Château de Minière, Bulles de Minière, Bourgueil, Loire

This sparkling Cabernet Franc is a pét-nat, meaning it hasn’t had a secondary fermentation in bottle. It’s bone-dry and packed with soft red cherry fruit. Delicious slightly chilled as a summer aperitif, or to accompany chocolate or red fruit desserts.

It's always a slight surprise to see sparkling red wine, but luckily this is a welcome surprise. Deep red in colour with a candy-pink mousse. Pronounced and lovely grapey, blackcurrant and cherry aromas. The flavours are enticing, spanning blueberry, blackberry, raspberry and blackcurrant. A fresh and fruit-forward palate, with an animal, herbal tone underneath. The combination of sparkle and fine-grained, succulent tannins encourages another sip...and another one. A great wine to serve friends at a summer barbeque, or try an out-there pairing of venison and dauphinoise potatoes.