Clos du Chêne Vert Monopole AOC 2019

Cool, reserved, introspective: for now, this Cabernet Franc reveals its depth only in hints. If opened young, it should be given air in the glass; cellar master Kevin Fontaine recommends a Bordeaux glass for the estate's young wines and a Burgundy glass for more mature vintages.

The vineyard lies on the right bank of the Vienne, not far from the centre of Chinon, and stretches up to the crest of the hill. Two hectares, steep, south-facing: this is why harvest begins here every year. The soil combines clay with lighter gravel and deep-lying limestone. It takes its name from the mighty oak in the vineyard, said to have been planted by monks from Bourgueil in the 12th century.

Single-varietal Cabernet Franc. Ten days of cool pre-fermentation maceration at 10 °C, followed by around four weeks of maceration on the skins in wooden vats at a maximum of 21 °C. After alcoholic fermentation, the free-run wine and the best press wines are blended and undergo malolactic fermentation together, which has taken place in barrel since 2008. This is followed by 15 to 16 months in French oak barrels, around a fifth of which are renewed each year, then six months in tank.

The nose first shows chalk and mint, ethereal and cool, becoming more floral with air: violet, along with redcurrant with leaf and stem. On the palate it is fine, elegant and crisply fresh, with delicate tannin and a structure that is only just beginning to unfold.

Roast duck breast, a rack of lamb, braised beef cheeks or mature hard cheese.

Charles Joguet took over the family estate in 1957 and from then on vinified every parcel separately. Today the Domaine farms 35 hectares, 30 of them Cabernet Franc and 5 Chenin Blanc. The hand-hewn tuffeau cellars extend over one hectare, where the temperature varies by less than half a degree over the year.