Loire, France

Jérôme Lambert

Le Zu de Fruit 2019

£29

JÉRÔME LAMBERT
Le Zu de Fruit 2019
Loire, France

Grolleau which ferments with whole bunches for a fortnight, before being pressed off to rest for nine months in fibreglass vats. This is light, bright and beautifully lifted, its gorgeous fruit seasoned with plenty of earth, pepper and spice, making for a formidable bistro wine.

Grolleau


ABOUT THE PRODUCER

Jérôme Lambert tends just a few hectares of vines near Rablay-sur-Layon, in a remote part of the Loire south of Angers.

Jérôme farms Chenin Blanc organically from a single plot of low-yielding vines up to fifty years old planted over schist. He’ll often make several harvests at various stages of ripeness, offering a fascinating insight into this great terroir. These are tense, focused expressions of Chenin that possess a wonderful ability to age.

Jérôme also farms a little Grolleau and Cabernet Franc. The fruit here is planted over sandy soils and the wines reflect these. They are juicy, joyful and perfumed. In short, everything we look for in the vibrant reds of the Loire.

From a makeshift cellar that some might scoff at, Jérôme uses nothing but grapes to make wines which are amongst the most distinctive we have tried. We could not be happier to be receiving a small allocation of his tiny production each year.