2020 Domaine du Bel Air – Gauthier, AOC Bourgueil Rouge “Grand Mont” Loire Valley, France.
The depth and complexity here in the Gauthier’s 2020 Domaine du Bel Air Grand Mont Bourgueil Rouge is nothing short of exceptional and it should age for an eternity in the bottle, maybe 25 years or more, but it is a gorgeously pure Cabernet France now too. This dark garnet and ruby edged beauty delivers a classic earthy seduction of Loire Franc with medium/full bodied palate of crushed blackberry, wild plum, red currant and black cherry fruits, along with a mix of violets, a light note of herbaceous bell pepper, leather, minty anise, cedar, chalk and truffle. The youthful tannins and acidity are gripping and catch your attention, but they are not harsh, they just remind you of how serious this wine is and the finish is outstanding, you’ll be rewarded for patience and best to enjoy it with a hearty meal. This is a sublime effort, and I tasted this on a day when I had the famed Clos Rougeard, which was glorious but this Bourgueil more than held its own.
Years ago, when importer Beaune Imports, while searching for a producer in the Bourgueil area 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. The cru Grand Mont is one of the regions most prized vineyard sites with the famous Tufa (chalky) limestone very much influencing the wines here, and this deep version is absolutely stunning.
($55 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive