{"product_id":"jean-colin-treasures-of-the-loire-6-bottle-case","title":"Jean Colin, Treasures Of The Loire 6-Bottle Case","description":"\u003cp\u003eA mixed box of the wonderful wines of the Loire: three villages that show huge diversity of land and climate that reflect in the delicious wines here. Plus, of course, there's Pinot Noir from Sancerre (moonlighting as a Nuits-Saint-Georges...), which is a personal favourite of mine! \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSix bottles of classy and classic Loire. Treat yourself to some Treasure!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJean Colin was the maternal grandfather of Eric Louis, who I met in a wine fair about ten years ago. His winemaking partner is Sophie, who has much better English than Eric (and far better English than my French) so it was from her that I first bought these wines. As it turns out, she has a fine knack of making wines for Irish palates (her own name is on the O'Brien's Loire wines!) and was able to understand exactly what I was looking to achieve for my customers: really great quality across a range of appellations. Now, that's a high bar for most parts of France, but in the Loire, there's a good deal of scope and space for pretty much anything you fancy: all colours, all sweetness levels, still, sparkling and fortified to boot. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this regard Sophie and Eric are outstanding custodians of the region's many subzones and grape varieties, making really excellent representations of each of the styles that they know and love themselves. Being a regular kind of chap, I wanted to get some regular sort of options and bought Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé at first, but then moved to their Vin de France offerings (declassified village-level wines often made from younger vines) and was both reassured and revitalised! Here was French wine that is vibrant and approachable and affordable, I thought. and since then, I have bought from as many villages as they produce, in red, white and rosé.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe estate itself, from where the Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé and Menetou Salon wines are sourced, is the same set of vineyards that were planted by Jean Colin and his wife Pauline before the Second World War. One of the things that I love about the story here is that after the war, access to resources and equipment was scarce, meaning that compromises were often the order of the day and when it came to finding vessels to ferment and age the wines, there was little to no oak available to them for anything like a reasonable price. They used acacia wood instead and they \u003cem\u003estill do to this day\u003c\/em\u003e! Funnily enough, it is \u003cem\u003ebecause \u003c\/em\u003eof this wood that their wines retain their elegance, fruit characteristics and finesse (sure, imagine big oaky Sauvignon... no thanks!).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo do join us with friends and say \u003cem\u003esanté \u003c\/em\u003eto Eric and \u003cem\u003echeers \u003c\/em\u003eto Sophie as we continue to seek out the wonders of this very wonderful region: I really hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and even half as much as they have enjoyed making them!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Eric Louis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59686397182286,"sku":"JCTOTL","price":159.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0512\/4082\/9106\/files\/BOXOFTHEWEEKPHOTOS_57.png?v=1779440420","url":"https:\/\/www.theallotment.ie\/products\/jean-colin-treasures-of-the-loire-6-bottle-case","provider":"The Allotment Wine Company","version":"1.0","type":"link"}