2016 Chinon, L'Huisserie, Domaine Philippe Alliet, Loire

2016 Chinon, L'Huisserie, Domaine Philippe Alliet, Loire

Product: 20168111683
Prices start from £150.00 per case Buying options
2016 Chinon, L'Huisserie, Domaine Philippe Alliet, Loire

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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6 x 75cl bottle
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Description

A beautifully balanced, multi-layered wine which oozes aromatic complexity. The stunning bouquet draws you in with intense aromas of red cherry, raspberry, roses and a hint of spice. The palate is incredibly elegant, displaying an array of forest fruits, red berries and peppery notes. The texture is very silky, alongside a sparkling freshness and a long finish. 

Hugo Dale, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

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Critics reviews

Jancis Robinson MW16/20

I'm told that, like 2021, the 2016 vintage gave wines with high acidity, which need time and decanting but are good with food.

Sharp, snippy, not up for conversation. A bit skinny. Bark and tamarind. Thick kohl and coal tannins. I’d love to taste this as advised: decanted, with food.

Drink now to 2026

Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com (November 2023)

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Wine Advocate90+/100

The 2016 Chinon L'Huisserie is from the upper part of the coteaux and cultivated on argile-silex soils. Fermented and aged for six months in concrete tanks, then for one year in 500-liter barrels and for another six months in concrete again, this is a very elegant and floral Cabernet Franc from 15-year-old vines. It is generously fruity, perfectly ripe and concentrated as well as gentle and charming, like cool silk on the palate, and reveals lovely nervous acidity on the finish. The tannins are clear, fine and fresh. This is an excellent Chinon with a straight yet beautifully floral, elegant and refined character.

The most recent vintage of the domain I tasted was the 2017, which was very good. The harvest was very early and went from September 18 to 25. Due to spring frost, the yields were relatively low, at 35 hectoliters per hectare for Cabernet Franc.

Drink 2020 - 2030

Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate (August 2021)

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Rebecca Gibb MW93/100

The 2016 L'Huisserie is starting to open up and develop some savory nuances. It gives the sense of a more classic year in that it's not opulent and has a real sense of tension; it's more conservative and demure rather than upfront like the warmer years at the end of the decade. It has a long life in it. That flint part of the terroir just keeps on carrying the fragrance in waves.

The father-and-son team of Philippe and Pierre Alliet have raised the bar for what’s possible with Loire Cabernet Franc and are now running one of the top domaines in Chinon. Pierre now mostly runs the estate's day-to-day, with 18 hectares of Cabernet Franc and a single hectare of Chenin Blanc. One thing he’s introduced is using more cement tanks and less oak. The south-facing limestone slope of L’Huisserie and the steep site called Côteau de Noire are two of the top single vineyards in all of Chinon.

Drink 2023 - 2037

Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous.com (July 2022)

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About this WINE

Domaine Philippe Alliet

Domaine Philippe Alliet

Domaine Philippe Alliet is one to reference for making 100% Cabernet Franc wines. The domaine is situated in Cravant-les-Côteaux, home to arguably some of the best Cabernet Franc in the world. Founded in 1985, the domaine is now run by Philippe's son, Pierre, who is revolutionising the Cabernet Franc scene in the Loire, focusing on low yields and meticulous vineyard management.

The oak regime has gone down from 100% new 225-litre barrels to a mere 20% of new wood, 500-litre barrels paired with much longer ageing of up to 20 months. This has drastically changed the style of the range and allows the wines to be approachable young while having great potential to age.

The domaine produces one of the most exciting Chinon ranges in the Loire, spanning from the entry-level Chinon to the top-of-the-range Coteau de Noiré cuvée, located on steep coteaux and perceived as the best plot in Chinon. Pierre emphasises the importance of sustainable and environmentally friendly viticulture practices, so he organically farms the 19 hectares of the domaine.

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Chinon

Chinon

Chinon is an important  appellation for the Cabernet Franc grape, located within the Touraine wine region just to the west of Tours. At approximately 2,500 hectares, it represents a slightly larger zone than its neighbour Bourgueil. Part of the appellation, closest to its other voisin St Nicolas de Bourgueil, possesses light, sandy gravel soils to give an easy drinking style, while the remainder is blessed with a tuffeau subsoil from which the wines draw a finer structure and longevity. Neither style approaches the fullness of Bourgueil however.

 

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Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is widely planted in Bordeaux and is the most important black grape grown in the Loire. In the Médoc, it may constitute up to 15% of a typical vineyard – it is always blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and is used to add bouquet and complexity to the wines. It is more widely used in St Émilion, where it adapts well to the cooler and moister clay soils.

Cabernet Franc thrives in the Loire, where the cooler growing conditions serve to accentuate the grape’s herbaceous, grassy, lead pencil aromas. The best wines come from the tuffeaux limestone slopes of Chinon and Bourgueil.

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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.