# Domaine de Pallus Chinon La Croix Boissée (2018)

- **Producer:** Domaine de Pallus
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Cabernet Franc
- **Region:** Loire, France
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.0%
- **Average price:** €45
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, blackcurrant, blackberry, violet, herbaceous, mint, black pepper, cedar, charred wood, smoke, leather, tobacco, forest floor, wet leaves

## About this wine

Domaine de Pallus, located in Cravant-les-Côteaux, has been in the Sourdais family since 1889. In 2005, Bertrand Sourdais returned to his family estate after a highly successful decade in Spain, where he co-founded Dominio de Atauta in Ribera del Duero. Inspired by his experiences and the parcel-focused hierarchy of Burgundy, Bertrand set out to redefine Chinon. He transitioned the estate to biodynamic farming and began isolating the finest hillside parcels to craft terroir-driven single-vineyard wines. La Croix Boissée is one of Chinon's most legendary sites, situated on a steep, south-facing slope with deep Turonian limestone soils. This exceptional terroir yields a Cabernet Franc of remarkable structure, mineral drive, and longevity, representing the pinnacle of the appellation.

## Interesting facts

- Winemaker Bertrand Sourdais returned to Chinon after making legendary wines at Dominio de Atauta in Spain's Ribera del Duero.
- La Croix Boissée is sourced from a tiny single-parcel micro-plot measuring only 0.51 hectares, yielding just 10 barrels annually.
- The vines were planted in 1974 using massale selection on a steep, south-facing slope of pure Turonian limestone.
- The estate has been fully certified organic and biodynamic, completely transitioning in 2009.

## Food pairing

This highly structured, medium-to-full-bodied Cabernet Franc pairs beautifully with rich, savory meats. The wine's high acidity cuts through the fat of lamb, duck, and beef, while its firm, chalky tannins are softened by proteins. The earthy, herbal, and dark fruit notes of the wine complement dishes featuring wild mushrooms, rosemary, and dark berry reductions.

## Wine making process

The winemaking process for La Croix Boissée is designed to let the unique tuffeau limestone terroir express itself fully. Grapes are hand-harvested from a tiny 0.51-hectare parcel of massale selection vines planted in 1974. The fruit is 100% destemmed and fermented with indigenous yeasts in open 30-hectoliter wooden vats. Maceration is extended, lasting between 18 and 25 days to gently extract structure and depth. The wine is then aged for 18 months in neutral Burgundy French oak barrels. The use of older wood is a deliberate choice to prevent oak flavors from masking the pure, chalky minerality of the site. The wine is bottled with minimal intervention.