A few years ago, I wrote about how a Loire Valley Cabernet Franc we were offering was “Burgundian.” This prompted one reader to question whether Loire Cab Franc could only be considered “good” if it tasted like Burgundy. I’d like to clarify: It’s not that the wine tasted like Burgundy, but rather that it behaved like Burgundy. What appealed to me was the wine’s silken texture, perfume, and subtlety—all Burgundian characteristics, even though the actual flavor profile was markedly different.
I’ll be honest, Loire Valley Cabernet Franc can often be too ‘green,’ hard-edged, and muddy for me—but more often than not lately, I’ve been knocked sideways by the level of fruit purity and refinement people are coaxing from their Franc. This is especially true of wines from Saumur-Champigny, home not only to the legendary Clos Rougeard but to many other thoughtful, talented hands such as Dominique Joseph of Le Petit Saint-Vincent. His 2015 Saumur-Champigny “Pélo” is the latest wine to get me hyped up about this grape in this place. This wine has it all—complexity, refreshment, terroir expression, value—and getting more people to try it (and others like it) has become one of my pet projects. If you’re not on board already, now’s the time. Franc like this deserves your love and respect—and, for what it’s worth, it’s got mine!
One of the distinguishing characteristics of Saumur-Champigny—in comparison to Chinon and Bourgueil, the more famous Cabernet Franc-based appellations of the Loire—is the more dominant presence of limestone tuffeau in the soils (Chinon and Bourgueil soils are more mixed, incorporating more silt and gravel). While there are other factors in play, there’s wide agreement that this chalky tuffeau lends Saumur-Champigny reds their exceptional brightness and perfumed aromatics. On the whole, these wines tend to be more delicate expressions of Cabernet Franc, with a little more emphasis on dark cherry fruit and violet/rose petal florals and less on the meatier, bell-peppery characteristics of the grape.
Dominique Joseph is the fourth generation at Le Petit Saint Vincent, working out of a stunning, multi-chambered cellar carved from the tuffeau. He was an early convert to organic farming and has been certified for many years now. This wine, called “Pélo” (Dominique’s childhood nickname) is sourced from 50-year-old vines around the village of Varrains; the fruit is 100% destemmed and fermented in concrete vats. It is later aged in a combination of concrete and 3- to 5-year-old barriques for about 12 months before bottling.
There’s something about fermentation/aging in concrete that lends red wines a kind of wooly softness. This 2015 is smooth as cashmere, with fine-grained tannins that perfectly frame the ripe fruit. In the glass it is a deep ruby/purple moving to magenta at the rim, with aromatics that seamlessly blend the sweet and savory elements of Cab Franc: black and red cherry, black raspberry, wet roses and violets, cracked pepper, turned earth, and a woodsy, ‘forest floor’ component. It is brisk and fresh on the palate, medium-bodied and silky, finishing with more violets and roses—one of those wines that disappears so quickly you wonder if someone spilled half of it and didn’t tell anyone! There’s no mistaking it for Burgundy—there’s more pepper and meat and a darker, blacker fruit component—but it is exceedingly elegant all the same, gliding across the palate without any hard edges. There’s enough acid and tannin here to keep it for 5+ years in the cellar if you so choose; otherwise, decant it about 30 minutes before serving in large Burgundy stems (many people serve Cabernet Franc in Bordeaux stems, but I think this wine has the kind of perfume that is enhanced by Burgundy bowls). There are myriad food options with a brightly acidic red like this—my first thought is a simple grilled skirt or hanger steak with lots of cracked black pepper and a little salsa verde on the side. A little bistro-style cooking seems like just the ticket for this elevated take on a bistro wine.
