Domaine de la Chevalerie
Over the past decade or two the best Cabernet Franc producers in the Loire Valley have finally been given the attention and accolades they deserve. Names like Bernard Baudry, Charles Joguet, Pierre & Catherine Breton... Read More
Over the past decade or two the best Cabernet Franc producers in the Loire Valley have finally been given the attention and accolades they deserve. Names like Bernard Baudry, Charles Joguet, Pierre & Catherine Breton and Olga Raffault are now known globally and can be found on many of the world’s best wine lists. And of course there is Clos Rougeard.
For some reason the Domaine de la Chevalerie is not always mentioned in the same company, but it should be! The Caslot family has been living and working at the Domaine since 1640 and for many years they have produced among the very best wines in the Bourgueil appellation.
Pierre Caslot was the patriarch who set the tone of quality for decades until his passing in 2014. In the 1990’s he began to eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides, and when his children Stephanie and Emmanuel joined the team a few years later they began converting everything to organic and biodynamic farming. They were certified organic in 2008, and biodynamic in 2012.
Pierre was also one of the first in his region to begin isolating individual vineyards and terroirs and bottling them separately. His attention to the soil and the land and his gentle, hands off approach in the cellar resulted in wines that were both elegant and structured. They were also extremely long lived. His children have kept up this focus on terroir, elegance and structure and the wines continue to be world class examples of Cabernet Franc.