Blanc de Noir VdF 2022

The Blanc de Noir VdF 2022 is a white-pressed Cabernet Franc from Ambillou-Château in Anjou. In the glass, pale yellow with silvery highlights; on the nose, cherry, dark berries, quince and apricot skin, underscored by hazelnut, milk coffee and leather. With air, wild herbs, undergrowth and woodsmoke emerge.

The estate lies 90 metres above sea level and 120 kilometres from the Atlantic. The vines are rooted in sandy gravel and red flint over tuffeau. Cool nights and warm days preserve the acidity. The average vine age is 60 years, with some parcels over a hundred years old.

A single-varietal Cabernet Franc, white-pressed. Yields stay below 30 hectolitres per hectare, giving the wine its density. In the cellar, Sylvain Potin, a former sommelier, has worked at the estate since 2009; he describes his work as a pursuit of ever greater precision. The wine is dry, at 13.0 % Vol.

Juicy and bright, with ripe apple, sweet plums and nectarines. Fine tannins give the wine structure, while a charming fruit sweetness lends roundness.

With Asian cuisine, game and mushrooms.

Clau de Nell converted to biodynamics as early as 2000 and is certified; the label carries the Demeter logo. Anne-Claude Leflaive took over the estate, then fallow for three years, in 2008 together with her husband Christian Jacques. Since her death in 2015, he has continued to run it with Sylvain Potin. The Blanc de Noir has only existed since 2021, the house's fifth cuvée.