Bourgueil ''Domaine du Grand Clos'' - red 75cl X 6 = €14.17
100% Cabernet Franc
Domaine Audebert & Fils
Vintage 2022
A word from Cave de France: Bourgueil "Domaine du Grand Clos" comes from approximately 8 to 9 hectares of old vines (average ~50 years) planted on a sandy-siliceous clay terrace and a south-facing clay-limestone hillside. It combines finesse and structure: the nose evokes dark fruits – Morello cherry, blackberry – with a light touch of oak. The palate is fleshy and harmonious, with a soft texture and velvety tannins, supported by a long finish focused on stewed fruit, as noted by the Guide Hachette which describes it as "very successful".
Domaine Audebert & Fils, rooted in Bourgueil since 1839, is a family estate of over 40 hectares spread across Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, and Chinon. Faithful to Cabernet Franc – locally called "Breton" – the estate cultivates this grape variety across a mosaic of terroirs, from silty sands to calcareous clays, and even gravel. The wines thus faithfully reflect the expression of each plot and vintage.
Bourgueil wines benefit from varied soils, conferring structure and depth: notes of ripe red fruits, sweet spices, with supple tannins for young vintages, and firmer tannins on clay-limestone terroirs for age-worthy wines from old vines.
In Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, the vines rest on Cenomanian gravel. The resulting wines are lighter, lively, and fruity, with remarkable elegance, always carried by a beautiful springtime freshness.
The estate's Chinon wines are planted on silty sands along the Loire and Vienne rivers: here again, they express softness, silky tannins, vivacity, and immediate deliciousness, perfect for drinking young, but capable of developing complexity in the medium term (5-8 years).
The estate combines traditional winemaking – fermentation in stainless steel tanks, indigenous yeasts, controlled maceration – with careful aging (tank and 600-liter barrels), sometimes in a troglodyte cellar, ensuring gentle oxygenation. This approach gives birth to wines of character, balanced, fruity, but also capable of improving with age.
The estate offers guided or self-guided cellar tours, with on-site tasting, and has long been featured on the menus of the best restaurants (Relais & Châteaux, Gault & Millau, Michelin), testifying to its strong local and professional recognition.