Dom. Fouet 2023 Saumur-Champigny L'Armarante Loire Valley Red

(100% Cabernet Franc) Fouet produces some exceptional Chenin Blanc, but this is their signature wine. This 2022 is picture-perfect : the take-it-or-leave-it Cabernet Franc aroma in all its leafy glory leads into a medium-weight, mouth-watering palate featuring the limestone minerality one seeks in the wines of the Loire valley. Perhaps the ideal pairing for the foods of Fall and Winter, though I don't want to suggest it isn't worth popping this cork all year long!

Unfined or filtered, raised in Tufa vats, this wine has everything the Natty wine fans want even as it appeals to the trad crowd.

In short order this domaine has earned blue-chip status through a succession of vintages with irresistibly pure and generous wines. The wines of Fouet demonstrate all the fruity charm the Loire can offer.

The current proprietor, sixth-generation Julien Fouet, has grown in stature with each passing year, especially since the premature passing of his father thrust him unexpectedly behind the reins several years ago. A steward of his land, Fouet achieved the time-consuming and expensive organic certification from Ecocert in 2020.