2018 Domaine Yannick Amirault St.-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil «Les Malgagnes»

Region: France, Loire - Bourgueil
Farming: Organic 
Grape Variety: Cabernet Franc 

 Dry, med-bodied red; oaky, polished | Rack of lamb

2 ha of vines on a hill, challenging site to manage. 50 year old vines, clay soils. Yields restricted to 30 hl/ha. Fermentation in oak vessels, followed by 13 months of ageing in oak.

In 1947, Eugène Amirault started bottling wine from a parcel of land called Les Malgagnes for small-scale local consumption only. In 1977, his grandson Yannick founded a commercial winery with just over 3ha of vines. In the 1990s, Yannick expanded his vineyard holdings by acquiring vines from established vignerons, including a site called Le Grand Clos. Now, the estate is limited to 20 ha, two-thirds of which are in Bourgueil and the remaining third are in St.-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. Only Cabernet Franc is grown throughout the estate.

Yannick’s son Benoît is now the fourth generation of the family in charge of the vineyards and winemaking. They were certified organic in 2009, despite following some organic practices from the 1970s. 

Find out more here.