SEBASTIEN BOBINET

SEBASTIEN BOBINET IS A ROCKSTAR

We first met Sebastien (and his beautiful wife Emeline) at Le Dauphin wine bar in Paris when we were sneaking our way into a last-minute reservation at Le Chateaubriand down the street. We were asked to go to Le Dauphin so that the horde of people waiting to get a seat at Chateaubriand did not see us cut in line.

We arrived at Le Dauphin and asked the sommelier to give us something rare, something hard to get, something that would blow our minds. So, he gave us a glass of Sebastien Bobinet – Ruben Cabernet Franc.

Bam!

Music in our ears.

Songs bursting from our hearts.

Euphoria surrounding us.

“@*#@$@#$#” the bartender’s mouth was moving but we could not understand anything he was saying. The music was too loud.

“Do you like it?” he yelled, breaking through the euphoria of our experience.

“Of course!” we replied in unison.

“Good,” he said as he pointed towards the door, “Because he just arrived and you can tell him yourself.”

It was like an entrance in a Hollywood movie. The music was already singing in our ears from the wine. The light was streaming through the door – backlighting the entrance of two figures. The room seemed to slow down to a stop as Sebastien emerged from the light with his beautiful wife Emeline Calvert. We could have sworn that they paused briefly for effect (but that was clearly just a figment of our imagination). Cheers and hellos reverberated around the bar greeting them.

Thankfully, we were introduced and before they left to join their party in the back of the restaurant, the always generous Sebastien and Emeline, gave us the bottle of Ruben that they had brought for their own dinner. We gladly accepted.

To say that Sebastien’s wines are in high demand would be the understatement of the century. Last year, we had our allocation of Ruben scooped by an un-named Paris restaurant, when we delayed confirmation of our order. Drats! Oh, and last year – these wines sold out in Vancouver before we ever got around to writing the offer.

Sebastien learned his craft with the Foucault Brothers of the famed Clos Rougeard whose wines we love but can no longer afford. Sebastien’s wines continue to get high acclaim and allocations are tight but the prices remain grounded (for now). Sebastien and Emeline have only seven hectares of vineyard in Saumur ranging from 25-80 years of age. They work the soil organically with a horse-drawn plow, they harvest by hand, de-stem the grapes, and allow natural fermentation. The wines are aged in old 300-litre oak barrels. No fining. No filtering. No additives. Pure juice without intervention: Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc.

Oh. And to further their rock-star status. Sebastien and Emeline live in a cave. Literally. The house and winery are carved into the limestone cliffs in Saumur.

These wines are special. Music to our ears.

Drink well and live like a rock star.