Clos des Quarterons Vieilles Vignes 2021, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Biodynamic

Clos des Quarterons Vieilles Vignes is a red Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil made entirely from Cabernet Franc, known locally as Breton. It is drawn from all the old parcels on the Amirault family estate, with vines averaging around 55 years of age, on gentle south-facing slopes of gravel, sand and clay over limestone. The vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic, and the grapes are picked by hand at full ripeness and sorted in the vineyard and again at the winery. After a long, gentle maceration of three to five weeks in concrete tanks, the wine is aged for 12 to 18 months in 500-litre demi-muids, a quarter of which are renewed each year.

The nose shows subtle violet over blueberry and stewed blackcurrant, with hints of red currant, dried strawberry and lavender. The palate is full and structured, with a dense texture, assertive yet elegant tannins and good freshness, gaining precision as it opens up in the glass.

Serve at 16–18°C, ideally opened or decanted one to three hours before drinking. It is a fine match for red meats, roast lamb, slow-cooked dishes such as braised beef cheek, duck, and mushrooms sautéed with garlic and parsley. Drinking well now with some air, it has the structure to age for ten years or more.

Le Clos des Quarterons is the Amirault family estate in Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, on the border of Anjou and Touraine, where the family has made wine for some 180 years and six generations. Today it is run by Xavier and Agnès Amirault. Xavier, who had studied electronics and worked in Paris and then in the United States for a Loire wine merchant, returned in 2011 to take over from his older brother Thierry, on the condition that the vineyard be converted to organic farming. The estate is certified organic (Ecocert, 2012) and biodynamic (Demeter, 2013). Its more than 50 parcels lie on gentle south-facing slopes sheltered by forest to the north, on gravel, sand and clay over limestone, planted mainly with Cabernet Franc. In the cellar the team works with native yeasts, cement tanks, open-top wooden vats and demi-muids.