Loire Valley, France

Cabernet Franc

Dark, ruby red and cloudy in the glass. On the nose: licorice, barbecue smoke and black cherry. The texture starts off pretty and delicate, with dark, underripe berries dominating the palate, but moves into something bigger, more bitter and lush. With a peppery, herbaceous finish and some light tannin, this is a perfect pizza wine. 

Having pursued the life of a Jazz and Blues pianist until the age of 22, Nicolas Reau, one day in 1994, was able to shift the path of his career to his other passion: wine.  In 1994 he came across an advert for a professional degree in viticulture and oenology – the rest, as they say, is history. He took over a Domaine in 1998 in the Anjou in the western Loire Valley and, immediately to ensure quality over quantity, reduced the 28 hectareage of the estate to five. A telling decision, for even though he didn’t know it he was well on his way to becoming a leading figure in natural wine in the Loire. In 2005, he met who would become his wife, the famous natural wine-writer, winegrower, Sylvie Augereau. There is a reason these wines – of Reau and Augereau – are so highly sought after these days: they are pure originals, in every sense of the word.