Perrontonic (RARE, one per order)

François Blanchard is the fifth generation of his family at Château du Perron, just outside Lémeré, about 40 minutes south of Tours on the edge of the Touraine appellation. His grandfather and father built it up to over 50 hectares, selling in bulk to négociants. François spent years touring France as a jazz musician before his first proper vintage at home in 2003. He now farms around 4 hectares, the heart of it Le Grand-Clere, with fifty-year-old vines on firm clay scattered with flint.

In the cellar he works by feel, fermenting on native yeasts and picking his vessels vintage by vintage, with very little added. The reds are mostly Cabernet Franc with some Cabernet Sauvignon, and he also grows Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer. Quantities are tiny, so we limit them to one per order. Right now we have Perrontonic, a Cabernet Franc.