Bréton, Cabernet Franc, and the affordable light reds of the Loire Valley

Weeks ago, I had spent some time trying to communicate the austere wonders of Chenin blanc from the Loire Valley, and all of its alluring aromas of chamomile, caramel apple, and lanolin (wet wool). Now it’s time to talk about the reds that many a winebar resort to as a holdover for their quaffable Burgundian light reds: Cabernet Franc. Specifically, the bold Chinon, reserved Bourgeuil, and aromatic St. Nicolas.

Cabernet Franc has been grown in the Loire valley for longer than we have notable records. The first indication of its presence in this Château-laden landscape of fairytales, and heroism long past, comes in via records dating from around 1450, not long after Joan of Arc’s endeavor to convince Charles VII to restore the boarders of France and ascend to the throne, in the quiet medieval town of Chinon.

Chinon, on the bank of the river Vienne.

Here you can find the famous french Fairytale of Gargantua et Pentagruel by François Rabelais emblazoned in the chalky limestone called Tuffeau, strewn around the entryways and moldings throughout the city. They tell the stories of ages past - a satirical tale of two giants of perceived antiquity lampooning the religious, and political turmoils of the sixteenth century at the rise of humanist intellectualism. It would be an understatement to say that Chinon is a critical auspice harboring the historic beauty of la joie de vivre: French Life.

Chinon, however, is much more than a pretty face. No, here a machine is at work, churning away at the stuffy indignation of centuries of winemaking tradition, and culture. Here, one can find vines just as delicately emblazoned into the tuffeau through centuries of cultivation. Unlike the beautiful scaffoldings on the surface, these roots that carve themselves underway, roots, this ever-churning organic machine carries out it’s work where it cannot be seen - under the chalky marl.

Just under the Château de Chinon, home to dozens of famous French noblemen including Cardinal Richelieu, minister to Louis XIII, this cultivating process takes place: the machine is at work. The banks of the Vienne river are covered in terraces, both modern and very ancient, teaming with the red grape Cabernet Franc. In fact, just two percent on average from Chinon is white made from Chenin Blanc, and supposedly there are a few plots of Cabernet Sauvignon scattered somewhere around, probably in the higher parts of the vineyard where sun exposure is greater.

Despite almost universally growing Cabernet Franc for their Chinon wines, these Loire-valley vintners are allowed, as per regulations, to use up to ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon to liven up the Franc. Despite the respite of creative liberty, nearly none do. The Franc is getting better and better, as temperatures warm, modern winemaking practices continue to invade, and trends favor the organic and biodynamic producers. Lovers of wine are taking note.

Once a wine lake of universally mass-produced whites, sold by negociante labels, the recent uptick in the obsession with natural viticulture has made the Loire valley a jewel for affordable, well-made, well-cared for and well-loved vines, brimming with bright-eyed new vignerons itching to be inventive with their expression of their terroir. And this is a good thing.

As Burgundian wine fades from costly, to expensive, then totally unobtainable, and finally stabilizing itself at a cool, “Are you out of your mind?,” more and more we find ourselves are looking for interesting, earthy, and mineralic reds to get our fix of complexity. First the world turned its head to the mountain; Barolo, Etna, Moric; Eger, Ahr, Naoussa - but we wine lovers may have overlooked the beauty of the wines coming from just three hundred miles up the A7.

Cabernet Franc (Bréton) at its best from Chinon is a powerful light red, with more minerality, and hints of leather than some of these other regions. There are notes of legumes, wet stone, dead leaves, and, most ostensibly, heavy fruit - specifically black cherry and redcurrant. Graphite is also a standalone signature of any Cabernet grape. The wines are reserved, layered, and complex, with a powerful punch of red fruit, yet softer, tamer acidity than Pinot Noir - ever still, they lack the tannin, and richness of Cabernet Sauvignon which allows often for more intricacy to be woven in by a talented vigneron.

The dirt here is Turonian limestone, otherwise known as yellow Tuffeau. This material was quarried to make the buildings, and bridges in the nearby area, so if you ever visit the Loire valley, you will see it littered all over Chinon and other villages. It’s a chalky, extremely water-porous material, that is tough for vines to get their roots through, but it’s packed with minerals. this means that the water table is low. Under the Tuffeau, water collects down at the Jurassic limestone bedrock.

The top soil is dominated by a mix of sand and gravel, making this some of the finest drainage of any Loire Appellation. Over years of anticipation, vines carve their way down deep into the soil to find water, creating tension in the wines, and depriving the vine of nitrogen, which results in lighter consistency than what we would see in Bordeaux, with Bréton.

