Domaine de la Butte Bourgueil Haut de la Butte 2011

After founding Domaine de la Taille aux Loups in 1989 and bringing its wines to international acclaim, Loire master winemaker Jacky Blot acquired Domaine de la Butte in the appellation of Bourgueil during the summer of 2002. He seized upon the opportunity to make equally great reds when he acquired an ideal bloc of Cabernet Franc vines averaging 30 years of age, entirely on one south-facing slope, bordered by a protective forest. The entire slope has a bed of limestone rock and different top-soils and microclimates. The variations give rise to the four, site-specific cuvees that Blot crafts at his Bourgueil domaine. He aims to produce dramatic, intensely flavored and original red wines. Domaine de la Butte wines have already attracted international acclaim. Blot credits his experience with late harvest Chenin Blancs for giving him an understanding of the phenomenon of ripeness essential for making the finest Bourgueils possible.

Blot employs the same exacting “lutte raisonee” vineyard practices in tending his white grapes in Montlouis and Vouvray. All the rows are plowed and no chemicals are used, to encourage the roots to penetrate deep into the subsoil. Blot keeps his yields low by removing buds at the beginning of the growing season and green harvesting in August. He removes leaves order to increase exposure to the sun, ensure aeration of the vines, and facilitate hand harvesting. All grapes are hand selected and picked at optimal maturity and then placed in small boxes for transport to the winery, where they are further sorted on a table de tri. The fruit is destemmed and descends by gravity into wooden and concrete fermentation tanks. Blot ferments each cuvee for different periods of time, using only native yeast.