Some vignerons make natural wines because it's fashionable. Others were inspired by neighboring producers, or the scene at the local wine fair, or maybe because they liked some wines they tasted at Paris's hip natural wine bars. Fair enough.Then there is Patrick Corbineau, a man who spends no time at all in Paris's wine bars and in fact has only been to the city—just an hour away on the train—once in his life! This is not a man who follows fashion.He is also not a man who follows his father, who encouraged him to modernize wine production. Patrick resisted; he wanted to continue making wines like the ancients, who were his his true inspiration.Corbineau's wines are truly old-fashioned. They have more in common with the Cabernet Franc you might have drunk in a classic 1920s Paris bistro than in a 2017 Paris wine bar. But he definitely checks all the natural wine "boxes." He farms organically in the Touraine (nearish to Chinon) and even plows with a horse. He doesn't add much sulfur—just a touch at bottling. Extractions are light and the elevage simple. How the ancients did it.
Details
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Grape Variety
Cabernet Franc
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Vintage
2021
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Size
750ml
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Farming Practice
Natural
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Style
Earthy , Elegant , Minerally
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Sweetness
Dry
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Body
Medium Bodied
Loire Valley Wines
The Loire Valley is France’s greatest source of value for anyone looking for elegant, terroir-driven wines. Our collection celebrates the region’s great diversity, with the mineral-driven whites of Muscadet and Sancerre, the beautiful Chenin Blancs and Cabernet Francs from villages like Vouvray and Chinon, and natural wines from everywhere in the region. Sometimes wonderfully fresh and gulpable, sometimes serious and age-worthy, the prices are always very reasonable.