Domaine Philippe Alliet Chinon, Vieilles Vignes, 2018

Lovers of Cabernet Franc will undoubtedly develop a weakness for the wines of Domaine Philippe Alliet. 

Considered by many to be one of the finest Chinon producers, the estate is situated in the village of Cravant-les-Côteaux, in the heart of the Chinon appellation, where some of the best Cabernet Franc wines in the Loire Valley are produced. 

In the early eighties, Philippe Alliet and his wife, Claude, took over the estate from Philippe’s father. Very discreet and gentle, but with an amazing appetite for life and true-hearted, the couple embarked on a mission to craft Chinon wines like nobody else had made before.  

Alliet’s challenge was to achieve the kind of level of density and ripeness that the great wines of Bordeaux offer, at the same time imbuing them with the distinctively pungent, sappy shock of inky freshness that the local terroirs deliver. The couple was eager to create a new style of wine in an area where the reds were often quite rustic.  

They took a risk, but soon their vision, efforts, and dedication proved that a modern style of Chinon was indeed possible and certainly most welcome within the sphere of Loire wine lovers. As a result, by the early nineties, Philippe and Claude were producing distinctive reds with oodles of personality.

They purchased new parcels, planted new vines, and spent the majority of their time working assiduously in their vineyards in order to get the best out of them. They handled each parcel as a unique terroir with individualised care and started to produce different cuvées, which was unprecedented in Chinon.

Somewhat predictably, their son Pierre studied viticulture and winemaking and joined his parents in 2005.  Philippe and Claude are gradually passing on their knowledge to their very astute son and they now farm a total of 17 hectares organically.

The joyful trio is dedicated to low yields, optimally ripe fruit, and fastidious vineyard management. 

Philippe is a very fine taster and Pierre’s palate is equally impressive. Together they craft wines that are gaining depth, elegance, complexity, refinement, precision, and concentration, year after year.  Alliet’s seductive wines have immense ageing potential and they are the greatest wines produced in Chinon. Very few Loire wines can effortlessly rival the greatest wines of Bordeaux, but the wines of Domaine Philippe Alliet certainly do so.