Most of the best wine terminology comes from the French, including a descriptor that suits this wine perfectly: digeste. It directly translates to “digestible,” but it connotes much more, describing wines that are in perfect balance and ready to drink. It’s a much cooler way to say “easy drinking,” and while this Saumur-Champigny from Château de Chaintres is very easy to like, there’s also plenty of complexity and soil character to hold your attention.
We have come to expect this type of wine from the best producers of Saumur-Champigny, which has really emerged as the top destination in the world for the best, most aromatic expressions of Cabernet Franc. From the most famous producers in the region, such as Clos Rougeard and Domaine Guiberteau—who have seen prices skyrocket in recent years—to smaller, lesser known estates, this Central Loire appellation is the place to be right now, and frankly, the wider world of wine hasn’t really caught on yet. If I had to name the wine most beloved by sommeliers but overlooked by consumers, it’d be Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, which is why sensational examples like this one are lurking around out there for less than $30 a bottle. Having lavished a disproportionate amount of attention on Cru Beaujolais in recent years, it’s time to give Loire reds some love. This one is more than deserving!
“Les Sables” is indeed as digeste as it gets, delivering a perfectly calibrated mix of delivering the combination of freshness, depth, power, and pleasure. The prevailing wisdom is that these characteristics are imbued by Saumur-Champigny’s distinctive soils, which are rich in tuffeau: the soft textured, yellowish limestone that makes up the region’s best plots. It is this local limestone that makes up the building material for the estate of Château de Chaintres. It was in the 17th century that both the château and the stone wall around the vineyard site were built—by monks, of course. The 15 hectare clos slopes gently to the south and makes up the entire production of the small estate. The location was chosen due to the particularly advantageous parcel of vineyard land that surrounds the area—a combination of tuffeau chalk, clay-limestone, and sand.
While the traditions of viticulture on the property date back almost 500 years, the estate has taken leaps and bounds towards excellence in recent years. It has been Certified Organic since 2013 and began practicing rigorous biodynamic principles starting in 2018, after the hiring of a new cellar master, Jean-Philippe Louis, whose experience in the Loire dates back many years. Louis works the soil gently to promote micro-biological growth and harvests all the grapes by hand. His approach in the cellar is one of minimal intervention and a light hand. The results have been incredible and are on full display with the 2019 vintage.
Les Sables (“the sands”) is the estate’s main red bottling, sourced from a section of the vineyard that consists primarily of sand over limestone bedrock. Sandy soils tend to give wines a freshness and aromatic lift. The terroir combination of sand and tuffeau in this parcel gives today’s wine its wonderful balance of charming fruit along with a deep mineral core. Upon harvest, the grapes are completely de-stemmed and fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks, with a 10-12 day maceration and gentle pump-overs. The wine is then aged briefly for 4 to 5 months in tank before bottling.
The 2019 “Les Sables” boasts a lively purple/ruby color in the glass while showcasing plenty of lively aromas such as Mirabelle plum, blackberry, cassis, and fennel. These primary fruit components are underpinned with some of the earthier, classic elements of Saumur based Cabernet Franc: violets, crushed gravel, sage, red pepper, and all-spice. It is brisk and fresh on the palate, medium-bodied and silky, though containing a thick-fruited core that finishes with violets and vibrant mineral intensity. The purity and pleasure of Cabernet Franc fruit is on full display, without any oak to mask the charming fruit and fine-grained tannins. I suggest serving this wine at around 60 degrees in Burgundy glasses (to emphasize those lovely aromatics) after a brief 15-30 minute decant. At $29 per bottle, this is the perfect mid-week meal wine, so be sure to stock up on a few bottles. I suggest a nice juicy burger to pair along this wine, or perhaps a steak frites. Cheers!
