Cabernet Franc, Loire Valley, France

You can’t talk about being card-carrying members of the Cab Franc Fan Club without talking about Chinon, home to some of the very best Cab Francs in the world. From grapes biodynamically farmed and hand-picked just outside of Chinon, this stunning example from Beatrice and Pascal is young & ready-to-drink but already has tons of savoury depth and herbaceous complexity. Just the thing we’d want to drink in a bustling restaurant (remember those?!) with the lights dimmed, candles lit & a table heaving with food. Fermented with natural yeasts and aged in concrete for 6-12 months, then bottled unfined, lightly filtered and with a touch of sulphur. Pours a pronounced purple with flavours of cassis, fresh blackcurrant, black liquorice, dried florals & stemmy green bell pepper with a crunchy texture and light-hearted tannins. Crack one open and toast to the good times, like when your friend accidentally set her hair on fire and when she noticed, very calmly putting it out and waving it off like “It happens!”