Geography

Chinon sits along the Vienne river (a Loire tributary) in the Touraine region, just east of Saumur. The vineyards split between three main soil types: alluvial gravels along the river (producing lighter, fruitier wines), tuffeau limestone slopes (producing the most structured and age-worthy wines), and clay-and-flint plateau sites (producing wines in between). The maritime-Atlantic climate moderates the inland Loire heat and gives Chinon a notably cooler ripening profile than typical southern French Cab Franc.

The wines

Chinon is overwhelmingly red Cabernet Franc (small percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon are permitted but rare). A tiny amount of white Chinon is made from Chenin Blanc and an even smaller amount of rosé. The red wines are the calling card and represent some of the most serious Cabernet Franc made in France — the wine that the Right Bank Bordeaux (where Cab Franc plays a major blending role) refers to as the reference for what the grape can do.

Style of the wines

Chinon Cabernet Franc: red and black raspberry, blueberry, violet, graphite, sometimes a leafy-tobacco note (the green-herbal character that pyrazine compounds in the grape produce). The wines from tuffeau-soil sites are the most age-worthy and most structured. Tannin is moderate to firm; acid is bright; alcohol typically 12.5-13.5%. Aged Chinon develops a savory, dried-fig, leather complexity that is among the most interesting in the Loire.

How they age

Top Chinon from a serious producer ages twenty-five to thirty-five years. Clos Rougeard (technically Saumur-Champigny, but stylistically aligned and worth mentioning) is the modern reference for cellarable Loire Cab Franc and ages forty-plus. Olga Raffault and Charles Joguet have made Chinons that drink remarkably at thirty years.

Producers we know

Charles Joguet, Bernard Baudry (especially Le Domaine and Clos Guillot), Olga Raffault, Domaine Couly-Dutheil, Philippe Alliet, Domaine de la Noblaie. Browse the Loire at /regions/loire/.