Saumur Champigny Clos de L'Echelier, Domaine des Roches Neuves 2021

Mid-to-deep crimson. Intense and classically pure Cabernet Franc nose of dark-red fruits and cedar – just slightly herbaceous. Chalky-chewy tannins, wonderfully fresh and just becoming smooth in texture. Pure, vibrant and with a long life ahead, though you could enjoy it on the fruit now. Drink 2023-2045.

The 2021 Clos de L'Echelier is a delicate and tender style, with impressive purity of fruit. It is almost cloud-like in its lightness on the palate. The finest of chalk-like tannins covers the mouth in a blanket of finely-pixelated image, which can no doubt be attributed to this limestone-rich, north-facing site as well as a very delicate hand when it comes to extraction. Being 2021, there's no shortage of acidity, but it is entirely integrated within the wine, providing a thread of tension that courses through its core, leaving everything tied up on the precise finish. This is a harmonious, well-crafted example.

Crafted from vines, planted in white clay with a mere depth of 10 centimeters over limestone within the commune of Dampierre-sur-Loire, the 2021 Saumur Champigny Clos de l'Échelier offers up aromas of blueberries, flowers and dark wild berries. Medium-bodied, concentrated and rich, it’s lively and pure with a crystalline texture and a chiseled, saline and calcareous finish. I suspect it will show even better with a bit of bottle age. Drink 2024-2030.