{"title":"Domaine du Bel Air","description":"\u003cp\u003eAmong the Loire’s truly great winemakers, Pierre Gauthier (Domaine du Bel-Air) might be the most underrated. His wines are as convincing as the wines of Clos Rougeard and Domaine du Collier. But Pierre’s wines are far less expensive. And while it’s true that collectors have started paying attention in recent vintages, it hasn’t (yet) gotten to the point where the wines are impossible to get.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBel-Air’s vineyards are in the limestone-rich soils of Bourgueil. Compared to most other Bourgueils, his wines are far less rustic, devoid of the greenness often found in Cabernet Francs. Instead, they are quite elegant, rich in sweet red-and-black fruits and chalky minerality. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIWe've loved these wines for a while now, but a visit to the domaine made it even more clear how awesome Bel-Air is. Pierre is a dedicated farmer with a genuine love of nature; inside of Clos Nouveau (the site of his top wine) he showed us his bees, his fig tree, rose bushes, and many other plants.Gauthier comes across as genuine and humble. His style is definitely low-intervention and “old-school”. We spent time with him at his warehouse, in the vines, and in his ancient cellar. By the end of the appointment, it was clear to us that this is one of the Loire’s greatest winemakers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBourgueil, we discovered, is a complex appellation with many different types of soils and expositions. Paul loves his home village of Benais because it has the chalkiest soils in the region, giving the wines freshness, elegance and longevity.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/sf.flatiron-wines.com\/collections\/domaine-du-bel-air.oembed","provider":"Flatiron SF","version":"1.0","type":"link"}