Domaine De La Cotellerai, Le Pigeur Fou 2021, St Nicolas de Bourgueil
It is within the Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil appellation and more precisely on the gravelly terrace that the grapes of “Pigeur Fou” come from. On this thick layer of gravel, the Cabernet Franc grapes always reach maturity first thanks to the earliness of the terroir.
Since 1999, the vineyard has been cultivated without weedkillers or chemicals. In 2009, the estate started its conversion towards organic farming. And in 2013, Ecocert certified the 2012 vintage as organic.
“Pigeur Fou” is one of the only two vintages of the estate that are not destalked, i.e. the whole bunches of grapes are poured into the vat. This allows a fermentation in the grapes for two weeks without adding sulphites.
It is a natural wine with a very fruity raspberry nose and a not very tannic mouth, very elegant, velvety and silky.
This wine will go perfectly with sweet and savoury dishes, hard cheese platters (Beaufort, Comté) and why not with chocolate and/or red fruit desserts.
Food pairing
Allium
Onion, Garlic, Shallot
Funghi
Porcini, Shitake, Oyster Mushroom, Button Mushroom
Nutty Hard Cheese
Gruyere, Comte, Emmental,
White Meat
Chicken, Pork, Chop, Tofu
The producer
The Domaine de la Cotelleraie is a winery in the Loire Valley. It belonged to the Vallée family for several generations. The passion for the vine and wine… …I fell into it when I was little, as they say. My father Claude Vallée, who started working at the age of 14, passed on to me the virus of a job well done as well as a know-how that I will try to pass on to my children if they wish. Whereas in 1957 (when my father started out), the estate had 12 hectares of vines as well as crops of asparagus and fruit trees, it is represented today by 27 hectares of vines. Since my takeover in 1997, I have therefore represented the first generation dedicated solely to wine. A more environmentally friendly approach Aware of having inherited an estate whose cabernet franc vines are planted on the best terroirs of Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, I decided in 1999 to set up a philosophy of organic cultivation with respect for the plant, the soils and the environment seemed to me to be a work requirement. To make quality wines, it is not enough to have technical knowledge, you also have to have sensitivity, know how to listen to the plant, let it take back its natural rights and benefit from a balanced ecosystem with real microbial life in the grounds. Wine is a living material that is made above all around the vine stock throughout the year. This is why my team and I have set up a rigorous work schedule of ploughing, stripping, hoeing and treatment with sulfur or copper from the spring to avoid the use of chemical weedkillers. , fertilizers and other pesticides. Carrying out such work can only be envisaged with a close-knit team aware of the merits of such an approach. Organic, more than a certainty Finally, it seemed obvious to us to concretize this hard work of a whole year by the resumption of the manual harvest then in 2009 by the request for labeling with Ecocert.
https://www.domaine-cotelleraie.fr/
