2020 Domaine du Bel Air – Gauthier père et fils, AOC Bourgueil Rouge “Clos Nouveau” Loire Valley, France.
The pretty, dark garnet and pure Clos Nouveau Bourgueil by Gauthier flows across the palate with a steady poise and a raw sense of terroir driven Cabernet Franc with blackberry, plum, currant and cheery fruits, accented by green bell pepper, chalky stones, crushed flowers, minty herb, cedar wood, anise and damp earth. I learned that The Clos Nouveau parcel here is surrounded by ten foot walls and has been historically prized as one of Bourgeuil’s top sites. The vines are planted on a thin layer of clay which covers a deep bed of limestone, which adds to the expressive and deep fruit that is a hallmark of tihs micro terroir and what makes this wine so highly sought after, right up there with the best of the Loire. 2020 was a warm and concentrated vintage, but there is an elegant delicacy in Pierre and Rodolohe Gauthier’s efforts here, with a less weighty and mineral toned Franc that has an excellent lengthy finish. I had a few of Gauthier’s 2020s and they were delicious, especially the Grand Mont, and this age worthy offering.
As mentioned in prior reviews, years ago, when importer Beaune Imports, based in Northern California, while searching for a producer in the Bourgueil region of the Loire Valley, it was none other than the late legendary Didier Dagueneau who was the first to recommend Pierre Gauthier to them and his wines have been a big part of my own celebration of Bourgueil, along with the Bretons. Pierre Gauthier broke on to the Loire Cab Franc seen in 1979, and now with his son Rodolphe at his side making the wines his estate is one of the best of the region. As Beaune Imports notes, this master of Cabernet Franc farms 18 hectares in the village of Benais—the heart of the Bourgueil AOC, with all natural methods, employing a second late pruning and green harvests to improve quality and concentration. The Gauthier way is to de-stem 100% of their grapes and employ native yeasts for long cuvaisons in cement vats lasting up to three weeks after which the wine is pressed off to larger old barrels to be aged. In America Gauthier is an enthusiast, under the radar producer, but still hard to find and sadly quite pricy.
($79-99 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive