Today’s Story: Domaine de la Chevalerie
Domaine de la Chevalerie is a small family-owned estate and winery established in 1640 by the Caslot family. Located in the village of Restigné within the Loire Valley, the domain consists of about 33 hectares of vineyards planted entirely to Cabernet Franc. A true family affair, the domain is run by siblings Stéphanie and Emmanuel who joined their father Pierre in the early 2000s. Pierre’s first task he set upon his children was to convert the entire domain to organic viticulture and winemaking, which they received certification for in 2008. By 2012, the domain transitioned entirely to biodynamics and received the Demeter certification. Though Pierre unfortunately passed away in 2014, Stéphanie and Emmanuel carry on the legacy aided by their younger sister Laurie who joined in 2018.
In their goal to produce terroir-driven wines that showcase a true sense of place, the Caslot family goes further than biodynamics alone and practices a minimally invasive winemaking style. All fruit is hand-harvested into small baskets before being sorted, destemmed, and sorted again. The grapes are not crushed, but instead transfer into vat by gravity to begin fermentation with only indigenous yeasts. After fermentation, the wines move to demi-muids and large 400 to 500 liter neutral barrels for aging. They add minimal SO2 and generally bottle the wines unfined and unfiltered.
To explore the family’s vineyard holdings, portfolio of wines, or read more I recommend visiting their website here.
Today’s Wine: 2014 Bourgueil Galichets
100% Cabernet Franc; 13% ABV
The 2014 Bourgueil Galichets is medium ruby in color and nearly opaque. This is an absolutely gorgeous wine out of the bottle, but really needs 45 minutes to an hour of decanting to truly open up and shine. On the nose, I get pronounced aromas of redcurrant, bing cherry, strawberry, black raspberry, slight barnyard, tilled earth, crushed rock, mild chili pepper, and dried underbrush. Meanwhile the palate showcases notes of crunchy cranberry, stemmy strawberry, raspberry, cigar tobacco, scorched earth, gravel, charred bell pepper, and crushed rock minerality. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, fine-grained medium (+) tannins, and a medium (+) length finish.
Price: $30 (might be able to find this closer to $25). This is an outstanding bottle of wine, particularly given its price-point, balance, and complexity. A very solid value play here, and definitely worth seeking out.
JB's Wine Talk 