2021 Domaine Yannick Amirault Bourgueil «Le Grand Clos»
Region: France, Loire - Bourgueil
Farming: Organic
Grape Variety: Cabernet Franc
Dry, medium-bodied red; earthy, dense | Cheesburger, hold the fries
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.