Domaine Guiberteau Les Arboises Monopole Brézé 2015 Magnum

Grape: Cabernet Franc
Vintage: 2015
Type: Red

This red comes entirely from Les Arboises, a 1-hectare monopole on the hill of Brézé planted to cabernet franc in 1957. The vines root in rocky, sandy silt over the same chalky limestone that runs under Guiberteau's white wines from the same hill. Grapes are fully destemmed, fermented 2 to 4 weeks in concrete on ambient yeast, then aged 18 months in barrel, mostly new oak, before a final steel rest. It is Guiberteau's one red from a hill known almost entirely for white.

It displays a deep garnet color, opening with aromas of licorice, pencil lead, and coniferous forest. On the palate, the medium-bodied frame is somber and structured, balancing dark fruit against a spiced, faintly smoky register that reads more Loire than Bordeaux. New oak shows as fine, dusty tannin rather than sweetness. Acidity is bright and the magnum has let the structure settle without softening it. It finishes long and savory, with spice and stone outlasting the fruit.