"53" 2020 - Grange aux Belles

'53' is a single-vineyard cuvée made from Cabernet Franc vines planted in 1953. The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed, and fermented in concrete vats. This is followed by aging in fiberglass tanks until the following summer.

It is a wine that is both rich and profound, with notes of ripe red fruit, a dry vegetal touch of tobacco, and a beautiful fluidity on the palate.

La Grange aux Belles was founded in 2004 when Marc Houtin settled in Anjou after a brief career in the oil industry as a geologist with Total. After earning a degree in oenology, he purchased 12 hectares of vineyards and created a range of wines made from Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc grapes. In 2008, he was joined by a partner, Julien Bresteau, and then by a second, Gérald Peau, in 2016.

Always inventive, this is an estate that says it does not claim to produce great wines, but rather unique wines.