Bourgueil Grand Mont

The vines planted here in the post-war years grow on clay and limestone soil. These plants are quite old, aren't they? Other winemakers would probably have replaced them 20 years ago and opted for young material with a rootstock that grows well and produces a lot of fruit. Yes, unfortunately, this is now also the case here in this region, which for me is so far away from all the glitz and glamour and therefore so close to my heart. But fortunately, there are still only a few who invest here purely for financial gain. There is still room here for people whose goal is the perfect Cabernet Franc or Chenin Blanc, who don't have millions pouring out of their pockets, who scrape together all their savings and put it all on one card. I take my hat off to such courageous people. But not only to those who have just arrived here, no, also to those who were born here and work with passion to perfect their wines, to families like the Gauthiers!

So back to the wine, which doesn't get any special treatment in the cellar. No, like all the other Gauthiers' wines, it is simply destemmed, fermented spontaneously and aged for roughly two years in demi-muids (600-liter oak barrels), some of which may be new. Incidentally, even experienced winemakers can never say exactly how long a wine needs to spend in the barrel, as countless factors influence this process and it is the winemaker alone who decides when the wine tastes good enough to be preserved in this way, because that is what bottling is all about.

I have already enjoyed this delicious wine at Anne-Sophie Pic's bistro in Valence and made the following note: “Hmm, that's quite dense. There seems to be a lot of wine in the glass, but I can hardly taste it. So let's decant it.” After we had fought our way through half a bottle of Ulysse Colin's Les Perrières – yes, you read that right: fought – because I just don't seem to understand Olivier Colin's wines, our Grand Mont slowly began to open up (thank God, because I couldn't have managed any more of that champagne). I continued to take notes: "Wonderful cherry notes combine with black tea and a hint of graphite, which immediately gives way to subtle leather notes. Wow, this stuff smells really good. On the palate, the wine is straight as an arrow, everything is in its place, exactly where it belongs. Take the tannins, for example, which nestle on the palate with the finest of grains, or the acidity, the energy of the wine, which comes in wonderfully in the middle and carries the wine indefinitely. The finish is simply magnificent. The wine is juicy and ends wonderfully salty. This is a great wine." The only problem was that we didn't have this wine on offer. Well, I am delighted to tell you that I have now solved this problem! I hope you enjoy this great wine!