Jean-Maurice Raffault, Les Galuches, Chinon 2013, Loire, France

Tasting Note: A light alcohol (12.5%) cabernet franc that makes a perfect low-alcohol sipper for those who enjoy having multiple glasses of a gentle, red-fruit-dominated wine over the course of an evening without the stress of high alcohol or harsh tannin.

Ruby in color, this cabernet franc from Chinon has a nose of red fruit including red cherry, red plum, raspberry and violet along with some faint vegetable and forest floor aromas sprinkled with vanilla baking spice and some oak.

On the palate the dry red expresses restrained red fruit suggested on the nose.

The wine is medium in acidity and medium plus in tannin.

The cabernet franc expresses a slight sour taste towards the back of your mouth shortly after the bottle is opened but this sour character diminishes with an hour’s exposure to air.

A long-evening sipping wine; you could easily consume a bottle by yourself over the course of a 4-hour evening.