Joel Taluau farms his family’s 22-hectare estate with an eye to accentuating the elegant combination of fine feel and aromatic intensity. No wood has been used in his wines since 1986 and only long, cool maceration and fermentation. The effect is to increase the wine’s complexity on the nose while keeping the palate bright and agile.
The Bourgueil comes from a 7 acre holding of vines on the hills just south of the main holdings in St-Nicholas-de-Bourgueil. The vines, 20-40 years-old produce a ripe, tannic wine, perfect for roasts and “steak frites.”
Regional History
The Loire River runs 635 miles from the Cévennes Mountains in southeastern France to the Atlantic Coast and flows through (or near) over 60 different appellations. During its long history, the hillsides along the banks provided well – drained soils on which to grow grapes, and the river itself provided a transportation network to outside markets. First planted to vines by the Benedictine monks in the ninth century, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil overlooks the Loire River from the north. Its clay and limestone rich soils and general southerly exposure (shielding it from the cold north winds) have produced fine aromatic Cabernet Franc for nearly all of that time.
Regional Foods
The lower half of the Loire River, the longest in France, runs through more than forty wine appellations, among them Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, Vouvray, Chinon, Saumur, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, and Muscadet. This broad valley, noted for its big skies and big chateaux, doesn’t boast an indigenous cuisine. Nevertheless, the rich soil and the varied landscape provide a bounty of raw materials for a cook. Diverse livestock are raised on local farms; the Atlantic coast and the river itself supply plentiful fish; vegetables and grains are harvested from the large, well-tended kitchen gardens seen everywhere. So one drinks Muscadet with Atlantic oysters and pike au beurre blanc, Vouvray with friture de la loire (fried freshwater fish) or pork rillettes. Rillons, little fists of pork belly, might be enjoyed with a glass of Montlouis. The reds of Chinon and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil often accompany jugged hare, pork with prunes or venison. Restaurants offer baked cod, escargot, frog’s legs and freshwater fish pate with Pouilly-Fume.
© 2007 Moore Brothers Wine Company