Nicolas Réau ‘Pompois’

Nicolas Réau ‘Pompois’ – a heartfelt and harmonious expression of both grape and terroir that chants emphatically from first to last sip. This is Cabernet Franc performing with operatic honesty; a rustic earthiness wafts from the popped cork as blackcurrant, wild strawberry and violet coax a heavy pour. Foxtrotting across the palette is the vibrant homogeneity of dark and red fruits, straddled by notes of red liquorice and cracked black pepper, all applauded by a cleansing line of salinity.

The vines used for this cuvée are just a touch over fifty years old and planted on a clay-limestone mix, speckled with small stones. The grapes are manually harvested and de-stemmed for an alcoholic fermentation alongside indigenous yeasts; this occurs initially in cement tanks, followed by transference to old oak barrels. They undergo a five week maceration, in which time the process becomes altogether compassionate. Delicate pump-overs are performed less than a handful of times in place of any form of punch-down- the grapes are treated with incredible care and gently swaddled into lavish life. With neither temperature control, fining, filtration nor added sulphites, this is a pure and passionate journey for these 50 year-old vines. A final 12 month maturation in used oak barrels augments this living wine’s depth and finalises the creation of something murkily sultry.

Nicolas Réau ‘Pompois’ – it truly is no wonder that this, amongst all of his other cuvées, seem to ensnare a certain rhythm during their creation. Réau was a jazz pianist by trade until twenty-two but a threadbare income and a predisposition for wine enabled him to make a drastic career change. Having completed studies in Montrueil and Bordeaux and gained experience from local Anjou vignerons, he purchased his estate, ‘Le Clos de Treilles’, in 2002.

Additional information

Grape

Cabernet Franc

Colour

Red

Region

Anjou, Loire Valley

Bottle Size

75cl

Style

Red

Nicolas Réau ‘Pompois’ – Cabernet Franc performing with operatic honesty; a rustic earthiness wafts from the popped cork as blackcurrant, wild strawberry and violet coax a heavy pour. Foxtrotting across the palette is the vibrant homogeneity of dark and red fruits, straddled by notes of red liquorice and cracked black pepper, all applauded by a cleansing line of salinity.

31.00

In stock