A raw, juicy Chinon from 35-year-old Cabernet Franc vines on the left bank of the Vienne – a Loire red wine with earthy depth and great ageing potential.
Luminous garnet red with a brick-red shimmer at the rim.
Nose
Red berries including their stalks, along with red pepper, Piment d'Espelette, a hint of musk and fresh garden herbs.
Palate
Powerful and juicy with melting tannins, impressively high acidity, notes of pepper and tomato as well as a long, fruity finish.
Character
Extremely young and bursting with power despite several years of maturation – an honest, terroir-driven Chinon with plenty of developmental reserve.
Pairing
Braised beef, herb-crusted rack of lamb or mushroom ragout.
Notes
From the clay-limestone terroir of the north-facing Les Charmes vineyard site near Anché; after a cool pre-fermentation maceration and fermentation on the skins in wooden vats, it was aged for six to eight months in large wooden casks – from the organically certified estate that vinifies each parcel individually.
Tasting note
Colour & appearance
Bright garnet red with a hint of brick red at the rim – a wine that hints at its years rather than showing them.
Nose
Pure and precise: red berries complete with stems, alongside red pepper and piment d’Espelette, a touch of musk and garden herbs. Cabernet Franc without make-up.
Palate
Youthful, untamed, juicy and powerful. The tannins are beginning to melt yet remain present. Red berry fruit, notes of pepper and tomato, a whisper of pyrazine. The acidity is impressively high and carries the wine with energy.
Finish
Long and exceedingly juicy – with plenty of potential for the years ahead.
Terroir & origin
Les Charmes lies on the left bank of the Vienne on the heights of Anché, the commune neighbouring Sazilly. The terroir is clay-limestone, the vineyard north-facing – a cool exposure that lends the wine its taut line. Domaine Charles Joguet, certified organic since 2016, has always vinified its parcels separately – a method founder Charles Joguet adopted from Burgundy, which revolutionised Chinon.
Grape variety & vinification
100 per cent Cabernet Franc from vines around 35 years old. Five days of cool pre-fermentation maceration, then roughly 15 days of fermentation on the skins in wooden vats at 24 to 26 °C. The free-run wine is blended with the finest press wines; malolactic fermentation and the six- to eight-month ageing take place in large wooden casks.
Food recommendations
The vibrant acidity and piquant spice call for substance: duck breast with red berries, rack of lamb with a herb crust, stuffed peppers or beef fillet with pepper cream sauce. Also a delight alongside mature hard cheese.
Special features
A Chinon that defies its age: even years after the harvest it still feels like a youngster with rough edges – high acidity, present tannins, crisp fruit. Those who bring patience will be rewarded with growing complexity; those who open it now should decant it and serve it at table.
