Chinon and St Nicolas de Bourgueil
The staple red wine of many Paris bistros is a fresh, fragrant, medium bodied and fruity Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley, It’s probably because of this popularity that it remains undervalued as a serious grape variety, pushed to the background by its more vibrant offspring Cabernet Sauvignon.
In Bordeaux it is seen as the grape to support Cabernet Sauvignon when it fails to ripen in cooler years. This makes it ideally suited to the more northerly climate of the Loire Valley and in the right hands it’s capable of so much more than a supporting role. Oz Clarke describes it as “generally a far better drink than Cabernet Sauvignon, and “from Chinon and Bourgueil can be one of France’s most lovely red wines”.
We will be tasting wines from three family producers on opposite sides of the river Loire in Chinon and St Nicolas de Bourgueil – Bougrier, Baudry and Amirault – to illustrate bistro level and then the greater complexity and richness from different soils and different winemaking techniques including amphora ageing.
Details on attending CWC tastings can be found on our About CWC wine tastings page.