To ripen, Bréton is placed on high terraces following the curvature of the river Vienne, where it meets the tributary Indre-et-Loire - if you checked out the article on the Loire valley Chenin, you’ll know that this area is teaming with temperature regulating tributaries that act to keep vines warm during the final stages of ripening. In the estuary of the two rivers, is a forest of trees that act to supply the area with warmth and block the cold winds in the latter season.

Nearby, in illustrious Bourgeuil (boar - goy), and neighboring St. Nicolas de Bourgeuil, vintners are known for their lighter, and more etherial wines of mineralic density and wafting intellectual palatability. These are the sensible wines for those who ponder. They lack the overall redcurrant strength, generally, but what they lack in strength they gain in complexity, as is often the case in fine wine. These vines are grown in properly concentrated limestone around the banks of the Vienne, thus, often this limestone translates into focus, and minerality. Winemakers here are more cautious with their use of oak.

Vintners build the terraces to make the vineyards easy to work, regulate airflow better, and plant the grapes on steep slopes where they can be certain of ripening. At one point in time, Franc grapes struggled to ripen, resulting in acetic and often unpleasant wines. Thus, the sites with more sun were favored. In today’s warmer climate, the opposite is true: making quality wine is getting easier for these dedicated vignerons, thus, some look to the cooler spots for better expression of the grape.

This region, much like Vouvray, got its start as a Dutch trading port - the Dutch favored the more glamorous whites a the time, and exported these wines to England and the Netherlands, turning Chinon into the same wine lake of mass-produced Chenin Blanc that Vouvray had become. This unfortunately resulted in many of the local vigneron replacing their Cabernet Franc with Chenin Blanc to keep up with the trends. It wasn’t until after Phylloxera that we saw a much needed return of the better-suited Cabernet Franc.

In Chinon yields are limited to 55hl/ha, but as usual for high quality regions, and simply due to the complex and varied terrain of the Loire escarpment, yields by the vast majority of producers are far lower. Between Bourgeuil, St. Nicolas, and Chinon, ninety-five percent of wine produced is red, three percent is relegated to the fruity and perfumed rosés, and only two percent is made from Chenin Blanc. Cabernet Franc represents 72,000hl of area production, which is the vast majority - not too much more can be made, meaning the growers who want to make wine here, are making some incredible wines.

In Chinon, the best plots are up on terraced peaks known as Puys - steep hills sometimes upwards of fifty meters, and one at a whopping eighty-eight meters. up on the ledges of these famous mounds you can see glimpses of the whole Loire and its tributaries. The climate varies dramatically from the ground level. Up there, the winds shift to a maritime breeze with temperatures so well-regulated the climate nears tropical. You can find all sorts of foliage not generally associated with a cold-climate region like Loire: garrique, oranges, nettles, etc.

Up here is strictly Cabernet Franc country, and ripening on the Puys is far easier and produces fantastically complex and focused wines, with incredible structure and intensity. This may be due to the heavy presence of limestone as well, far more so then further downward. The gravel and sand here yield to a limestone underpinning that is molded to the exposed bedrock that is responsible for the Puys in the first place.

Domaine Les Roches (Chinon)

A staple of Chinon, these wines are histrionic, and boastful. Brash, and exciting, the vivacious energies of deeply satisfying redcurrant is coupled by a second punch of cassis, and bergamot citrus spice. These are long agers, and this classic winery preps their bottles for such an immutable task. The wines come from old vines, some totally engrafted, due to the dry limestone’s resistance to phylloxera. The undertones proclaim a singing ode to falling leaves, and cracked pepper, while the typical eucalyptus associated with Bréton of course makes an appearance in a very pleasant way. Truffle is the driving tertiary characteristic. Leave these wines to age for seven or so years, and they will not dissapoint.

Domaine de la Chevalerie (Bourgeuil)

This wine may be difficult to come by, but is gaining in popularity as word-of-mouth prosteletyzes the shear desirability of these delightful, traditionally made wines. These wines are fantastic value, especially when juxtaposed with Burgundy. Expect rich, tertiary aromas of black dirt, moss, with overtones of redcurrant, fresh blackberry and singing mint and lilac. There is noticeable anise as well. I think the musk of these complex wines comes from their extended tuffeau cellar aging, which adds to the historicity, and beauty regarding background of the wine, if not the delightful addition of much needed complex aromas.

That's all,

~K