Wines made from Cabernet franc grapes of Crémant de Bourgogne
Discover the best wines made with Cabernet franc as a single variety or as a blend of Crémant de Bourgogne.
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
Recognized in 1975, the appellation crémant-de-bourgogne replaced the Sparkling wines whose quality was not very homogeneous. Its geographical area, very vast, covers more than 300 communes, of Châtillonnais, with the borders of Champagne auboise, with Beaujolais included. The AOC imposes conditions of harvest and elaboration as strict as those of the Champagne region and copied on this one, the difference residing in the duration of Maturation on lees, which is of nine months minimum, against twelve for the champagne. The Grape varieties used also bring Crémant-de-Bourgogne closer to its illustrious Champagne model, for although all the varieties of the region can be used, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are favoured.
Jon Wyand has been crowned Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year after impressing the judges with his beautiful shot of a Burgundian vineyard worker gathering prunings. The photograph was taken on a crisp winter’s day at Montagne de Corton Hill in the Côte de Beaune. ‘The winning image evokes with stark beauty the reality of wine growing – you are always at the mercy of nature,’ said wine writer Joanna Simon, one of the judges. ‘But there’s an extra element here: is he scruti ...
The latest edition of Liv-ex Power 100, which lists the most powerful fine wine brands, shows that the period between October 2020 and September 2021 experienced a rebalancing of the market, with a number of classic labels returning to prominence. Château Lafite Rothschild re-entered the top 10, moving from 11th to 2nd place, while fellow First Growths Mouton-Rothschild and Margaux have also risen, to 6th and 10th place respectively. Petrus also re-entered the top 10, now at 7th place after a ye ...
The deal includes 34.5ha under vine in the heart of the mountainous Bannockburn sub-region. It is mainly planted with Pinot Noir, but there are pockets of Chardonnay and Riesling too. Sir Clifford Skeggs, a Kiwi businesmman, and Lady Marie Skeggs purchased the land for Akarua in 1995, and planting began the following year. The first wines were bottled from the 1999 vintage. Akarua is now firmly established as one of the largest family-owned operations in Central Otago, and its 100% estate-grown ...