Situated north-west of Burgundy and far above Bordeaux, the Loire wine region is recognised globally for its sophisticated white wines – with sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc reigning supreme.
These styles are very much in fashion in Australia, and continue to perform well, especially during warmer months. However Loire Wines’ latest campaign is firmly centred around promoting its red wines down under, with a particular focus on cabernet franc.
According to Allison Slute, a leading Canadian wine educator turned Loire wines specialist, the variety’s strong potential to grow in key export markets including Australia is two-fold: not only is it well positioned to appeal to newer, budget-oriented consumers, but it has all the necessary elements to be seen as a premium, luxury cool-climate red wine as well.
She attributes its commercial-level potential to one simple fact: it is the ideal red wine for sauvignon blanc consumers when they are needing, or choosing, to shop for a red alternative.
“If somebody loves sauvignon blanc, then cab franc is a natural transition to that in terms of the herbaceous profile,” Allison Slute tells Drinks Trade. “And, if you love the green of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, there’s always a green edge. Particularly in the Loire, it does tend to present a little bit more green.”
At the other end of the spectrum, she considers the region’s untapped premium potential as pending, and thus forming the inspiration for her current project, the Cab Franc Chronicles.
“I have a goal, hopefully before I die, that we will start to talk about the appellations and villages of the Loire for cabernet franc in the same way that we talk about Burgundy; that maybe 50 years from now, someone might be talking about the village of Benais in Bourgueil and why that village is particularly important for structured red wines, just like we talk about Gevrey-Chambertin in the Côte du Nuit.”
Taking this a step further, winemakers from the appellation Chinon in Touraine have established six ‘lieux-dits’ localities that showcase the unique site-specific expressions of the varietal – similar to the Burgundy approach. While not yet officially recognised crus, Vindoux, Les Picasses, La Pointe-Vinière, La Croix Boissèe, Les Boulaies, and Les Puys offer a way to recognise and shine a light on the site-specific influences at play.
However, Matthieu Baudry, Sébastien du Petit Thouars, Jérôme Billard, and Jean-Martin Dutour, four of the winemakers spearheading the initiative, stated to a room of international journalists attending a recent masterclass that concepts such as lieux-dits’ are still in their early days: “It’s still niche. For many parts of the world outside of the Loire, people don’t understand that these appellations mean cabernet franc. So, for those outside of France, the goal is a lot of education to say ‘Chinon means cabernet franc’.”
Meanwhile Allison Slute says the key global hurdle for cabernet franc is consumer education around its ‘green’ flavours.
“The green edge of this noble variety does not get the praise that it deserves, and, honestly, probably the most difficult part about this grape for everyone, is the pyrazines and how to manage those,” she said.
“I spent some time with a Vigneron in Bourgueil once, and he used the term ‘noble vegetal notes,’ and while that seems, for non-French speakers, a little bit off-putting, the way he spoke about it was with pride. Those pyrazines/those herbal undertones that this grape has inherent in its DNA should be celebrated and should be praised.”
She also flags the need for trade to better understand pyrazines in wine, with trade to play a crucial role. “There is a spectrum. So it’s not bell pepper, in fact, bell pepper among the Loire Valley vignerons, that’s a fault, and it drives me bananas when I read text sheets that say green bell pepper for cabernet franc. If there’s an overt green bell pepper note, you have done something wrong.”
Instead, “there’s herbals, there’s forests, there’s all kinds of different things … I’m Canadian, so I think of the coniferous forests in Canada: lush green evergreens, spruce trees, and cedar trees.”
The Burgundy model: What is cabernet franc’s premium potential?
Comparing red wine from Anjou and Chinon, two of the most prominent regions for cabernet franc in the Loire, Matthieu Baudry, Sébastien du Petit Thouars, Jérôme Billard, and Jean-Martin Dutour outline a number of key differences.
“Across the board, many of the Anjou rouges tend to have (as the French tend to say) ‘stricter’ tannins. There’s a certain rigidity to the tannins, they aren’t as pliable,” they said.
Meanwhile, they say wines from Chinon have “a certain firmness, and there’s a certain power and presence, and I think it’s very representative of the region. It’s like the difference between the muscular profile of a male ballet dancer versus a wrestler.” Currently, cabernet franc plantings in Chinon span 2,400 hectares, producing both red wine and rosé expressions.
While climate has a role to play, a lot of the regional and site variation is a result of different soil types, or terroir. “Cabernet franc and schist are not the best of friends. In hot, dry vintages, cabernet franc can struggle on schist, which is why we don’t see the red wines in the same way from Anjou as we see in other parts of the Central Loire.”
Allison Slute adds: “Some of these vineyards you walk in, and you’re like sinking because the sand is that soft in terms of the texture, but that sandy, gravelly soil is really what kind of defines the Chinon appellation, and then as you move into the slopes, that’s where of course we find, much like Burgundy, clay limestone soils. And the limestone is this Tourainean Tuffeau Chalk.”
When asked for their thoughts as to why cabernet franc from the Loire has struggled to attract more market share in global export markets, Baudry, du Petit Thouars, Billard, and Dutour responded by stating: “It shocks me sometimes … There are excellent organic producers, great single vineyard wines, great entry-level wines, and these wines aren’t really widely available, so I think there’s a massive opportunity in terms of distribution for the region … We think of the Beaujolais movement of 15 years ago and where Beaujolais is now in terms of the crus. Maybe this is where cabernet franc will be in 10 years’ time, maybe sooner, but we’re entering a very special time for Cabernet Franc from Beaujolais.”
What are Loire Wines’ other selling points?
When it comes to the numbers, cabernet franc is well positioned for global growth. 29 per cent of Loire vineyards are currently planted to the variety, collectively producing 56 per cent of the region’s red wine volumes and 50 per cent of France’s cabernet franc overall.
Its popularity in rosé form also makes it more recognisable among a diverse range of wine consumers globally.
Another key selling point is its history, with some experts believing it to be the oldest red grape variety in France. One theory suggests that during the transition from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE, a Gallic tribe settled in the Loire may have acquired vines through trade with the Aquitanians, who lived in the Basque region of the Pyrenees. The grape, originally from northern Spain, was then called Biturica. This group later settled in Bordeaux before returning to the Loire in force during the medieval period.
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