Bourgueil: New Arrivals from Domaine de la Chevalerie and Stéphane Guion!
2/20/2025
We're happy to report that new shipments have just arrived in NY from Domaine de la Chevalerie and Domaine Stéphane Guion in Bourgueil! There is an astounding amount of great wine in this email: mature wines from Chevalerie perfect for current drinking, "serious" wines for long-term cellaring, many beautiful new wines to drink soon, two unique sparkling Cab Francs (?), Stéphane's new no sulfur thirst-quencher, and of course the insanely delicious 2022 Guion Rosé. And of course these are honest, soulful wines of terroir from organic and Biodynamic farming and no-nonsence winemaking with minimal SO2! Of course one can find regions and winemakers around the world producing wines with similar quality and spirit...but these are some of my favorite wines on the planet - and at my favorite prices, too. Enjoy! DL
[Mid-slope vines above Benais on middle-Turonien limestone, Loire River below to the right.]
Domaine de la Chevalerie: This is one of our favorite estates in France, producing beautiful Cabernet Francs on the superb clay/limestone terroirs of Benais and Restigné Laurie and Emmanuel Caslot are the thirteenth generation, dating back to 1640, to take care of this magnificent domain of 33 hectares. Their joy in sharing their wines with us is inspiring, as is their commitment to protect their heritage through organic and Biodynamic farming since 2008.
Domaine Guion was created by Stéphane Guion's father in the 1950's and was certified organic beginning in 1965. The estate's 8 hectares are all in Benais mostly on Turonien limestone with varied depths of clay topsoil. Only 15% of the vines are on gravel topsoil, in "La Ruée," used primarily for the rosé and a small amount in the Cuvée Candide. The parcels are west of Domaine de la Chevalerie and Domaine Breton, in the northern sector of Benais, on slopes facing south and southwest, which is prime real estate for ageworthy, mineral-laden Bourgueils!
In the rather simplified diagram above we see the mid and upper slope vineyards of Domaine de la Chevalerie on Middle Turonien limestone with various depths of clay, generally more shallow as the elevation increases. The great cuvée "Breteche" is a prime example of this terroir, creating wines to drink at 5 to 20 years of age. (Of course as in Burgundy there are ups and downs and old stream beds, etc, creating climate and soil differences from one vineyard to the next). "Grand Mont" is actually on Upper Turonien limestone and with quite different topsoils of silex, rocks and shells - it is also more sheltered from the north winds creating a superb micro-climate, permitting long-term aging. The superb Guion "Deux Monts" contains juice from this site, and Stéphane has bottled "Grand Mont" separately since 2020 - soon to arrive in NY. The other wines of Domaine Guion come almost entirely from this middle Turonien terroir, giving the younger vines "Candide" and the old-vines "Authentique" their unique combination of deep fruit and minerality.
Domaine de la Chevalerie's "Les Galichets" vineyard is on the lower part of the Turonian slope just below the "Chevalerie" plot, with cla -alluvial sand and gravel topsoils, rich in silex, giving a wine that is more open and easy for early drinking. The vines average about 60 years of age. The wine is aged in large old barrels, and bottled after 6 months unfined, unfiltered. The beautiful 2014 and 2015 are now at maturity, drink-up!
"Peu Muleau" is like no other Bourgueil, sitting at the very top of the slope on totally different terroir (please see the item notes) and the Caslots throw us a curve-ball by blending these grapes with grapes from the sand and gravel soils of "Diptyque" to create "Noms D'Oiseaux" - and it works beautifully!
Both estates make delicious fun-loving sparkling wines, with the Chevalerie "Bulles de Fort" being a darker, deeper almost red and the Guion "Bete de Benais" being lighter and more playful (not like the wolf who was devouring the citizens of Benais in the 17th century!) Special Mention goes to Stéphanes amazingly delicious, way-too-much-fun-to-drink "2023 Pionniers" honoring his father, a pioneer of organic farming in the Loire!
[Below: Stéphane Guion in the cellar]
