and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil). There were more than 100 Cabernet Francs present as part of the event, and while it would be impossible to list all of my favourites here, I do want to share some highlights.
Saumur, Saumur-Champigny and Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame: The inaugural release from Terres des Carmes, the 2025 Saumur Rouge “Primavera” showed beautiful energy and purity with succulent acidity and plush tannins. From the very Ligérien 2024 vintage, there were some beauties from Théo Blet, his 2024 Saumur Rouge “Le Corbin”, which displayed lovely balance, elegance and depth of varietal character, and the Domaine Moly 2024 Saumur-Champigny “Les Sybraties,” which I love for its perfume, persistence, and focus. There was a lot on offer from the 2023 vintage, but a standout was the Fabien Duveau 2023 Saumur-Champigny “Haut Poyeux,” which showed lovely herbal aromatics, fine, velvety tannins and taut mineral spine.
From the 2020 vintage, there were two wines I found particularly impressive: the Domaine de l’Enchantoir 2020 Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame “Clos du Petit Chavannes,” which I also tasted last year and it continues to delight my palate for its balance, fine structure and freshness, and the 2020 Saumur-Champigny “Le Bourg” from Clos Rougeard, which enchants with its fragrant aromatics, dense yet impressively fine tannins, and velour-like mid-palate - both will continue to improve over time. Finally, a back vintage of Château de Villeneuve’s 2009 Saumur-Champigny “Le Grand Clos” was presented at the afternoon seminar, and the wine continues to reaffirm why this cuvée ranks among the Loire’s best expressions of Cabernet Franc and why the 2009 vintage is absolutely one of my favourite of the 21st century for Loire Cabernet Franc.
Bourgueil and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: From the commune of St-Patrice in eastern Bourgueil, I am still very smitten with the wines from Domaine de l’Oubliée, which I wrote about last year, and both the 2021 Bourgueil “Notre Histoire” and 2021 Bourgueil “Tenue de Soirée” show beautiful focus, clarity, layered complexity and wonderful buvabilité. Domaine du Bel Air in Benais shows how a deft hand can wield exquisite results in ripe, solaire vintages, like the silky structure and approachability of the 2025 Bourgueil “Jour de Soif” or the enduring freshness, elegance and longevity of the 2003 Bourgueil “Grand Mont.” Also from Benais, a domaine that has been quietly guided by the sage experience of neighbour Pierre Gauthier, the wines of Simon Remy are showing immense potential and promise after only three vintages. His 2023 Bourgueil “Au Fils de Coteaux” and 2022 Bourgueil “Les Vlaudons” both show beautiful generosity of fruit, concentration without heaviness, and refined aromatics. From Restigné’s Domaine de la Chevalerie, the 2019 Bourgueil “Busardières” was an absolute stunner with arresting herbal, floral and spice aromatics, exquisite chalky tannins and wonderfully fresh and enveloping mid-palate ease. Finally, a pair of 2005s were shown at the afternoon masterclass, the Domaine de la Cotelleraie 2005 St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil “L’Envolée” and the Yannick Amirault 2005 Bourgueil “Les Quartiers,” both exhibited impressive freshness, energy, and aromatic complexity, all with 20 years of age and showing no signs of fatigue.
Anjou Noir and Anjou Blanc: From Anjou Blanc soils, but two very different parts of the appellation, come two delicious Cabernet Francs from Jardin de Fleury and Château Bois-Brinçon. Based in Thouars, Carole Kohler’s 2024 “Jardin” Cabernet Franc is an absolutely beautiful expression of the variety from this difficult vintage, with fine purity, energy, aromatic herbal perfume and juicy, thirst-quenching acidity. And from further north in Eastern Anjou, around the hamlet of Blaison-Saint-Sulpice, the Château Bois-Brinçon 2023 Anjou Villages “Le Clos des Cosses” comes from a type of marl unique to this part of Anjou and the 2023 shows great balance and mineral focus with plenty of complexity, a generous but fine herbal character and engaging spiciness. And from Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné in Western Anjou, two vintages of Terre de l’Elu’s “Magellan” showed the layered complexity and impressive longevity of the Cabernet Franc from this parcel. The 2022 Magellan showed gorgeous fruit and herbal complexity, with power, density and fine, elegant tannins, while the 2015 Magellan presented at the afternoon masterclass showed how all that power and density from a warmer vintage can be transformed into layered exotic spiciness, potpourri florals, very fine supple tannins and textural generosity.
Finally, over the weekend, I celebrated my birthday with the latest release from sparkling wine house Bouvet-Ladubay, their 2019 “Ogmius Rosé” Saumur Mousseux Extra Brut. This is the rosé pair to the maison’s other prestige cuvée the Ogmius Blanc, and the 2019 vintage is the inaugural release of this 100% Cabernet Franc traditional method sparkling rosé, which is only available in magnums at a prestige price of 86EUR a bottle. This is possibly the most ambitious sparkling Cabernet Franc I’ve ever tasted.
It leans more vinous, savoury and in a slightly more oxidative style than what we typically think of for most Saumur Mousseux Rosé. Layered red fruits and citrus (red currant, white cranberry, salted lime) with complex herbals (fennel fronds, Makrut lime leaves, white tea, jasmine), finely spiced (candied ginger, cardamon) and a touch of roasted Marcona almond and fine phyllo pastry - it is a very complex sparkling wine! Crisp, focused acidity marries with a very fine, delicate mousse, the wine is structured, but in a manner that feels more ornate than powerful. Serious, but with a touch of rococo flair, it is concentrated, contemplative, beautifully harmonious. Special occasion worthy and probably a very compelling wine to share blind with someone who loves Champagne.