2020 Chinon, Coteau de Noiré, Philippe Alliet, Loire

2020 Chinon, Coteau de Noiré, Philippe Alliet, Loire

Product: 20208109743
Prices start from £46.00 per bottle (75cl). Buying options
2020 Chinon, Coteau de Noiré, Philippe Alliet, Loire

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Bottle (75cl)
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Description

Cabernet Franc is very much the grape variety of the moment, with its capacity to age becoming apparent as the whole of the Loire takes on a new identity. This Chinon is still brimming with freshness and fruit, as you might imagine from the region, but an impressive depth and intensity indicate the long life this wine has ahead. 

The nose is a concentrated combination of dark fruit, sweet winter spice and aromatic cassis, all moving seamlessly onto the palate whilst held together by subtle but firm tannins. Delightful over the next few years, we'll revisit in 10 to see how it has evolved.

Drink 2024 - 2036 

Berry Bros. & Rudd

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Critics reviews

Jancis Robinson MW17.5/20

Limestone. Mix of old and young vines, averaging around 30 years old. 

Caraway, red plums, intense and vertical. Beautiful cumin notes spliced with sumac and dark, dark flowers. Mouth-watering. The tannins are supple, curlicue; punctuation directing the fruit from phrase to phrase. There is something about the structure and nuance of the oak which reminds me of right-bank bordeaux, but that's not to say it doesn't retain its Chinon identity. A superb wine.

Drink 2024 - 2024

Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com (November 2023)

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Rebecca Gibb MW93-95/100

The Côteau de Noiré is a 2.5-ha vineyard on a steep slope with a clay-limestone base. The 2020 is an almost unctuous Chinon with its rich strawberry and black cherry fruit. It's smooth and supple and has its act together with delightfully chalky tannins that will leave you licking the inside of your mouth. Excellent, fragrant and long.

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 2025 - 2040

Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous.com (August 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.Emilion where it adapts well to the cooler and moister clay soils - Cheval Blanc is the most famous Cabernet Franc wine in the world, with the final blend consisting of up to 65% of the grape.

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 Bourgeil where growers such as Jacky Blot produce intense well-structured wines that possess excellent cellaring potential.

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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.