Bourgueil, Mi Pente,

After 15 years of creating masterful Chenins from Vouvray and Montlouis at his Taille aux Loups Domaine, Jacky Blot has turned his hand to the red wines of Bourgueil. After buying the 14-hectare estate in 2002, this Loire maestro has already made an enormous impact by adopting a Burgundian approach in the vineyard, each cuvée is fermented separately according to its position on the slope. The grapes are picked by hand and crushed by foot before fermentation and élévage in oak cask. These are sensational small production red wines and are some of the most sensual Cabernet Francs in the world.

A guide to the cuvees: Every single one of these vineyard parcels are planted on south-facing slopes and none are planted on sand or gravel terroirs.

Haut de la Butte A 6 hectares vineyard plot selected for its geological composition situated at the highest point of the domaine at an altitude of between 90 and 110 metres. A mixture of compacted clay and flint from the Paleocene era covers a base of late-Turonian chalk. This is Jacky's most charming and immediately accessible cuvee, a wonderfully pure expression of Cabernet Franc. No new oak is employed to preserve the wines purity and freshness.

Perrieres A 1 hectare named vineyard plot or 'lieu dit' which is fully south-facing. The geological structure is the same throughout the vineyard where yellow limestone from the late-Turonian period, the same as Mi Pente, but here it is covered by a thick layer of very heavy clay. Between 20-30% new oak here which combines with the mouthwatering small berry fruit to produce a wine a little more Pinot Noir in shape than the others. Svelte.

Mi Pente The fillet of Jacky's vineyard, a section of 80 year old vines sitting between 70-90 m of altitude and a bed of late-Turonian limestone mixed with broken up bits of other sedimentary rocks. There is virtually no topsoil here and the resulting wines have a broad, powerful character that demands time in the cellar.This is Jacky's answer to a powerful right bank Bordeaux.