After a very successful debut in the South African market, the wines of Domaine Philippe Alliet are back. Today’s release offer provides an opportunity to drink across three recent vintages of Chinon Cabernet Franc from this domaine: 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Dear Reader,
Consisting of eighteen villages, the appellation of Chinon is located along the Vienne River and with its northern boundary sitting at the river’s confluence with that of the Loire’s. The soils here are rich and complex and the Cabernet Franc wines are truly unique. Rebecca Gibb MW, writing for Vinous, sums it up well in an article published last year: ”The very best wines are inimitable, elegant, terroir-driven and sensitively handled. They deserve to be discovered, in their own right, as superlative Loire reds, not a fresher alternative to Bordeaux Right Bank nor an affordable offering for Burgundy drinkers”.
The vintages of 2019 and 2020 were warmer ones and therefore, the Loire reds are a bit more robust in style, with a wilder edge. The 2021 vintage is a welcome return to a more classical style of Cabernet Franc. There is a freshness and vibrancy to 2021 that makes the ”Tradition” cuvée from Alliet an essential wine to drink for those who have not had much Loire Cabernet Franc for a while.
It’s been a long time coming, but the red wine producers of the Loire Valley have reason to be proud of their main red grape variety, Cabernet Franc…No longer does Clos Rougeard stand alone as the only Loire red worthy of fine wine lovers’ shopping basket…And, in Chinon, a host of 40-somethings have now become part of the landscape: with plenty of experience already under their belts, they are currently making fine wines. The next 20 vintages are assured from…Pierre Alliet at Philippe Alliet, among others.
Rebecca Gibb MW for Vinous (August 2022)
The Chinon ”Tradition” is your introduction to the range – a wine of finesse and a flagbearer in terms of value-for-quality Loire Cabernet Franc. It is fully de-stemmed (same across the range) and the wine spends nine months in cement tank. The ”Vieilles Vignes” is a gravel-grown cuvée from 60+ year-old vines that is aged in cement. ”L’Huisserie” is produced from vines that grow on a south-facing limestone laden slope and is aged in 500L barrels.
For today, we have put together a limited number of mixed cases made up of two bottles each of the ”Tradition” and ”Vieilles Vignes” cuvées respectively, and one bottle each of the 2019 and 2020 vintage of the ”L’Huisserie” cuvée.
The ”Coteau de Noiré” is the Domaine’s top cuvée. The grapes are from a vineyard growing on a famed steep site, known as one of the top single sites in all of Chinon. The second part of today’s offer consists of just six cases dedicated to the ”Coteau de Noiré” cuvée, with three bottles each of the 2019 and 2020 vintage.
Philippe Alliet
Chinon
Appellation Contrôlée
Coteau de Noiré 2019
3 x bottles
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Philippe Alliet
Chinon
Appellation Contrôlée
Coteau de Noiré 2020
3 x bottles
R 3,960
per six-bottle mixed case
Only 6 cases available
So, here is to the too often overlooked red wines of the Loire. If you enjoy Cabernet Franc, then these wines on offer today are right up your Alliet!
