Loire Valley Cabernet Franc is riding a massive wave of popularity around the world. The most sought-after producers, like Clos Rougeard, Olga Raffault, Philippe Alliet and Bernard Baudry, have attracted the spotlight by over-delivering for the price, but the longer that spotlight shines the more likely prices are to creep upward.
Of course, Clos Rougeard’s prices have already shot into the stratosphere, but if you look at the rest of the region, it is absolutely teeming with value. The best reds combine the elegance and grace of great Right Bank Bordeaux with the supple elegance of Pinot Noir from Burgundy, as exemplified by today’s wine from Château Pierre-Bise. The Papin family of Pierre-Bise has been one of the most celebrated producers of Côteaux de Layon and Quarts de Chaume sweet wines for generations, but guess what: Their reds, grown in the basalt soils of their namesake village, are outrageously good. Today’s exuberant red, a Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon blend called “Les Rouannières,” is in no way an ‘also-ran.’ Only its price is pedestrian—completely out of line, in fact, with the quality and complexity in the bottle. The appeal of the Loire Valley’s Franc-driven reds in this price range is their tangy, bistro-ready rusticity, but Les Rouannières combines that with a dash of Bordeaux-esque depth and polish. I’d consider myself extremely lucky to find a wine of such quality on a bistro menu, but I’m luckier still that its importer walked it through my front door and onto my table. This is a wine to buy by the case, or two, and drink over the next decade. The best years for this wine are still a few years away. The hard part is keeping your hands off your stash once you try it!
As I’ll be the first one to say, there’s still a fair amount of Loire Valley Cabernet Franc out there that skews a little too herbaceous and ‘muddy’ for some. But, whether it’s Chinon, Bourgueil, or the appellations of Anjou-Saumur, I feel like that style has become more the exception than the rule. Pierre-Bise is the name of a tiny village along the Layon River, a small tributary of the Loire, and Les Rouannières is a vineyard planted in soils of schist and an oceanic volcanic basalt known as spilite: The Franc it produces has the variety’s telltale notes of green herbs and tobacco with a hint of spice, but those characteristics are intertwined with dark fruits and a floral note of freshly bloomed violets. The tannins are far more fine-grained and polished than the archetypal bistro Cab Franc of yore. The addition of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, meanwhile, not only lends a touch more weight but sweet notes of blackberry and cassis that complement—not overwhelm—its characteristic Franc savor.
The Papin family’s run at Château Pierre-Bise started in 1959, when Pierre Papin acquired the estate, and has continued through three successive generations: Pierre’s son Claude came aboard in 1974, and later his sons Christophe (1997) and René (2001). The family is perhaps most celebrated for its botrytis-affected Côteaux du Layon wines from Chenin Blanc, but their vineyard holdings have expanded to 50+ hectares over the years and include some key acquisitions in nearby Saviennières and elsewhere. Today’s wine is classified as Anjou-Villages (which covers an area that encompasses both Côteaux du Layon and Saviennières) which, like the Saumur AOC, allows for a significant percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon to be used alongside the flagship Cabernet Franc.
It may be the 2015 vintage talking, but this wine is a little more generous in its youth than most of its fancy Saumur brethren, especially once the wine receives proper aeration. Sourced from 35-year-old vines and aged about a year in a mixture of large, used vats and
barriques, it displays a deep ruby core with black, purple, and garnet reflections. Aromas of black plum, red and black currants, cassis, grilled herbs, green tobacco leaf, pencil shavings, and turned earth would have you vacillating between the Loire and Bordeaux’s Right Bank in a blind tasting, but both in higher acidity and texturally, it leans strongly to the Loire. Medium-bodied and quite silky in texture, it has plenty of vibrancy and tension, without sharp edges or excessive earthiness. For me it is amazing how much better the wine gets with air, decant it about 60-90 minutes before serving in Bordeaux stems (Burgundy stems would be fine as well) at 60-65 degrees and pair it with something with some gaminess to it; lamb chops would be great, but maybe take it a little further afield and try a venison loin. There’s just the right amount of rusticity in Les Rouannières to make it work. Again, I highly advise you try to forget as many bottles as possible in your cellar. In another 4-5 years this wine will be firing on all cylinders and at this price it is a relatively low cost for a huge return!
