Touraine-Amboise "Clef de Sol" (Red) 2021

Clef de Sol aways comes the two same parcels, but the percentage of each grape used varies with each vintage. The 2020 is 60% Côt and 40% Cabernet Franc. A lightly perfumed and fruity nose, with an even more fragrant, textured palate. This was a ripe vintage and the energy of the fruit comes forward, with a peppery finish and firm tannins. La Grange Tiphaine is well-known for their old vines of Côt and the Clef de Sol shows how wonderfully those grapes can blend with the other signature red grape of the region.

Damien and Coralie Delecheneau, the winemaking team behind La Grange Tiphaine are both musicians and share a love of music almost as deep as their love of wine. Musical references are common in both their names and labels, and Clef de Sol, or the treble clef, is the symbol that marks the beginning of a musical work. This was the first wine the domaine released, and thus was their beginning. The clef also sets the tone for a musical piece– the same way the terroir does for the wine.

Vinification: Cabernet Franc and Côt (Malbec) from vines averaging 50-years-old on red clay and flint soils covering five meters of limestone below. Grapes from the two different plots are hand harvested and de-stemmed before being transferred into concrete tanks and macerated for three weeks. The wine is then aged for nine months in barrels.

Match it with: Perfect with a winter stew, a meat pie, or a hearty roast.