Pierre Borel 'Clos de Pavée' Bourgueil

Vintage: 2023

Region: Loire, France

Grapes: Cabernet Franc

Alcohol: 12%

Pierre Borel farms a historic 2.5-hectare estate in the Loire Valley, managing all the vineyard work entirely by hand. This Cabernet Franc comes from young vines planted inside a true walled vineyard ("clos"). The unique gravel soil here cools the roots, which slows the ripening process and pushes the harvest into late season. For this vintage, Pierre blends 80% de-stemmed maceration with 20% whole-bunch carbonic maceration. The wine is aged mostly in fibreglass tanks with a small portion resting in old oak barrels to keep the tannins fine and add a rounder mouthfeel. Only a minimal amount of sulphur is added after racking.

The result is a young, fresh, and "crunchy" expression of Bourgueil that balances a ripe, Northern Rhône-style texture with traditional Loire Valley character. The nose is highly fragrant with classic notes of charred green pepper and herbaceous capsicum. On the palate, it is filled with bright cranberry and cherry fruit, finishing with fine-grained tannins and a hint of bitter dark chocolate. It is ready to enjoy right now and tastes excellent with a light chill.