Winemaker Notes
The vines that plunge the deepest into the tuffeau below are bottled separately, with the Vieilles Vignes cuvée comprising parcels ranging from 50 to 80 years of age. Despite the expected increase in concentration and structure with this wine compared to Les Sables, the same sense of freshness permeates this wine—making it “très digeste” indeed. Tannins are again graceful, but the underlying minerality is more assertive here, contributing a salty-savory edge to the fruit.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
Marked by great châteaux built with the same tuffeau limestone that is also responsible for the excavation of so many of the famed Loire caves, Saumur is famous for its Chenin blanc based sparkling wines. Inside the Saumur region, Saumur-Champigny creates some of the Loire’s greatest Cabernet Francs.