This week at the SAQ #3

It was in 1997 that Yvonne and Jean-François Lalumière took over this vineyard in the heart of the village of Parnay on the banks of the Loire.

It was also that year that this Cabernet Franc cuvée was born, from two hectares of tufa soil with vines aged 15 to 50 years.

When taken over ten years later by Mathieu Vallée, the estate focused on reds, with a predominance of Cabernet Franc over 10 hectares and an assumed and mastered biodynamic orientation.

Vinification takes place in concrete vats with a portion of whole clusters to make the whole more harmonious. This is followed by malolactic fermentation and eight months of aging in truncated wooden vats.

Fans of silky Cabernet Franc with floral, fruity, and slightly spicy notes will regret not having bought more bottles. For others, it is an opportunity to approach the Loire with a textured red with silky tannins that will get a Sunday meal off to a great start.

• · To accompany it: Beef tataki with a hint of anise as a starter,
• · Trivia: Tufa is better known as a noble material used to build a multitude of castles on the Loire than as a 90-million-year-old soil favorable to vines...
• · To better understand the vineyards of the Loire: There are still two spots left for our March 24th workshop.
• · To compare: The Chinon Thélème 2020, Pascal & Alain Lorieux, which would be a great follow-up to this Saumur for your next meal. Available at the SAQ (917096)

Envinate is a project that was born in 2008 following a meeting between four friends during an oenology course at the University of Alicante.

From the Canary Islands to Galicia, they travel through Spain's great terroirs in search of old vines that have a story to tell.

Benje Blanco is Listan Blanco/Palomino from 120-year-old vines at 1,000 meters altitude planted on the volcanic soils of Tenerife. The wine is vinified with very little intervention, fermented in concrete vats, and refined in neutral barrels.

It is a great wine of texture and substance with plenty of patina that will be an ally at the table. In the glass, you will find aromas of ripe orchard fruits, gunflint, and a subtle saline side. A pure and bright wine where acidity rubs shoulders with the fruit.

• · To accompany it: Roasted garlic chicken with some green vegetables,
• · Trivia: Envinate literally means 'make your own wine'...
• · To better understand strange grape varieties: A few spots left for our March 27th aperitif on (almost) extinct grape varieties,
• · To compare: The Ycoden-Daute-Isora do Benje Listan Negro Benje 2022 red from the same producer for a killer pair! At the SAQ (14993728)

We can already hear you, indignant readers, exclaiming 'what, an Australian wine in this generally enlightened list?'...

Indeed, the proposal is bold and, as it hasn't been tasted beforehand, possibly erroneous... But trusting the technical sheet of the wine, we told ourselves, why not let ourselves be tempted.

Tempted by a blend of Grenache (60%), Syrah (34%), and Mataro (6%) at 14% alcohol, but most likely well balanced by a sugar content of 2.1 g/l, an average pH of 3.46, and especially a tartaric acidity of 6.1 g/l. Why would we bore you with these data points that remind you of your tenth-grade year?

It's because a hot-climate wine can effectively be heavy and too muscular if left to its own devices in this ungrateful world of climate change.

But sometimes, when a vineyard takes the trouble to work naturally (biodynamically in this case) and to master its winemaking, this same wine can be calibrated to let both the candied red fruits, olives, and spices speak, and will also be supported by granular tannins and technically mastered acidity (read here: tartaric acids added during fermentation).

In short, a red act of faith that was nonetheless sanctified as the Best Grenache by 100 winemakers at the last Vinexpo Paris 'Master Winemakers Top 100'...

So if the wine does not meet expectations, you can address your grievances to the experts mentioned above...

• · To accompany it: A vegetarian Korma curry
• · Trivia: The word Cinnabar might make you think of a cinnamon granola bar to lead your palate astray, but it is actually the translation of the word vermilion (red),
• · To better understand the vineyards of Australia: A few spots left for our April 7th workshop on Oceania.
• · To compare: A cuvée showcasing the same three grape varieties but from the Rhône, with the Costières de Nîmes ‘Héritage’ 2021, Château de Nages. Available at the SAQ (12268231)