Joel Delaunay Touraine Gamay 2021  £12.98

JOEL DELAUNAY TOURAINE GAMAY 

Domaine Joël Delaunay is a family-owned estate, located in the Touraine AOC. Today, fifth-generation owner Thierry Delaunay runs the Domaine. Like his forward-thinking father, Joël Delaunay, who insisted on estate bottling in 1970, Thierry was the first Touraine producer to bottle under screwcap in 2004. Domaine Joël Delaunay has 34 hectares of vineyards, practising sustainable viticulture. 90% of their production is white, with Sauvignon Blanc being the predominant grape variety, and 10% is red, mostly Gamay and Cabernet Franc.

Domaine Joël Delaunay is situated on the bank of the Cher Valley, 50 kilometres east of Tours near the famous Château de Chenonceau. The soil is clay and silex (a mixture of flint and sand) and the training method is Guyot. The vineyards are planted with grass between the vines to control yields, and leaf thinning occurs in July to aid the ripening of the grapes.

The 2019 harvest in the Loire Valley was once again affected by frost in April. This had a great impact across the valley, reducing crops in many of the vineyards. The end of spring and summer was relatively warm and dry, allowing the grapes to reach optimum maturity. The harvest itself was early, and although the difficult conditions resulted in a small harvest, the small size of the grapes resulted in excellent concentration of flavours.

Semi-carbonic maceration took place over a period of eight days. Alcoholic fermentation occurred at 24°C with one soft pumping over of the juice. Malolactic fermentation occurred at 22°C. The wine was aged on its fine lees, and then cross filtered prior to bottling.

Ruby red in colour, this supple red is dominated on the nose by ripe cherries and red plums aromas and floral notes. This is a generous Gamay, with a soft texture and a spicy finish.

Decanter: 91 Points

Part of Best summer red wines to drink chilled

In the Cher Valley on clay/silex soils. This is a great example of why Loire Valley Gamay should not be overlooked. Fine balance between bright, crisp cherry fruits, soft tannins and a distinctly mineral finish. Drinking Window 2019 - 2021

Andy Howard MW