From Olivier's prized old vines of massale selection Cabernet Franc, grafted by his grandfather in the late 40s. As you'd expect, Le Franc demonstrates vin de garde qualities that suggest a long life ahead in the cellar - we're happy to offer some with a little time in big bottles, from the 2022 vintage.

De-stemmed, foot-crushed and fermented in an open-topped wooden vat, it was then pressed and run by gravity into old demi-muid barrels to rest for 18 months before bottling with no additions. The longer ageing of this vintage before bottling smooths out some of the rusticity of more recent iterations, with a silken texture sitting above boldly structured tannic framework.

Impressively vital and alive, with aromas a little like putting your nose in a pouch of rolling tobacco, the black cherry fruits are beautifully deep and have that bitter note of cacao underneath it all. There is a rough-hewn beauty to this memorable wine - imperfect but all the better for it. We can't wait to watch it develop over time.