It might have happened to you. A wine, a book, a record, an object catches your eye but you do not proceed to purchase it that time.
You might give it a second or even a third look before you take the plunge.
This happened to me with Le Bois Jacou (2006), a Loire Valley Red produced by Jean-Francois Merieau, a young and upcoming vigneron.
This small production is 100% Gamay, hand harvested from low yield vineyards. First taste was a mouth filling surprise.
The Wine Detective (UK) describes it as ‘bags of fruit and charm with violets, a touch of tannin and good freshness’ and offers many more Loire tasting notes.
Thanks to Les Vins d’Auteur (French only site on small producers, indy wines?), I was able to glean a few more details on Le Bois Jacou.It comes from the vineyards of Bois Vaudons, 10 to 60 year old plantings on argyle and calcareous soil . Does that make it ‘old vines’.
Vins d’Auteur is more lyrical in its description than the average wine site, crediting this Gamay with a ruby red robe (Ruby Baby), fruity and gouleyant, a 19th century adjective that Patrimoine de France (also French only) translates as easy to drink and pleasant. I thought of ‘sliding down your throat smoothly’ for the sake of wine poetry.
Perfect pairing if I am to believe Vins d’Auteur would be rillettes (makes sense since Le Mans is not far) or grilled meats.
I will let you be the judge.
In Atlanta, Rowdy (aka Matt Richardson) and Dirty put it in their lineup of a recent Cheese and Wine Tasting for Cheese Eugene 2008 at you guessed Restaurant Eugene.
Where the US label is a stylized tree the British label is more plain vanilla as shown here.
His Sauvignon Blanc seems to be getting high praise. Has anyone tasted it or other wines by Jean-Francois Merieau.
What is your take?
Related piece: Balloon Flights over the Castles of the Loire