Domaine de la Butte Bourgueil Pied de la Butte 2015
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Spirits
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Wine & Spirits
Jacky Blot makes three wines from this domaine: one from the top of the hill, where the vines are more exposed and the soil contains some silex; this one, from the clay-limestone soils at the bottom of the hill; and one from his oldest vines. In 2015, Le Haut ripened to the point that it tastes more like côt than franc, while the cooler soils of Le Pied produced a wine that’s all about beauty in red fruit. Fermented and aged in stainless steel, it’s crunchy and naive, lacking any pretention, with red-currant freshness, scents of basil and undertones of roasted mushrooms. The wine’s delicacy makes it compellingly drinkable.
Other Vintages
2014-
Spirits
Wine &
Blot employs the same exacting “lutte raisonee” vineyard practices in tending his white grapes in Montlouis and Vouvray. All the rows are plowed and no chemicals are used, to encourage the roots to penetrate deep into the subsoil. Blot keeps his yields low by removing buds at the beginning of the growing season and green harvesting in August. He removes leaves order to increase exposure to the sun, ensure aeration of the vines, and facilitate hand harvesting. All grapes are hand selected and picked at optimal maturity and then placed in small boxes for transport to the winery, where they are further sorted on a table de tri. The fruit is destemmed and descends by gravity into wooden and concrete fermentation tanks. Blot ferments each cuvee for different periods of time, using only native yeast.
Cabernet Franc, a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the subtler and more delicate of the Cabernets. Today Cabernet Franc produces outstanding single varietal wines across the wine-producing world. Somm Secret—One of California's best-kept secrets is the Happy Canyon appellation of Santa Barbara. Here Cabernet Franc shines as a single varietal wine or in blends, expressing sumptuous fruit, savory aromas and polished tannins.
On the north bank of the Loire Valley in the western end of the greater Touraine region, Bourgueil makes a sturdy and aromatic Cabernet Franc.