GRANDES MISES
SAINT-AMOUR 2014
Grape varietal
Black Gamay with white juice.
Tasting notes
An intense violet - red colour. A delicate nose with dominant aromas of black fruit and peony. Take pleasure in tasting this wine which shows an agreeable freshness with soft tannins. Showing a supple texture, it is quite long on the finish.
Serving suggestions
It will go well with capon with a cream “morille” sauce as well as with cheese. Best decanted and enjoyed cool, between 13° and 15°C., to discover the seductive aromas of this wine.
Food and wine pairing
Poultry with cream and morrels pairs perfectly with this Saint-Amour.
Ageing potential
This Saint-Amour can be enjoyed while young. It can, however, be kept for more than 5 years.
Origins
We all recognise that this most Northern Cru bears a name which is gentle to the ear and to the heart. It is the wine of poets and lovers. If it did not exist, life would be a little less charming. The village of Saint Amour gives its name to this wine. Before that, a long time ago during Gallo-Roman times, a centurion named Amor belonging to the Thébaine Legion, stationed in the Valais region of Switzerland and famous for his Christian faith suffered martyrdom. In all evidence, the ways of lovers, with their pleasures and sorrows, are rarely easy. Today the wine of Saint Amour shows two faces, according to the soil composition and indeed the vinification technique.
Terroir
The slighty slopes are the results of a strong alteration of old rocks. The extraordinary diversity of this cru can be explained by the presence of the two juxtaposed flaws: the limestone and the granitic soils.
Vine and soil
Vineyard age: 47 years old.
Yield: 56 hectoliters per hectar.
A rigorous plot selection is made on single estate.
Vines are planted on sandy soil, with old pebbly soils.They are pruned « en gobelet ». They are managed with substainable farming methods. It gives a extraordinary complexity to the Gamay wine!
Vinification and maturing
The grapes were placed in concrete vat by gravity. The grapes were naturally low in polyphenols but benefited from very ripe stalks. A maceration of the whole bunches was required to bring more structure to the wine. Maceration: 18 days with pumping-over and rackings to obtain colour.
Ageing: 9 months on lees in vat.
Vintage : 2014
A round, crispy and aromatic vintage. With an early start to the year, Springtime was warm and dry and limited the vegetative growth of the vine. Summer rainfall in early July helped to accelerate the development of the vine and the grapes. Flowering took place in early June followed by the “veraison” (grapes change colour) at the end of July. The result was a low potential yield with small bunches. Under sunshine and warm weather the harvest started mid September, giving grapes with high potential degrees.
Handpicked on the 8th September 2014.
