2018 Chinon Les Charmes
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Tasting notes
Chinon Les Charmes hails from a 1.5-hectare plot on clay/limestone and is aged in older barrels. In 2018, there's a softness to this cuvée, plus a touch of baked fruit, reflecting the vintage and giving some heat on the finish (14% alcohol). Red cherry, violets and a touch of spice make for an attractive nose. It's light in body and lacks a little focus and concentration. However, there's distinct tension on the finish thanks to the clasp of tannins and acidity.
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Average Score
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
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The 2018 Chinon Les Charmes is from a selection of north-facing parcels with 35-year-old vines on clay-limestone located on the left bank of the Vienne, on the heights of Anché, a neighboring commune of Sazilly. Vinified in wooden vats and aged for six months in French oak barrels, Les Charmes offers a pure, intense and fresh bouquet of perfectly ripe black berries intertwined with spicy notes of crushed stones and a dash of lemon juice. Silky, fresh and refined on the palate, this is an elegant, juicy and intense Cabernet Franc with a dense black berry texture, fine and ripe tannins and lingering mineral acidity. The wine is tight and tensioned and leaves the palate hardly and with great intensity. This is an excellent Chinon for now and a decade or more. Tasted in June 2021.