Les Varennes du Grand Clos AOC 2019

Deep, slightly translucent garnet red in the glass, with a clear, unadulterated Cabernet fruit on the nose: juicy red berries and cassis, alongside bell pepper, tomato leaf, herbs and a touch of blond tobacco. A wine that disguises nothing.

The fairly flat vineyard lies between the left bank of the Vienne and the Clos de la Dioterie, on soils that are partly sandy-clay, partly sandy-gravel over limestone. The vines were replanted between 1962 and 1976, with part of the vineyard around 40 years older. Charles Joguet took over the estate in 1957 and has since vinified each parcel separately. The cellars are hand-hewn tuff caves spanning a full hectare, with a temperature that varies by less than half a degree over the course of the year.

Pure Cabernet Franc. Ten days of cold pre-fermentation maceration at 10 °C, followed by roughly four weeks of maceration fermentation in wooden vats at no more than 21 °C. After alcoholic fermentation, the free-run wine and the best press wines are blended for malolactic fermentation, which has taken place in barrel since 2008. About a fifth of the French oak barrels are new, the rest one to four years old. 15 to 16 months in wood, six months in tank, then bottling.

Chewy, almost still biting tannin meets a clear acid structure. The Chinon stays direct and taut, with fruit depth and a very slight extract sweetness.

With meat, it already drinks superbly. On its own, it's still a touch too young.

Cellar master Kevin Fontaine, with the house since 2006, recommends a Bordeaux glass for young vintages and a Burgundy glass for mature ones.