Domaine L'Austral - Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame "V" Rouge 2019

In the heart of Puy-Notre-Dame, Saumur, L’Austral has brought a new perspective with Australian influence to Loire Valley wines. The vines of the Amandiers parcel were planted in 1990. In 2016, the chance to start their own domaine occured through the lovely Françoise & Philippe Gourdon of Château Tour Grise, who allowed them to lease out and take over 4 ha of vines that have been grown biodynamically for 20 years. This cuvee is actually the last Les Vigneaux cuvee as the plot has been sold, renamed to V as it projects a different philosophy to previous vintages.

Their final year working with the 'Vigneaux' parcel, hence the full-stop, it's the final point of their journey with these vines. 2019 is incredibly pure, a really beautiful balance between complexity and lightness. Half whole-bunch and half de-stemmed. If you were going to tuck away a vintage of Cab Franc from Saumur, 2019 would be the one! Cabernet Franc