Wines

“Les Foux” is a méthode traditionnelle sparkling rosé comprised of 100% Cabernet Franc from 30-year-old vines surrounding their 16th century chateau in the village of Thouars. The wine spends nine months on the lees, disgorged with a minimal 2.6 g/L dosage. It is chiseled and elegant, fresh and lively, with crisp cherry and spiced plum flavors that glide along the long, balanced finish.

Petit Thouars’s white wine comes from a 0.75-hectare plot of Chenin Blanc planted in 2010 within the confines of an ancient wall immediately behind the chateau itself (hence the name of the cuvée). Situated in the southwest limit of the appellation close to Saumur-Champigny, the soils here are more suited to the production of white wine than vineyards further northeast. Fermentations start naturally, sometimes in stainless steel tanks and sometimes in used 225-liter barrels. The wine is aged on the lees for roughly 6 months, and racked at least a few times before bottling, typically in the spring of the following year. It is always quite dry, with a generous and broad palate that nicely counters the piercing acidity of the Chenin.

Sébastien named this cuvée in honor of his ancestors, nearly all of whom are named George (in fact, his real first name is George, too). The friendliest of the estate’s three red-wine offerings, “Les Georges” is produced entirely from the free-run juice of the younger vines of Cabernet Franc, and is vinified and aged in steel tank. This cuvée comes primarily from “Les Plantes,” the thirteen hectares of Cabernet Franc immediately behind (to the west of) “Le Clos” which Sébastien’s father planted between 1978 and 1988. Far from a simple gulper, however, “Les Georges” is classic Chinon in its marriage of vibrant fruit, honest tannins, and refreshing earth-mineral interplay.

“L’Epée”—meaning “the sword”—is produced from ⅔ free-run and ⅓ press juice from the oldest Cabernet Franc vines in “Les Plantes” and a small portion of “Le Clos.” Fermentation is left to start naturally in stainless steel tanks, lasting for about 3 weeks, then aged in a combination of steel tank and well-used oak barrels. With deep aromatics, this wine displays a register of spice with an overlay of violets and a core of dark-red and black fruits. That said, L’Epée” does not want for lift, as the acidity is crisp and ringing and its overall personality—while indeed serious—is not at all brooding or severe. This is a remarkably classic, lovable Chinon whose ruggedness suggests it will age well.

Made only in exceptional vintages, “L’Amiral” (The Admiral) is an homage to the uncompromising, rugged, old-school Chinon of ages past. It is produced exclusively from the press juice of Cabernet Franc from their oldest and finest parcels and aged in used 225-L barrels for 2 to 4 years to tame the press. While remaining broad and intensely tannic, the fresh and lively red fruits typical of Chinon do manage to emerge from its smoky and bramble riddled fruit. This is a rare find in today’s offerings from the Loire Valley: one that sacrifices early drinkability to reward those with the patience to wait for years, if not decades before opening a bottle. It is a testament to the estate’s commitment to classicism that they produce such a bold, full-throttle wine as this.