Domaine du Mortier, Cabernet Franc "Dionysos" Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Loire Valley, France 2021

100% Cabernet Franc

Deep red in the glass with purple highlights. Scents of raspberry and currant dominate the nose and are backed by a dusting of stones. The red berry fruit follows through on the palate. This is a full and round red with loads of juicy berry fruit, a great mineral backbone and it finishes with a note of sweet spice.

The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed and gently pressed. The cellar is in a cave beneath the ground. Only natural yeasts are used and the juice undergoes an extended maceration. Vinified in barrel and then aged for 8 months in oak.

Serve with grilled artisan sausage, braised pork loin or grilled pork chops, savory chicken dishes, paté, cured meats and young or aged mild cheeses on warm, rustic bread.

Cyril and Fabien, the two brothers at the helm of Domaine du Mortier, aren’t originally from a winemaking family. But, when their parents bought a house with a small vineyard back in 1989, the then-teenagers fell in love with viticulture. So much so that they started a proper domain seven years later, naming it after a hamlet where the winery and vineyards are located, just west of the town of Bourgueil.