There’s something magnetic about restraint. This one doesn’t touch—it watches. Cabernet Franc in a sheer black number, just close enough for you to feel the heat.
It opens with lifted aromas of blackcurrant leaf, crushed raspberries, and a crack of black pepper—sharp, fresh, a little wild around the edges. Beneath that? Faint smoke, wild thyme, and the flirt of terpene—camphor, green stems, the sting behind a stolen look.
On the palate, it’s coiled and controlled. The fruit is lean but ripe—red plum and sour cherry—wrapped in a savoury structure that hums with spice and minerality. It’s not here to overwhelm. It’s here to be watched, explored, devoured in slow motion.
Serve it with grilled duck breast draped in a tart blackcurrant glaze—slick, rich, and bleeding into the wine’s sharper tones. Add roasted aubergines smeared with labneh and mint. Then finish with a wedge of tomme de chèvre—firm, slightly funky, the kind of cheese that watches you back.
You’re not allowed to touch. But it wants you to want to.
Region: Saumur-Champigny, Loire Valley, France Grapes: Cabernet Franc
