St Nicholas de Bourgeuil lies in the heart of the Loire Valley and at its best can produce delicious food-friendly reds. This domaine is acknowledged as being at the forefront of quality Cabernet Franc and in a vintage as terrific as 2005 it is little wonder that this is a delight. Above all else, Cabernet Franc needs to be ripe and one of the reasons it is planted in this part of France is the regularity of Indian summers, which bless the area with wonderful weather in late September and early October. This allows the grapes to reach full ripeness and hopefully avoid those green, stalky flavours often associated with under ripe Cabernet Franc. 2005 throughout France was a gem weatherwise and this wine displays gorgeously juicy red fruit flavours with that fresh, crunchy fruit character that so typifies the best wines of the area. If you’re looking for a red to drink with fish or salads this would be ideal.