Tasted in Blacé with twins Bernard and Jacky (right) Monternot, 06 February 2018.
Domaine Monternot – Les Jumeaux
Les Places 69460 Blacé
Tel: +33 4 74 67 56 48
www.domainemonternot.com
On 2017:
“In 2017 we actually had the opportunity to get bored – at least compared to 2016!
“It seems that we are accumulating good vintages – 2016 is elegant, 2017 is more in the direction of 2015 or 2009. We didn’t make our yield in red but weren’t too far away so we are happy with the volume. But for whites it was a half harvest. Really it was the dryness that was to blame but we didn’t loose out on acidity. Overall they are wines of character, to keep.”
On 2016:
“2016 is a silk robe – it is a year of elegance. Very typical Beaujolais and quite round. The climate is our greatest handicap at the moment but we were very lucky to have avoided both frost and hail – we had lovely grapes – it was a good harvest, not far short of what was allowed – and that’s because there was more rain during the vintage than there was in 2017. Still, not the greatest weather, certainly before the 14th July, it had been cold and wet, but then it completely reversed. It was then nice right until the end of September and the harvest.”
The wines…
Another vintage year of excellent wines with incredible value – thank-you!
There are three different soils at the domaine; one that’s more sandy – where the white and rosé come from – another that’s also sandy with some clay and more stones for the VV, and the third on a more rose-granite for the Fruit et Terroir cuvée.
2016 Beaujolais Villages Rosé
‘A rose of the press we prefer this way as it has its own balance.’
Hmm – a fine width, slowly opening with very pretty pink notes of fruit and flowers – very attractive. Hmm, round, none of the angles that you can find in BJVR, opening wider with mouth-wateringly melting flavour in the middle – just a hint of saline rigour here – wait 6 months, but it’s already pretty delicious!
2016 Beaujolais Villages Fruit et Terroir
Average 40-70 year-old vines.
Deep colour – rather a deep nose too – still with floral accents despite the obvious concentration. The volume is good, slightly cushioned and with fine direction – fresh energy here, again with a mouth-watering, saline edged complexity – really plenty of finishing concentration and persistence. This needs a little time too – but it’s seriously super wine.
Still in tank, no filtration, still on fine lees, to be bottled in a few weeks – ‘Really very old vines – up to 97 years-old, producing only half the allowed yield.’
Deep colour again. A tighter, more concentrated nose of both freshness and depth, though not showing much complexity today. Much more amplitude to the flavour(s) – much more width of flavour too. A very modest texture of ripe tannin and always a freshness of presentation – just a little gas that alters the perception of texture. But really another wine to wait for. What concentration – but there’s direction rather than roundness that you find in the previous wine.
2016 Bourgogne Blanc
All from around the domaine.
Almost a sweet Mirabelle in the fruit aromas. Modest volume, but round, flavour that slowly melts from the centre, like the rosé there’s a hint of rigour in the mid and finishing flavours – I like this slight strictness. Long finishing.
Still selling to happy customers from the domaine – at €5.50! ‘We say that this is a great wine for at least a couple of years.’
Fresh but deep and accented with salinity. Width, attack, depth of flavour, dimension of flavour – intensity – great line and super texture – am I missing anything? For the price this is exceptional, at any price excellent wine!
We suggest 15-20 years for this wine – generally 7 years for the Fruit et Terroirs – but this VV benefits much more.
Practically black wine! But the nose, despite its depth, is modest with very fine accents of spice. Weight, inky depth, a little tannin, really quite some dimension of flavour – wait at least 5 years – great wine!