2020 Nicolas & Sylvain Grosbois Clos La Henry Bourgueil

When you think of France’s Loire Valley, what comes to mind? White wine, right? You’re probably imagining textural and honeyed Chenin Blanc, salty and citric Muscadet and almost certainly flinty Sav Blanc from Sancerre.

But red wine lovers are not left out to dry here, and recent years has seen an increase in the production of ‘hidden-gem’ red wines that connoisseurs are going mad for. We’d like to introduce you, if you haven’t had the pleasure before, to Cabernet Franc.

One of the five noble grapes of Bordeaux, Cab Franc is typically used as a blending agent. But in some special parts of the world, it stands on its own. Bourgueil is a small appellation in Loire, unique for producing predominantly red wines that must contain a minimum of 90% Cabernet Franc.