Château du Petit Thouars, Cabernet Franc "Les Georges" Chinon, Loire Valley, France 2021

Sébastien named this cuvée in honor of his ancestors, nearly all of whom are named “George” (in fact, his real first name is “George,” too). The friendliest of the estate’s three red-wine offerings, Les Georges Chinon is produced entirely from the free-run juice of the younger vines of Cabernet Franc, and is vinified and aged in steel tank. This cuvée comes primarily from “Les Plantes,” the thirteen hectares of Cabernet Franc immediately behind (to the west of) “Le Clos” which Sébastien’s father planted between 1978 and 1988.

Far from a simple gulper, however, Les Georges Chinon has vibrant fruit, honest tannins, and refreshing earth-mineral interplay.

The Château du Petit Thouars has an extraordinarily long and rich history. Built in the early 1500s as a sort of “low-key hunting lodge” for a wealthy family from the town of Thouars, the 150-hectare estate is run today by Sébastien du Petit Thouars, the twelfth generation to dwell here since his ancestor George purchased the property in 1636. Though records and physical evidence exist of wine having been made on the property centuries ago, it wasn’t until the late 1970s that the enterprise was revived.