Arnaud Lambert, Cabernet Franc, Saumur Rouge "Clos Mazurique" Brézé, Loire Valley, France 2021

100% Cabernet Franc.

Certified organic. 40 year old vines. Grapes are hand-harvested and sorted in the vineyards and cellar. Bunches are 100% de-stemmed before indigenous yeast fermentation in concrete tanks to maintain freshness and vibrancy. Aged for 5 months in concrete tank before bottling.

There are few wines in the world that carry this level of class, sophistication and low price. Straight out of the gate, this Cabernet Franc overflows with perfumes of red and dark cherry, Persian mulberry, persimmon, mandarin orange, strongly-scented red and white flowers, gravel, wet forest and minerals. Very complex!

In young red wines, tannin usually leads the structural elements, but if it's from the hill of Brézé, acidity is first. Clos Mazurique's single pump over each day during its short fermentation encourages its acidity to shine even more. On the palate, it feels as much like a white as it does a red, only laced with sappy, glycerol red nuances. It finishes with a soft, graphite-like texture that rounds out the mouthfeel, which only adds to the charm of this finely cut gem.