Tasted in Romanèche-Thorins with Franck Duboeuf, 23 February 2018.

Vins Georges Duboeuf
208 rue de Lancié
71570 Romanèche-Thorins
Tel: +33 3 85 35 34 20
www.duboeuf.com

Franck on 2017:
“2017 was a year of contrasts – some violent weather, quite chaotic but finally a year with some very nice things. There was frost on the south, hail in the north, high temperature – a very strong sun. It’s a difficult vintage to understand as some areas had modest maturity, some others too much – the date of harvest was really important. In the end we saw correct acidity and lots of sugar. Quite stressful but wines in the end that will remind of 2009 and 2011 – it was a small volume harvest, similar to 2012.”

Franck on 2016:
“2016 also delivered some violent weather but it was, roughly, a normal volume harvest. It was a later harvest than 2017 but we still tend to harvest a little earlier as we like to keep the freshness. All the wines are now in bottle and they are wines that are really close to their terroir – good expressions in 2016, though Fleurie was badly hit by hail, twice! Apart from the hailed parts a vintage with practically a normal volume.”

The wines…

Despite the wines being served a little too warm, I last year found 2015s that showed very good quality. The wines were, again, warm this year, but I found the average quality of Dubeouf’s 2016s to be much less interesting than their 2015s.

2016 Beaujolais Villages Coeur de Presse
This and all the whites are DIAM, the rest are cork… ‘ The idea is selecting good grapes from good locations, vinified here, always the first press.’
A deep nose with some perfume – quite attractive. Round, very strawberry fruited, modest structure and a nice finish. Easy but very tasty wine…

2016 Brouilly Château de la Perrière (Riaz)
A deep fruit, faint pyrazine and flowers. Wide, sweet but complex too – herbs and good energy. An earthy minerality in the finish. This is very good!

2016 Côte de Brouilly Domaine du Riaz
Same family but a different domaine.
Less width but more depth of aroma still a nicely vivid red fruit. More direct, a little less sweet but still a great blend of complexity and energy. Tasty wine.

2016 Morgon Côte de Py Domaine Poulard
A deep nose, faintly toasty reduction. Open, nicer clarity, more structural and less ripe again (vs Brouilly). The finish is long and very interesting.

2016 Morgon Domaine de la Chaponne
A more open and floral accented nose. Direct, narrow, almost a little meagre but there is precision here too – watch what you serve it with. Plenty of finishing tannin.

2016 Morgon Domaine Montchavy
Deeper, relatively narrow but with a beautiful clarity of red fruit and more modest flowers. Deeper, still open and fresh, an architectural wine, but with layers of serious flavour – mouth-watering and very fine.

2016 Morgon Domaine JE Descombes
A little more compact but with a concentrated core of slightly darker red fruit – a musky pyrazine component too. Direct, fresh, certainly juicy, also with a modest dilution impression – call it minerality, with layers of mouth-watering flavour in the finish.

2016 Morgon Domaine Javernière
A little more colour here. Another nose that’s a little tight – like the Côte du Py. Wide, more concentration, more layered delivery of fruit, – this is complex and really super. Excellent wine – the first!

2016 Fleurie Domaine des 4 Vents
Deep, dark-red fruit, and a little pyrazine again. Directly softer after the Morgons, open, easy wine – easy red fruit with a heavily floral influenced finish.

2016 Fleurie Domaine de Prieuré St.Romain
A domaine in the sector of La Chapelle du Bois
A tighter, more focused freshness. Modest in the mouth – less soft than the last but I would say modestly concentrated. Nice flavours but there’s not much here…

2016 St Amour Chateau de St.Amour
Modest intensity but a really inviting perfume. Open, modest concentration but it’s lithe and open with a very fine purity of fruit. Modest intensity but absolutely delicious.

2016 Juliénas Château des Capitain
Bought in 2003, 12 hectares, ‘we are doing more and more work by property and terroir.’ A little destemming here, 15% barrel elevage
A deep and wide nose, with a little savoury aspect. Round, well concentrated, layered fruit flavour – this is very nice wine indeed. Deep, delicious and mobile over the palate – almost an opulent but never overpowering fruit – super!

2016 Moulin à Vent Selection Georges Duboeuf
An assembly of multiple purchases.
Here again a rather tighter nose, faintly savoury. Wide, good weight of fresh concentration, spicily complex, almost a little less ripe and herbed in the finish, yet retaining interest…

2016 Moulin à Vent Domaine de Moulin à Vent
Modest width but an interesting, partly herbed depth of aroma. Open, good volume in the mouth, quite layered and a hint saline. Structured but good!

2016 Moulin à Vent Domaine du Pourpre
Width, modest intensity but with a fine perfume. Volume again, less textured concentration – whilst structured there’s really a beautiful mouth perfume here. The most gorgeous flavour of any wine here – but balanced with some structure today – excellent!

2016 Moulin à Vent Domaine de la Vigne Romaine
Work with the Cave de Chénas here
A nose that’s rather oaky. Direct, fresh but the mouth-watering part is sucked up by the oak – not something for me – maybe it’s more balanced in 5 years…

“It’s hard to follow a vintage like 2015” says Franck – speaking of which:

2015 Fleurie Cuvée Prestige
Working with a smaller group of producers, looking for maturity, longer extractions – cuvaisons up to 20 days, barrel elevaged – 16-18 months with new oak. Not made every year 2005, 2009, a little 2011 and now 2015…
Deep colour but not saturated. A little compact but some perfume is here, the wood is well hidden today. Serious, some structure, layers of flavour – good freshness despite the size and weight. There is a little oak but more adding to the complexity than hiding any. Very young but lots of dimension here. Will be super. The finish is excellent!

2015 Morgon Cuvée Prestige
More open more perfumed, more oaked. Fresh, more energetic, a good line, of flavour – more structured but like the nose more oaked too. Wide and chewy finishing flavour. There’s lots here, but wait 3-5 years – at least – because the finish is pure vanilla.

2015 Moulin à Vent Cuvée Prestige
Tighter again, with a faintly reductive toast. A good line of concentrated flavour, but this is a little tight and showing some reduction on the palate too. Modest oak on the modest finish – a wine that’s guarding everything and hopefully waiting its time…