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2019 Bourgeuil “Cuvée Beauvais”
Domaine de la ChanteleuserieThierry Boucard in the Beauvais vineyard
Just outside of the village of Benais, in the heart of the Touraine, sits the lovely Domaine de la Chanteleuserie. This “place where the larks sing,” as the name means, is perched on a limestone plateau in a peaceful landscape near the banks of the Loire. The Boucard family manages this domaine and produces two reds from Bourgueil, the Loire Valley appellation twenty minutes north of—and across the Loire River from—Chinon. Like Chinon, Bourgueil is home to many expressions of world-class Cabernet Franc.
In contrast to the softer, more fruit-forward Bourgueils grown near the sandy, alluvial riverbanks—the Boucards’ Alouettes bottling, for example—the Beauvais shows Cabernet Franc’s more serious, structured, and age-worthy side. This largely comes down to terroir: the Beauvais vines are planted in hillside tuffeau, a chalky, porous limestone that retains water especially well and keeps the old vines hydrated through all kinds of conditions. This bottling, reminiscent of crushed blackberries, black cherries, and graphite, is proof that this is among the top terroirs for this grape anywhere.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Cabernet Franc |
Appellation: | Bourgueil |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Domaine de la Chanteleuserie |
Vineyard: | Planted in 1971, 4 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 14.5% |
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About The Producer
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
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Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
I want you to realize once and for all: Even the winemaker does not know what aging is going to do to a new vintage; Robert Parker does not know; I do not know. We all make educated (hopefully) guesses about what the future will bring, but guesses they are. And one of the pleasures of a wine cellar is the opportunity it provides for you to witness the evolution of your various selections. Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.
Inspiring Thirst, page 171