Fabrice Gasnier Chinon Signature 2014

The cuvée Signature comes from low-yielding Cabernet Franc vines aged 70 to 75 years, rooted in gravelly silex soils in Cravant-les-Côteaux on the right bank of the river Vienne. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and macerated for 32 days, the wine was matured for 14 months in new and one-year-old barrels before being bottled unfined and unfiltered to preserve texture. A beautiful example of mature Chinon at its peak!

92/100 - From low-yielding, 70- to 75-year-old vines on gravelly silex soils, the 2014 Chinon Signature is an excellent Cabernet Franc from Cravant-les-Côteaux, on the right bank of the Vienne River. Macerated for 32 days and aged for 14 months in party new and one-year-old barrels, this dark ruby colored wine offers a pure, perfectly ripe and concentrated bouquet of dark fruits, flint stone, pepper and floral aromas. The palate is dense, fresh and concentrated, structured by very fine, close-meshed tannins that give a silky texture of coolish, classic Loire fruit. This is a highly elegant, fine and balanced wine with a long, juicy and tightly woven finish. It's a great wine today, and it still will be in 20 years. Just beautiful. From organic/biodynamic production. (Tasted August 2021) - Stephen Reinhardt, Wine Advocate