Classic Cabernet Franc Mixed Case Offer
"Outside Bordeaux, it’s the major red grape of the Loire..." - Decanter.com
Free next day delivery with this offer case
"Loire cabernet franc is a classic, a red that is lovely to pour in summer, yet this grape too often gets overlooked."
Victoria Moore - The Telegraph.
Cabernet Franc - the black-skinned parent grape of better known and later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon - is widely planted in Bordeaux, the Loire Valley, USA, Italy, Argentina and increasingly in China. In the Loire (specifically the Touraine, where the grape is known as 'Breton'), it produces perfumed, supple reds with raspberry and green pepper aromas underlined by fresh acidity that benefit from 20 minutes in the fridge or half that time in an ice bucket.
"Pour a cabernet franc from one of the Loire regions of Saumur, Saumur-Champigny, Chinon, Bourgueil or St Nicolas de Bourgueil and you're pouring a little bit of early summer to go with your rack of lamb with pea purée, home-made lamb burger made with a spoonful of redcurrant jelly, or barbecued lamb and garlic kebab eaten with raita and new potatoes."
Victoria Moore - The Telegraph.
Focus on: Bourgueil & St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
West of Tours, the twin appellations of Bourgueil (1,300ha) and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil (900ha) lie on the south-facing slopes of the northern bank of the Loire. Limestone and gravel soils dominate in Bourgueil giving elegance to the fruit and free-draining soils to the vines. While up to 10% Cabernet Sauvignon is permitted in the blends, most wines are pure Cabernet Franc. The picture is similar for St-Nicolas' though lighter soils tend to produce earlier-drinking wines. Both AOCs are known for their bluey-purple tinted wines with aromatic summer berry aromas often with a peppery, crunchy note (even 'pencil shavings' to some!) that adds freshness to the vibrancy of the fruit.
Thierry Foltzenlogel, a talented winemaker who was tutored by his late father-in-law Joël Taluau, tends some 32 hectares across both St-Nicolas' and Bourgueil alongside wife Veronique, daughter Mélanie and son Nicolas (what else could you call your son?!). They have been farming organically since the 2021 vintage and are working towards certification. The Taluau family's St-Nicolas 'Expression' cuvée comes from mature vines which produce a fruit-driven berry-scented bottling with black pepper underlining supple fruit. Ideal with a coarse pâté rillettes de porc, poultry or yes - red wine with fish - local speciality truite aux amandes.
Their Bourgueil 'Passion' cuvée is sourced from 6 communes across three different soil types (sand, flint and tuffeau limestone). Rounded and rich with a little more structure than the St-Nicolas', it suits richer dishes like braised lamb shoulder with plenty of garlic or confit de canard.
This six bottle mixed case includes three bottles each of the following wines:
RED:
Bourgueil: Domaine Taluau-Foltzenlogel 'Passion' 2022
Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: Domaine Taluau - Foltzenlogel 'l'Expression' 2022
£90 per six bottle case delivered, saving £20.10 on list prices.
(Our standard list price of these wines would be £95.10, plus £15.00 delivery to a mainland UK address. Offer price saves £20.10).
3 x Bourgueil: Domaine Taluau-Foltzenlogel 'Passion' 2022£0.00
Domaine Taluau-Foltzenogel make this 'Passion' cuvée - a sleek, well-fashioned Bourgueil wine from parcels of vines across 6 communes and 3 soil types: sand, gravel and limestone-clay. Each brings a different character to the Cabernet Franc grape. The former two ensure supple, sleek fruit and lighter-body while the latter gives elegance and structure. Despite being 100% Cabernet Franc, this is a triumph of the blender's art.
3 x Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: Domaine Taluau - Foltzenlogel 'l'Expression' 2022£0.00
Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: 'L'Expression' is a forward-drinking wine, from pure capsicum-scented Cabernet Franc, that has a lovely concentration of fruit and a really persistent finish.
