Home > Producer Profiles > Loire Profiles > Yannick Amirault

Yannick Amirault

The story of Yannick Amirault and his family domaine, the Pavillon du Grand Clos, really begins in 1977. This was the year that Yannick took control of the family's patchwork of vineyards scattered across 3.4 hectares of the Bourgueil and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil appellations to the north of the Loire. Up until that point in time it was his grandfather, an experienced vigneron, that had overseen operations, whereas the rather green Yannick was only 22 years old. It must have been a considerable undertaking for a young man. Nevertheless it seems clear, on reflection, that Yannick must have had the soil of the vineyards in his blood, or he was at least a very quick learner born with a determination to succeed. He pushed the domaine forward, innovating and rationalising, displaying a thoughtful, respectful and philosophical approach that has seen viticulture become more sustainable during his tenure, with a reduction in the dependency on fertilisers (which have not been used since 1983) a typical example of his work. Alongside he implemented practices intended to raise quality; thinning the leaves in the vineyard to improve exposure of the ripening fruit to the sun from 1989, interplanting with grass from 1992 and reducing his dependence on herbicides from 1997. During that time the quality of the wines has perhaps unsurprisingly improved dramatically, and the young Amirault quickly earned the respect of his fellow vignerons.

As already mentioned, the vineyards that constitute the domaine are quite widely scattered, with a number of lieu-dits of differing terroirs, and yet under Yannick's direction it has expanded considerably, now totalling 19 hectares, 13 hectares in Bourgueil and 6 hectares in St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. All are planted solely with Cabernet Franc save for one or two exceptions. As is the case with the soils around Chinon and Bourgueil, there are three broad categories of soil to be found in the Amirault vignoble. The lightest wines come from the sandy, gravelly, more alluvial vineyards and here this category includes La Coudraye, La Source and La Mine, the latter being notable as an exception to the Cabernet Franc rule; there is also some Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard here. Then there are the clay terroirs, which give firmer wines, in this case probably one of the domaine's best known vineyards, Le Grand Clos. Finally come the limestone terroirs, the more desirable sites when looking for the vin de garde which will age well in the cellar. Here perhaps Les Quartiers leads the way, followed by La Petite Cave and Les Malgagnes. Some of the vineyards lie in Bourgueil, some in St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, although noting the terroir will provide much more guidance as to the style of wine than worrying about the commune, as the boundary bears little or no relation to any change in soil or terroir, carving a line drawn roughly north-south through the village of Chevrette. The yields at harvest are held to typically 44 hl/ha, a significant reduction on the 58 hl/ha which was the figure recorded for the 1978 harvest. This is achieved in part by pruning, in part by a green harvest carried out in July or August. Most importantly the harvest itself, often delayed until October, is manual, with fruit selected using several tries. This sort of attention to detail can really set a domaine apart in these appellations and it is surprising how many top names of the region harvest by machine. In the winery, Yannick temporarily introduced wood to the winemaking process in 1989 and stopped filtering his wines in 1996. The following year he fermented using only indigenous yeasts and has done so ever since, and since 2003 he has returned to fermenting some of the wines in wood, particularly Le Grand Clos, followed by up to twelve months in oak.

I tasted just three wines on my recent visit to the estate, all were of good quality. La Coudraye was light and easy to drink, in keeping with its sandy origins. Le Grand Clos. meanwhile, showed a lot of power and potential complexity I think with, despite a lot of depth and texture, a slight green streak which may throw up some interesting nuances with a few years in the cellar. Without doubt my favourite of the three though was Les Quartiers, showing the strength of the 2005 vintage and the limestone terroir to great effect. I was not afraid to buy some of this, for current drinking or for cellaring. Amirault is a skilled and thoughtful vigneron and in such a fine vintage as this he has made at least one fabulous wine. I look forward to tasting some of the others. (28/8/07)

Contact details:
Address: Pavillon du Grand Clos, 37140 Bourgueil
Telephone: +33 (0) 2 47 97 78 07
Fax: +33 (0) 2 47 97 94 78
Internet: www.yannickamirault.fr

Yannick Amirault - Tasting Notes

Click to locate stockists.

Yannick Amirault St Nicolas de Bourgueil La Source 2007: La Source is one of Amirault's alluvial vineyards. The wine has an interesting nose, of rose petals, with dry stony fruit; there is a little funkiness to it, but otherwise it seems quite straight and attractive. The palate is light although there is some fruit substance to it, although it is not the most concentrated wine. With a little time this may come good I think. From a Charles Sydney tasting. 14-15/20 (February 2009)

Yannick Amirault Bourgueil Le Grand Clos 2007: A clay terroir. Rather muted fruit on the nose, with a gentle, slightly sweet, berry character. Nicely put together on the palate, with rock dust minerality and a firm, hard style. It all seems a bit muted and withdrawn at present, but there is potential here. From a Charles Sydney tasting. 15-16/20 (February 2009)

Yannick Amirault Bourgueil La Coudraye 2006: From a sandy-gravelly terroir. Fresh nose. It has a minerally, sandy character (I must note that I thought this prior to enquiring as to the soils in this vineyard, as these things are very open to suggestion). Similarly fresh on the palate, lifted light and elegant but with a nice mineral quality and slightly hard character to the fruit. Good. 15.5+/20 (July 2007)

Yannick Amirault Bourgueil Les Quartiers 2005: Limestone here. This has a lovely nose, a real step up from La Coudraye, but then it is a different vintage also. Lots of fruit, depth and texture, with a creamy style to the palate. Appealingly hard nature at the back though rather like Le Grand Clos, but ripe and without any sign of greenness. Lovely, well composed wine with a hard but well covered structure which will do very well in the cellar. Excellent potential here. 17.5+/20 (July 2007)

Yannick Amirault Bourgueil Le Grand Clos 2004: This has a hard nose, but with complex, smoky, cigar aromas. An attractive palate, appealing, rather hard with a little green streak which is not overpowering and only adds promise and interest. Firm, good fruit with a nice acidic backbone. Lots of appeal here, and lots of potential for the cellar. 16-17+/20 (July 2007)