Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Les Arboises Rouge 2021

Les Arboises is Domaine Guiberteau's top red, a monopole parcel of Cabernet Franc planted in 1957 on the limestone hill of Brézé.

Saumur's reds come from the same tuffeau limestone that gives the region its cellars and its whites, and the Brézé hill is its most celebrated site. Romain Guiberteau farms there, and Les Arboises is a subsection of the hill with a long-standing reputation for red wine. The parcel is rocky and chalky, and the wine it gives is graceful and mineral rather than powerful. The fruit is fully destemmed and ferments naturally in concrete, then rests eighteen months in a mix of new, one-, two- and three-year-old barrels, with about 40 per cent new wood. Guiberteau ages this cuvée longer than his other reds, in both barrel and bottle, on the grounds that the site's more angular tannins need the extra time. Next to Les Chapaudaises it shows more barrel spice and a more chiselled length.

Impressive now after a thirty-minute decant and better still in five to ten years. Serve at 16 to 18°C with roast beef, game or a hearty mushroom dish.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.