DOMAINE BOBINET - AMATEÜS BOBI CAB FRANC 2018
TASTING NOTES
This is a structured wine with smooth and delicate tannins and a lively nose displaying real complexity. So mineral, it can’t deny its terroir! A true food wine, matching fine and complex dishes.
Grapes are destemmed, macerated for 4 to 5 weeks with regular cap punching and pumping over to allow a soft extraction. The wine is then aged in barrels for a year, without being marked by woody flavours.
Sebastien’s first cuvée, Amateus Bobi is the ‘historical’ wine of the domaine, its signature being its fine balance between structure and minerality.
Originally from a 65-year-old single parcel of clay and limestone called Bois Blanc, the wine has been enriched over the years with additions from some of the finest plots that have become part of the domaine.
VINTAGE 2018
ORIGIN Loire Valley, France
MAKER Domaine Bobinet
GRAPES Cabernet Franc
ABOUT
The Domaine Bobinet is Émeline and Sébastien: two paths that cross, two personalities that come together to share skills and experiences.... the wealth of complementarity.
Domaine Bobinet started in 2002, when Sebastien took over 1.8 hectares of vines and the cellar from his maternal grandparents. He’s the 7th generation of a family of winemakers in Dampierre-sur-Loire, part of the region of Saumur.
Choosing to grow organically and vinify naturally, without chemicals, was beyond question, especially under the influence of Anjou-based wine- maker, Olivier Cousin.
To begin with, Sebastien grew 1.5 hectares of Cabernet-Franc and 0.3 hectare of Chenin Blanc, handpicking his grapes then vinifying and ageing them in his cellar, which is carved into tuffeau (limestone) of the riverbanks of Saumur. The resulting wines became Amateus Bobi and Echalier.
In 2007 Sebastien’s interest in carbonic maceration led him to Bernard Pontonnier who helped him better understand this method of winemaking, which he himself had learnt from Jules Chauvet, Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard and many others during his time as a restauranteur in Paris. Bernard was, afterall, one of the first to introduce natural wine onto his lists. Together, Sebastien and Bernard made Greta Carbo with the fruit from a single, small plot.
Then came the time to expand and diversify: Sebastien took over 2 hectares of Cabernet Franc in 2010 and started buying Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay and Cot to experiment with using different grapes. Du Rififi a Beaulieu was born!
In 2011, his partner Emeline Calvez, a trained sommelière, joined him in the domaine. Together they created Ruben with new vines bought in 2010. Their collaboration gave a new dimension to the domaine which continued to grow and strengthen, all the while striving towards a sustainable and ethical practice. Then came Hanami and Piak!
In 2015 they expanded, acquiring a building that they turned into a stockroom, offices and a tasting room.