Cabernet Franc grown on clay-limestone marl that tastes a little bit like a  liquid form of clay-limestone marl. This is a perfectly poised expression of the signature red grape of the Loire, with a delicious tension between earthy aromas of clay soil and tobacco leaves, black raspberries and lavender, that leads into a seamless palate of pure silk tannin that offers up more berries off the bush, raspberries and blueberries and cranberries, all growing close to the soil that comes through on the finish. Romain Guiberteau makes some of the most artful Cabernet Franc in the Loire, and some of the priciest. When he purchases fruit from his trusted neighbors for this introductory wine, he vinifies the grapes alongside the fruit for his own domaine with the same focus on energy and power without weight. The grapes are pressed delicately, matured in concrete and steel, and bottled after about six months. This is a wine for mealtimes involving burgers, porkloins, and most anything made with  mushrooms.