Lifted red fruits of black cherry and wild strawberry along with carbonic and earthy notes (wet stone, fresh herbs) dominate the aromas. The palate offers plum, black raspberry and ripe pomegranate along with plenty of minerality and touches of bramble, baking spice, graphite and black tea. Crisp acidity and fine tannins make it a wonderful food companion.

WINE INFORMATION

Cheverny is an appellation between Blois and Orléans in the middle Loire Valley created in 1993.  It also encompasses the smaller AC of Cour-Cheverny.  Cheverny is unusual in that all wines must be blends.  Cour-Cheverny is also unusual—the appellation is dedicated to the ancient Romorantin grape, a white.  Reds from Cheverny may use Gamay (no more than 66%), Pinot Noir, Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon, Côt (Malbec), and Pineau d’Aunis.  Whites from Cheverny are comprised of Sauvignon Blanc with a mandatory dollop of Chardonnay.  Soils tend to be heavy clay, mixed with either limestone or silica.  The climate is semi-continental.

François Cazin, a fifth-generation winemaker, took over the ancestral estate, Le Petite Chambord, in 1976.  He works in both appellations, farming sustainably and harvesting by hand.  The average age of the vines is 30 years.  Each grape varietal in this wine is handled in different ways.  The Pinot Noir is destemmed, macerated for a week, and fermented in tank.  The Gamay goes through whole-cluster semi-carbonic maceration (typical of the way Beaujolais is made).  The Malbec, used to add color and structure, is fermented in steel.  The components are combined, and the wine ages without wood contact to preserve the freshness of its flavor.

Charcuterie, Cheese, Chicken/Turkey, Fish-full flavored (salmon/tuna), Ham, Just for Cocktailing