"The Bourgueil “Côte 50” bottling from Domaine Amirault is made from a blend of different parcels, with the soil composition ranging from sand to gravel. The wine is aged primarily in older oak barrels. The 2021 is nicely reflective of this cooler vintage, tipping the scales at an old school 12.5 percent octane. It delivers a lovely, youthful nose of cassis, dark berry, dark soil tones, cigar smoke, a dollop of fresh herbs and a topnote of menthol. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and tightly-knit, with a good core of fruit, tangy acids, moderate tannins and a long, nascently complex and well balanced finish. After all of the plush, global warming vintages of late in the Loire, it is a bit of a change of pace to go back in style to those vintages from the 1980s, which demand some cellaring time before starting to blossom, but that is what we have here with this promising bottle of young Bourgueil. There is not a ton of generosity here today, but tuck this wine away in the cellar for five or six years and it will be starting to drink beautifully and will be a fine middleweight once it is ready to drink. 2029-2055."