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About the Wine
In addition to his Bourgueil, Clos de Pavée, Pierre has now branched out to make a second wine - another very tasty take on Cabernet Franc, this time geared up for easy drinking and quaffing at the bistro table. It's a fully de-stemmed, two-week maceration of grapes from vines in a plot that Pierre rents outside of his own beautiful walled garden in the village.
This is a 'deuxième mise', or second bottling of this particular vintage. Given a longer élevage of 6 months in tank, with a small percentage in old barrels, and then a full year in bottle before release. On the nose it screams textbook Cab Franc: the distinctive charred green capsicum aromatics are high in the mix, with black cherry, blackcurrant and some savoury depth. On the palate the wine remains light, brisk and incredibly easy to get along with. Simple pleasures!
About Pierre Borel
Pierre is the definition of the small grower. He works alone, tending to a single 2-hectare parcel of young-vine Cabernet Franc in a beautiful walled garden in the heart of Bourgueil. Pierre has obtained his organic certification, which is aided no end by the vineyard’s seclusion; the sleepy village to one side of the walls and woodland to the other, meaning no risk of contamination from neighbouring growers who aren’t following the same practises. He works under the AOC of Bourgueil as he believes his wines are true to the style of the region, although most certainly on the more expressive side. Simplicity is key here - Pierre makes only one wine, and seeks to vinify in as straightforward a way as possible. The sandy limestone gravel soils yield fragrant fruit which is fermented in a simple chai (basically a shed) that comprises one large tank of stainless steel and one of fibreglass. The wine is racked off the skins after a couple of weeks and is bottled from tank, with no barrel ageing. Pierre’s wine is honest, understated and everything we love about Cabernet Franc from this part of France; plush, herbaceous and, as his vines mature, growing deeper and more complex with each passing vintage.