Have you finally nailed the difference between Central Loire Cabernet Franc from Chinon and Bourgueil? Perfect, because We've got another curve ball for you: Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil.

As the name makes plain, Saint Nicolas is a satellite... Read More

Have you finally nailed the difference between Central Loire Cabernet Franc from Chinon and Bourgueil? Perfect, because We've got another curve ball for you: Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil.

As the name makes plain, Saint Nicolas is a satellite of Bourgueil. It lies just to the west, with the vineyards about the same distance from the Loire river. Their climates, of course, are basically identical, but their soils are very slightly different. Saint-Nicolas has more of the local sand and limestone mix known as Varennes, and quite a bit of the local chalk known as Touronian. Important stuff, for sure!

But the important thing here is the taste. And there can be no better guide where that's concerned than the Amirault family’s wines. Yannick Amirault (joined by his son Bênoit since 2003) makes stunning single-vineyard Bourgueils. They shatter all the stereotypes of Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. Rather than being green and austere, they are fully ripe and pure, and they achieve this with organic farming and a natural, hands-off process in the cellar.