The low-key power-player in western France, Cabernet Franc might not be on your radar, but it absolutely should be. In the Loire Valley the appellations of Chinon, Saumur-Champigny and Bourgueil make incredible, perfumed examples of single-varietal wine, while next door in the Right Bank of Bordeaux, it can claim up to around half of the famed blend of Cheval Blanc. Dark and brooding, but light on its feet, with tobacco, raspberry, violets and forest floor, this is like a an old Oxford don in bottle form.