The Fabien Duveau Saumur-Champigny Bourg 2023 is a fine-boned, savoury Cabernet Franc from Varrains in the Loire Valley, built on tension and clarity rather than plushness. Fabien Duveau works the fruit gently — whole berries destemmed, wild-yeast ferment with no pump-overs, and ageing in concrete in 2023 to keep the purity intact — and bottles the wine unfined and unfiltered.

Aromatically it is more red than black: cranberry, sour cherry and cassis leaf, with crushed violet, graphite and a twist of cracked pepper. Air helps, so a decant of an hour or two is worth the trouble, drawing out the deeper earthy and spiced side of the fruit.

Bourg carries the fingerprint of old vines on sandy loam over green Turonian limestone: slender, chalky tannins, a firm acid spine and length that arrives as minerality rather than fruit sweetness. Restrained and quite tightly wound in its youth, the finish is dry, stony and long, with none of the greenness that Cabernet Franc can show in cooler seasons.

Roast duck, lamb backstrap with herbs, or a plate of charcuterie and cornichons all work well. It also handles slightly cooler serving temperature, which suits it alongside grilled vegetables, mushrooms or a good goat's cheese from the Loire.

Drink from now to 2033. The 2023 Saumur-Champigny Bourg has genuine ageing potential and will unwind and soften over the next five years or so.