Domaine de l'R - 'le Canal des Grandes Pièces' - Cabernet Franc - Chinon, Loire Valley, FR - 2024

Notes from the Winery/Importer

The fruit, the cannon, antidepressant and homeopathy, thirst, pleasure without moderation. Appellation: AOP Chinon Cuvée: from the estate Grape varieties: Cabernet Franc Soil: gravelly, sandy-gravelly Vine age: 25 to 35 years Yield: 35 hl/ha Farming method: Organic viticulture since the creation of the estate in 2007. Density 4500 vines/ha. Single guyot pruning. Production area: 4.85 hectares Annual production: 20,000 bottles Winemaking/Aging: Harvest date determined by sugar/acidity analysis and berry tasting. Hand-harvested into openwork crates. Gravity-fed vatting. Spontaneous fermentation (indigenous yeasts) in raw cement vats with short, gentle daily pump-overs. Malolactic fermentation also takes place in cement vats where the wine is aged for 4 to 6 months. Sulfiting is added if necessary and at bottling (<20g/hl of free SO2). Tasting notes: Purplish red, nose with aromas of lovely red fruits (raspberries, cherries, etc.). Roundness and suppleness on the palate marked by an explosion of fruit. Serving temperature: 14°C Consumption method: Drinks with friends, barbecue, around a plate of Touraine charcuterie, without anything else, just for pleasure in the cool summer air! Aging: 5 years Label: AB (Ecocert certification) -Translated from Frederic's Website

Notes on the Producer

Domaine de l’R was founded by Frédéric Sigonneau in 2007. He worked for a few years at the famed Domaine Baudry, his neighbor in Cravant near Chinon, then 2 years in Spain on Biodynamicly-farmed ungrafted vineyards. While the Domaine de l'R is fairly new, it is already counted by Chinon amateurs among the ones where cabernet franc shines. Frédéric and his parents have been living next door to Bernard Baudry, he was by the way a childhood friend of Mathieu, Bernard's son. Frédéric, whose family owned vineyards but rented them to different wineries, began to work at Patrick Baudry in 1997, staying two years there until 1999.

He then worked at Fabrice Gasnier, an organic (and now biodynamic) vigneron 4 km away. Then at the end of the wine school in 2002 he went to Spain where he stayed 2 years, working on biodynamicly-farmed ungrafted vineyards. Back in France, he had an interlude of 2 years working in a conventional domaine before setting up his own domaine in 2007. His wines, which were then still under the radar by the mainstream wine media, were discovered by Olivier Grosjean, an out-of-the-box French wine writer during his visit at the Salon d'Angers in 2009.Domaine de l’R’s vineyard is managed as naturally as possible by working the soil and protecting the vines from disease with sulphur and copper. The harvest is carried out manually and only gravity is used for movements in the cellar (and therefore racking is minimal). Fermentation takes place in raw cement vats and the addition of sulphites takes place only when necessary prior to bottling.

Grapes & Style

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is an old Bordeaux and Loire red grape, and one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon. In Bordeaux it’s often part of a blend, bringing lift, perfume, and freshness; in the Loire, especially Chinon, Bourgueil, Saumur-Champigny, and Anjou, it stands on its own as one of the great medium-bodied red wines of France.

In the vineyard, Cabernet Franc ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon, which helps it succeed in cooler regions. It still needs enough warmth to avoid hard green flavors, but when farmed well it can keep freshness while developing real aromatic complexity. It often works beautifully on limestone, gravel, and sandy soils, with style shifting depending on site.

In the glass, Cabernet Franc usually sits in a lovely middle zone: red and black fruit, fresh herbs, violet, graphite, pepper, and sometimes a subtle leafy edge. It can be light and crunchy or deeper and more structured, but it rarely needs heaviness to make its point. We like it for the way it combines freshness, savory detail, and quiet confidence.