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Vin de Plaisir! A Red for Warm Weather
Vin de Plaisir! A Red for Warm Weather
by Anthony Lynch by Anthony Lynch
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2019 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
2019 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”



Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire | Bourgueil
“Vin de plaisir! Lovely, bright, unfiltered color. Loaded with aroma and flavor. Intense, rambunctious fruit, as in crunchy, thick-skinned, tiny purple / black grapes. For newcomers, Bourgueil is across the Loire from Chinon. This is 100% Cabernet Franc from a sun-soaked parcel. ‘Les Alouettes’ is Boucard’s cuvée that requires no aging. Enjoy it starting now.” — Kermit Lynch on the 1996 Cuvée Alouettes
About thirty miles downriver of Vouvray lies the sleepy town of Bourgueil, where Cabernet Franc reigns. Thierry Boucard represents the seventh generation of his family to run Domaine de la Chanteleuserie, an estate blessed with some of the appellation’s finest parcels. From their south-facing limestone sites, in fact, Thierry and his forebears have produced beautifully nuanced Bourgueils with the structure to age for decades in bottle.
The Cuvée Alouettes, however, comes from sandier soils, which tend to yield softer wines with very supple tannins—perfect for drinking young. Since it’s similar in style and price to an easy-drinking Beaujolais Villages, you’ll want to drink it chilled and, likely, in one sitting. Unlike with other quaffers, though, you can expect a little extra brawn and woodsy fruits like cassis and plum. It saw fermentation and aging in stainless steel to preserve maximum aromas of fresh fruit, and the aromatics are not lacking: wild berries jump out of the glass invitingly, while a peppery note adds an earthy twist. The gentle finish makes a chilled glass oh-so gulpable alongside picnic fare, lunch, or a BLT.



Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Cabernet Franc |
Appellation: | Bourgueil |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Domaine de la Chanteleuserie |
Winemaker: | Thierry Boucard |
Vineyard: | Planted from 1967 - 1980, 8 ha |
Soil: | Sand, Clay |
Aging: | Fermented and aged in stainless steel cuves |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 14.2% |
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2021 Chinon “Le Clos Guillot”
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2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Réserve”
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2024 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
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2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
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2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
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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 Kimmeridgian 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.
More from Loire or France
2023 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Quincy “Château de Quincy”
Domaine Trotereau France | Loire
2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Dyane”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2023 Bourgueil “Trinch!”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rouge
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2023 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Quincy “Château de Quincy”
Domaine Trotereau France | Loire
2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Dyane”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2023 Bourgueil “Trinch!”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rouge
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
Where the newsletter started

Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch