Bourgueil, “Prestige”

The domaine’s outstanding “Cuvée Prestige” comes from three steep hillside parcels of Cabernet Franc planted in clay-limestone: Beauvais, Brunetières, and Bézards. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in old wooden tronconic vats, with both punch-downs and pump-overs performed over the 20-day maceration, and it spends a year in very old foudres before bottling. More punchily mineral-driven than the “Vieilles Vignes” above and with a tighter-grained texture, it displays effortless equilibrium and gorgeously rendered dark-red and black fruits on an acid-driven frame.