Francis and François Jamet, 2005 Domaine des Vallettes, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
Their 'basic' St-Nic is delicious to drink now – plenty of black fruits and no sign of the big tannins present in some Loire 2005s. Will certainly keep a few more years but why not enjoy it now. The Jamet’s have 20 ha in Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and 3 ha in Bourgueil. In addition to the domaine wine, they have a Vieilles Vignes from Bourgueil and ‘Evénment’ from Saint-Nicolas as well as a Saint-Nicolas rosé – a saigné. The Bourgueil vines are on the argile-calcere coteaux (clay-limestone slopes), while those in Saint-Nicolas are on sand and gravel. Francis worked for a while at Berry Bros & Rudd in London, before returning to take over the family domaine. He is the sixth generation of the Jamet family to make wine in Saint-Nicolas.
Reservé de Marcigoué 2003 Sancerre Rouge, Robert and Francis Crochet
Butch, powerful red – 14% alc. Difficult to guess it is Pinot Noir but characteristic of the heat wave 2003 – very ripe black fruits, low acidity and more like a wine from the south of France rather than from the Loire. Interesting to taste this top cuvée but Francis’ later vintages have more finesse (see post of 2 September 2008).
Both bottles were bought from Peter Green in Edinburgh – £9.50 and £13.50 respectively.
Francis and François Jamet, Domaine des Vallettes, 37140 Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil.
Tel: 02.47.97.44.44
Email: francis.jamet@les-vallettes.com
Web: www.les-vallettes.com
François Crochet, Marcigoué, 18300 Bué-en-Sancerre. Tel: 02.48.58.21.77
francoiscrochet@wanadoo.fr
Peter Green, 37a-37b, Warrender Park Rd, Edinburgh, EH9 1HJ
Tel: 0131 229 5925
