Domaine Grosbois, Gabare, Chinon, Loire, France, 2017

Domaine Grosbois, family owned since 1820, can trace its connection to the land as far back as the French Revolution. It is located in the appellation of Chinon in Touraine, nestled in the Loire valley on a 9ha estate. Today the estate is fronted by Nicolas Grosbois, who in 2008 crafted a range of seven differing types of Cabernet Franc, based on the unique soil characteristics of 13 plots. These comprise clay soils on a limestone bedrock, with the vines on average 40 years old. Jim Budd: A sooty, smoky nose, with good concentration and structure on the palate – a powerful, early-bottled 2017. It is best kept a year or two before you start to drink. Chris Kissack: A much more convincing nose in the context of this line-up: dark fruit, concentrated, black cherry compote and blackcurrant. Fresh, bright, pure, defined, ripe, grained, elegant and energetic. An excellent young Chinon, fresh, composed, complete, with so much potential. Perhaps up to 12 months in bottle to help it come together a little more, otherwise this is good to go. Brilliant. Ben Llewelyn: Concentrated black fruit, a touch of dried prune on the nose and palate. It finishes with a density that requires time to resolve, but it’s very long and quite grown-up.