About this WINE
Domaine du Closel
Domaine du Closel in Savennières has a history stretching back to the Napoleonic era and produces marvellously intense, dry white wines. Today it is owned and run by Mme. de Jessey, who inherited it from her aunt, and her daughter Evelyne de Pontbriand. They have 12 hectares of vineyards planted with Chenin Blanc, some of which are 70 years old.
The wines are fermented and matured in oak barrels. 3 different cuvées of Savennières are produced, and it is the Clos du Papillon, which is made from grapes grown on schist and limestone, that shows the greatest intensity, concentration and ageing potential.
Savennières
Savennières is a tiny white Anjou appellation (comprising Savennières, Savennières-Coulée-de-Serrant, and Savennières-Roche-aux-Moines) revered for its dry, full-bodied Chenin Blanc wines, grown on the ancient schistous/volcanic soils on the southern banks of the Loire. The best are hand-harvested by trie (often with a degree of noble rot), before being pressed and aged in oak barrels. Domaine du Closel is a good source.
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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Description
This charming, characterful wine will provide a real treat for fans of mature Cabernet Franc. It hails from two relatively early-ripening parcels (on schist soils, at the foot of a slope) which result in a wine that’s more voluptuous than most from the appellation. The nose is high-toned, with aromas of violets and cherries, while its varietal character – those leafy and blackcurrant notes – becomes more apparent with time in the glass. There’s still plenty of fruit and acidity after four and half years in bottle, although this should be drunk relatively soon (before the end of 2019). I’m betting it goes brilliantly with mushroom stroganoff.
Will Heslop,Buying Assistant (autumn 2018)
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