Tasted in Lancié with Gilles Gelin, 15 February 2018.
Domaine des Nugues
Les Pasquiers
40 rue de la Serve
69220 Lancié
Tel: +33 4 74 04 14 00
www.domainedesnugues.com
Gilles on 2017:
“2017 is a super quality vintage, but with big deficits in volume – we are 40% down in villages, 40% down in Fleurie too. We bought some vines in Moulin à Vent and that was down 60% – but fortunately there’s nothing to find in the flavours so the impact is only on the volume. In the crus it was better here in 2017 as in 2016 we lost 60% but in 17 we only lost 40%!”
Gilles on 2016:
“Hmm – very complicated. But a very nice vintage for the wine, a little in the same esprit as 2014. We had two hailstorms, almost the same area but the second was much larger – though not like 1966*. Our Beaujolais Villages was lower impacted than our Fleurie – which was just half a harvest. Apart from the hailed area it was a good volume for Beaujolais. But we had lots of work, as the rain opened up its own streams in the vines which need much more work to carry the soil back. But maybe I will sell these 2016s before the 2015s.
*”In 1966 the hailstones were almost the size of tennis balls and the piles stayed in the street for 3 weeks – they also arrived at 3 in the morning!”
The wines…
Always a top address for Beaujolais Villages, but this year, rosé excepted, I liked the crus more!
2016 Beaujolais Villages Blanc
All from Lancié, on limestone, work on alow temperature – vinifying 8-20 to get it going then keep practically below 15° for a month.
Ooh this has a very welcoming nose – a little fat and oak but a cushioned citrus too. Round, delicious – I’m waiting for the mineral rigour of Beaujolais blanc but frankly I’m waiting a long time – this is easy but delicious wine. Excellent.
Made in the same low temperature way as the blanc. Malo done.
Hmm – this is wide and very, very inviting with pretty fruit. Supple, subtle flavours but delicious flavours too. Soft but freshly mouth-watering – about purity with a very nice texture. Gorgeous rosé.
2017 Beaujolais Sans Soufre
Bottled ten days.
A little biscuit reduction. Good volume and a directness and freshness backed by some weight but still tension and a little salinity, widening in the finish. Good focus and purity – drink!
2016 Beaujolais Villages
In bottle since 20 July. Only a small part of villages was hailed, almost 60k bottles but just a single bottling run to give one single style.
A modest roundness of aroma – depth and a suggestion of salinity. Hmm, depth of flavour layers, growing freshness, just a little depth to the texture too. The intensity growing a little, bringing a halo of mouth-watering freshness to the flavour. Wait 6 months but this is already delicious – yum!
2016 Fleurie
Bottled 28 July – about 25k bottles – it’s usually 40, we did a little destemming but despite the hail we don’t have a taste from the stems.
A good volume of aroma and a finer depth of fruit this time. More structural but with much more complexity too – a little licorice in the finish and then slowly adding mouth-watering finishing flavour. Yum but wait 18-24 months.
Bottled 20 December. Harvest come sooner than expected so decided to take my time!
More intense, great width of complex dark fruit – much more complexity – very attractive. The tannins are more present but also a beautiful dark-red fruit – lots of flavour dimension here – again to wait for but I love!
2016 Moulin à Vent
First vintage from 1.5 hectares in Burdelines – lost 50% to hail
More width and more vibration of aroma from the fruit. Lots of concentration, a little extra bitterness of tannin but lots more depth and complexity. Big, big wine, this will be really something – super.
2016 Brouilly
From bought grapes so label is Giles Gelin
Starts with a small reduction, it doesn’t hang around long, super depth. A wine with more direction, but with fine concentration, a decent concentration and really very tasty flavour melting from the core – this is lovely wine!