Guion - A New Value Bourgueil!

7/9/2008 -

When David was at the Salon in the Loire last winter he tasted with a producer named Stephane Guion who has been organic since 1965. It's a 6.8 hectare estate in Bourgueil that is harvested by hand, with no herbicides or pesticides used. The Cuvèe Prestige (1,200 cases made) comes from vines from 40 to 80 years old, giving yields of 35 to 40 hectolitres per hectare. The fruit and mineral aromas and flavors, typical of the clay/limestone terroir, are explained by the wild yeasts as well as by the deep root systems in the limestone hillside. The fermentation lasts three weeks and is done in wooden vats, after which aging is in barrique, none of which are new.

We tasted the wine shortly after arrival - this was slamming! Especially at this pricepoint. Lovely nose of blackberries, wild berry fruit, mineral, earth and mashed violets. The palate has a rustic charm with burly tannins and wonderful purity of fruit. Really deep wine that cuts a swath across the palate. Intense, rustic and honest wine that is in the same school as the lovely Marcillac's of Domaine du Cros or the lovely wines of Clos Roche Blanche. This is honest wine with integrity, No fancy roto-fermenters, no new oak, no tricks in the winery, just pure non-interventionist honest winemaking. It will drink well over the next three or four years, then, according to Guion, should be forgotten about for ten years, then re-emerge. A wonderful new discovery. As the domaine says, "Tout ceci donnant un gout de vin vrai; celui d'un bon jus de raisin, vinfie sans artifice"