2022 Anjou Cabernet Franc

Full bottle 1,348 g. Cabernet Franc vines that are 45 to 55 years old. Hand-picked. De-stemmed, native yeast, 30-day maceration without extraction. Gentle cap punching, limited pumping over, infusion techniques. 12 months on fine lees in 228-litre burgundy casks (used five to seven times) followed by six months in vats. Bottled without filtration or fining on a ‘fruit day’. Certified organic (Ecocert) and biodynamic (Biodyvin, Demeter). Dark-fruit fragrance, shade-flower fragrance. Mossy, fern-fronds-in-mountain-stream cool, but there is no mistaking the orb of ripeness that almost bursts on my tongue. Summer blackberries and fresh-cut orchard grass. Tannins as comforting, accommodating, firm and supple as a favourite pair of leather slip-ons. Although it is beautifully structured with easy grace and gentle gravitas, there is also a kick-your-shoes-off-and-lay-down-in-the-deep-green-grass careless happiness about this wine, and it is because it has both these sides to it that I love it. (TC)