Pascal et Alain Lorieux, Agnès Sorel St. Nicolas de Bourgueil 2018, Loire, France

Tasting Note: A cabernet franc you can chew on, this St. Nicolas de Bourgueil presents Loire-classic green notes in a full-throttle style.

Deep-intensity purple in color, this wine has an aromatic, pronounced-intensity nose of black plum, pencil shavings, tomato leaf, forest floor, dried-violet blossom and brioche.

On the palate the dry, full-bodied St. Nicolas de Bourgueil has medium-plus-intensity flavors suggested on the nose supported by medium acidity and grippy, medium-plus tannin ultimately completing with a long finish.

Complexity in the midpalate gives way to a svelte tannin structure that complements the underlying fruit along with hints of dried hay.

Serious cabernet franc for serious cabernet franc drinkers.

Bottle Note: Pascal & Alain Lorieux Saint-Nicolas Bourgueil “Agnès Dore!” is a 100% cabernet franc wine produced in the Loire Valley region. Saint-Nicolas soil is mainly on the sand and gravel alluvial plain of the banks north of the Loire River. These gravelly alluvial soils generate a fresh style of wine with aromas of red berries and licorice. The grapes that will make the Agnès Sorel Cuvee are hand selected prior to the harvest by tasting during the ripening period. A long winemaking phase allows the producer to obtain a fleshy, concentrated wine, with complex aromas characterized by their crisp, refreshing acidity and prominent spiced-fruit flavors. “This cuvee is named after a mistress of King Charles VII of France.”

This wine was submitted for review.