Loire Valley Cabernet Franc: panel tasting results

Jim Budd, Ben Llewellyn and Laure Patry tasted 57 wines, with two Outstanding and 18 Highly Recommended.

Loire Valley Cabernet Franc panel tasting scores

57 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 2

Highly recommended 18

Recommended 27

Commended 8

Fair 2

Poor 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their latest-release, dry red wines made from Cabernet Franc (90% minimum) from the Loire Valley, including AP, IGP or Vin de France wines, with availability in the UK

I had high hopes for this tasting, given the unprecedented, unbroken run of good to very good vintages from 2014 to 2020. And there were some very good wines, though there were also some disappointments, even from 2018.

Fellow judge Ben Llewelyn confirmed this outlook: ‘Difficult vintages, especially a series of frosted years, have tested the mettle and patience of growers in the region and it showed in many of the wines. My overall impression of the wines was moderate – but with some shining stars.’

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top-scoring Loire Valley Cabernet Franc wines

The tasting covered vintages from 2021 to 2014, plus one from 2011. There were examples from the Pays Nantais, Anjou, Saumur and Chinon, Bourgueil and St-Nicolas-deBourgueil, but none from eastern Touraine. Awarding two Outstanding and 18 Highly recommended, it was clear that Saumur, especially Saumur-Champigny, showed the most consistent quality, with the best wines.

Laure Patry agreed: ‘There were some great examples, with the strongest being in Saumur and Saumur-Champigny and also some great Chinon.’ Llewelyn said: ‘Saumur had the greatest showing and the wines offered good overall appeal. The denser styles in 2019 worked well, with potential for development at even a more modest level. The 2020s were good, too, but they require the puppy fat to fall away in order to get a full view.’

Our two Outstanding wines were both from Saumur. Château de Villeneuve’s Vieilles Vignes, Saumur-Champigny 2018, from Souzay-Champigny in the northern part of the appellation near the river, was the highest-scoring wine. Since taking charge of the estate in the early 1990s, Jean-Pierre and Florent Chevallier have made Château de Villeneuve one of the world’s great Cabernet Franc-producing properties, whose wines age beautifully for two decades or more.

See notes and scores for all the wines in the Loire Cabernet Franc panel tasting

The Les Nivières, Saumur 2019 – from the very good Robert & Marcel cooperative (part of Alliance Loire) based in St-Cyr-en-Bourg – is great value. This comes from vines around the village of Brossay, which is about 5km southeast of Doué-la-Fontaine. It is available through Waitrose at the bargain price of £9.99.

We were disappointed with Bourgueil, even though we awarded two Highly recommended wines, as there was a bigger variation in marks compared to the wines from Chinon, which we found to be more consistent, with five Highly recommended and a number of Recommended. Patry said: ‘I wish there had been more from St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil [four wines], as they were quite refreshing in 2020 and 2021. I had hoped that more Anjou wines would be entered too, as that’s where the best value wines are in my opinion.’

The lack of entries from Anjou may be due to this tasting’s stipulation of a minimum 90% of Cabernet Franc, since many top Anjou wines include a considerable proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.

Although there were some disappointments, with some wines showing harsh, green tannins that may never soften, there were also a good number of wines that will give pleasure now and into the future.

The top-scoring Loire Valley Cabernet Franc wines:

The wines below all scored 90 points or above

The judges

Jim Budd is an awarded wine writer and photographer. Writing for Decanter since 1989, he is the DWWA Regional Chair for the Loire. He is a founder-member of the Les 5 duVin blog, writes on the dangers of wine investment on investdrinks-blog. blogspot.com, plus his own jimsloire.blogspot.com.

Ben Llewellyn is managing director of wine importer Carte Blanche Wines, and specialises in terroir-driven, low-intervention wines from France and Spain. He has worked in the wine trade for 24 years and currently lives in Wales.

Laure Patry is executive head sommelier at The Social Company, working across its global restaurant group. She previously worked for Gordon Ramsay Holdings, including almost two years at Claridge’s and then six years at Maze.

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