2021 Peybonhomme VdF Rouge Nouvelle Vigne

Grape Varietal: Cabernet Franc & Merlot 

Country: France

Region: Vin de France, Blaye, Bordeaux

The Wine: Château Peybonhomme-Les-Tours has belonged to the Hubert family since 1895, situated in the village of Cars near Blaye on the right bank of the Gironde estuary, where a 17th-century crenellated tower looks out over 64 hectares of vines on clay-limestone slopes. The family story has a certain poetry: Jean-Luc Hubert descends from Gironde river sailors who transported wine, and Catherine from a line of vignerons — their ancestors worked together for generations before the families united. After a violent storm in December 1999, the couple converted fully to organic and biodynamic farming, certified since 2000. Now in its sixth generation, siblings Rachel and Guillaume lead the estate.

Nouvelle Vigne is a 50/50 blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot from 45-year-old vines on limestone-clay soils, hand-harvested and fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete vats, with no inputs beyond a small addition of sulfur, no fining, and bottled on a fruit day of the biodynamic calendar. It is released as a Vin de France — outside the AOC system — giving the family freedom to express the wine on its own terms.

The 2021 Nouvelle Vigne is a fresh, precise, and quietly characterful right-bank red that plays to the strengths of both varieties without pushing either too hard. It opens with aromas of blackcurrant, red cherry, and green pepper, with a thread of chalk and dried herbs. On the palate it is medium-bodied and lively, with supple tannins, good acidity, and a clean, mineral finish with a plummy softness from the Merlot and a lifted, aromatic edge from the Franc.

Pairing: Duck confit with lentils and mustard greens, a charcuterie board with cornichons and country pâté, roasted beets with goat cheese and walnuts, or a relaxed weeknight dinner of steak haché (in 'Merican talk, it's a burger patty that's elevated) with a glass poured before the pan is even off the stove.