Bernard Baudry Le Clos Guillot 2021

Le Clos Guillot is an organic, single-variety Cabernet Franc from Bernard Baudry, made under the Chinon appellation in the Loire Valley. The fruit comes from south-west-facing plots with clay over limestone at the top of the hill and yellow tufa, a soft local limestone, at the bottom. That limestone base gives the wine its tension and chalky minerality, while the slope and aspect ripen the grapes fully in a cool climate. The vines were planted between 1993 and 2000 and are picked by hand. Fermentation runs for around two weeks in cement or oak tanks, preserving fruit and freshness, and the wine then ages in barrel, where slow oxygen exchange softens the tannins and adds a restrained cedar and leather frame. The estate works biodynamically. The colour is deep ruby. The nose offers red currant, cherry and plum over crushed pepper, dried herbs and wet stone. The palate is medium bodied and precise, with fine, firm tannins and a long, savoury, mineral close. Serve at 16 to 17 degrees, decanting briefly if young, with roast lamb, grilled beef or mushroom dishes.