Principled in their approach, and hugely enthusiastic, Beatriz Papamija and Etienne Le Blanc are testament to the options available with just 4 hectares of Cab Franc in Chinon, if your passion can match theirs.
Beatriz, born in Colombia and Étienne, born near Calais; met whilst living in Spain and have taken quite the long-route round to their new home and life as winemakers in Chinon, via stops in Paris, Birmingham and Colombia.
Since 2020, they have been the custodians of a parcel of beautiful old Cab Franc vines alongside the river Vienne, planted on sandy gravel over clay and limestone. They work with biodynamic principles, interfering as little as possible, using teas and tinctures from plants on the farm for treatments, strictly zero additions in the cellar.
Visiting at the weekend we were pleased to see Béa had finally realised her dream of welcoming sheep into the vines, courtesy of our pals at Melaric.
Committed to working simply with what they have, Béa & Etienne have proved very resourceful in making the most of their Cab Franc. We have so far released their Blanc de Noirs, a pink Pet Nat, an oxidative, barrel-aged rosé, a whole bunch carbonic red, and now we can release their top cuvée from the oldest vines: Le Clos.
From vines up to 90 years old, picked and de-stemmed by hand, macerated for 40 days with zero extraction, pressed incredibly gently over 24 hours to old barrels for a year.
Deep and vibrant, it's a hugely welcome addition to the puzzle of Chinon they're slowly assembling over each vintage.
AVAILABLE NOW:
WHITE
2020 - Blanc de Noirs - Cab Franc
RED
2020 - Les Grappes - Cab Franc
2020 - Le Clos - Cab Franc