Notify me
2021 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie
Boucard’s youthful Cuvée Alouettes will hit the spot every time the mood strikes. The craving may begin with a thirst for something luminous and fresh, maybe a touch earthy. For a moment you might consider opening an Italian rosso, a Dolcetto, perhaps? Or something delicate and pretty, like an Alsatian Pinot. But lovely as those may be, neither will do. And then, like a beacon on the horizon, you see it: that peppery, mouthwatering bottle of pure Cabernet Franc. Vinified with a gentle, terroir-focused touch—few reds will slake your thirst with the ease and finesse of Cuvée Alouettes.
—Jane Augustine
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2021 |
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: | 13.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

2021 Vin de France Rosé Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Les Arceaux”
France | Loire
Intensely dry and mineral, the structured Les Arceaux is a bottle to pair with a meal rather than to drink as an apéritif.

2024 Jasnières
France | Loire
Racy, slightly honeyed, exotically perfumed, and loaded with minerality, this wine is an excellent representation of how Chenin reacts to the local conditions.

Touraine “Fines Bulles”
France | Loire
Made in the méthode traditionnelle with direct-press Cabernet Franc, it is a light, bright, and festive bubbly meant to be drunk cold and often.

2023 Muscadet Côtes de Grand Lieu sur lie “La Nöe”
France | Loire
At first, it is streamlined, saline, and full of lemon. Then the granite terroir kicks in...

2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Cuvée des Bénédictins”
France | Loire
Pure and precise, this chalky Sauvignon Blanc offers a combination of bright citrus with a creamy depth that is simply hard to resist.

2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
France | Loire
This sparkling wine has decadently rich, honeyed fruit and a nice dollop of buttery brioche.

2024 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Cuvée du Rosier”
France | Loire
This red is 100% Pineau d’Aunis, an indigenous red grape we hold dear to our collective hearts because of its mystifying aromatics and bright, juicy texture.

2024 Bourgueil Rosé
France | Loire
Pretty and elegant, with a taste of fresh peaches and nectarines, it is perfect for your summer table.

2024 Jasnières “Cuvée du Silex”
France | Loire
This Chenin Blanc has a tart sweetness, or perhaps a sweet tartness—with neither overbearing—that epitomizes good balance and will have you greedily reaching for your glass.

2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
France | Loire
Gorges boasts an incredible texture and tension imparted by decomposed, blue-green igneous rock, seventy-year-old vines, and years-long aging on the lees.
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
2024 Vouvray “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Cuvée Sainte Narcisse”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2024 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Clos Romans”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
Touraine “Fines Bulles”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2024 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Le Domaine”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2024 Vouvray “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Cuvée Sainte Narcisse”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2024 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Clos Romans”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
Touraine “Fines Bulles”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2024 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Le Domaine”
Bernard Baudry 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