Wine of the Week: 2010 M. & S. Bouchet ‘Le Sylphe’ Cabernet Franc

This Cabernet Franc from Matthieu and Sylvanie Bouchet has a quiet elegance. The silken, vibrant Loire Valley red tastes of bright fruit, sweet spices and black pepper. The vines are old, some of them 80 years or more, and the small estate near Saumur has been farmed according to biodynamic principles since 1962. In fact, Matthieu’s father, François, was a leading French consultant in biodynamics and wrote the how-to book on using its principles in the vineyard. He consulted for Domaine Leflaive, Domaine Leroy, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and many other estates in Europe.

Region: Loire Valley, France

Price: About $24