Tasted in Charnay with Jean Paul Brun, 14 February 2020.
Domaine des Terres Dorées
565 route d’Alix
69380 Charnay-en-Beaujolais
Tel: +33 4 78 47 93 45
www.terresdorees.fr (not yet online)
More reports for Domaine des Terres Dorées
Jean Paul on 2019:
“We had frost then quite a lot of rain so the flowering wasn’t great. We passed near to the hail. But we had 35 hl/ha with a good maturity – so 20% down roughly. Fermenations went quite well, and the acidities were good.”
Jean Paul on 2018:
“We harvested early after a warm summer – super volume and quality together. There’s a nice balance, more traditional Beaujolais – I think the vintage has a good typicité.”
The wines…
I’m sorry to have missed these wines in the last couple of years – a producer with a style of wines that I really appreciate – and with plenty of great cuvées in 2018.
Starting with a mix of vintages before the 2018s:
Make this in the good vintages, from vines of 60-65 years. Name of lieu-dit.
Round, warm, ripe red fruit – a sweet invitation. Nice energy here a vibration, very easy, but deliciously fresh red fruit – redcurrant style. Delicious finishing with a hint of structure! Bravo Beaujolais
2017 Fleurie Grille Midi
Also a more modest colour but with a forward and inviting nose of more profound red fruit. A touch more structure here – not quite strict – ‘correct’ – but mouth-watering and with a lovely, again delicious finish – so juicy. This you can keep – excellent or better for sure
A majority of young vines are here. ‘A wine for the fruit’ all-natural yeast, some pigeage.
Slightly more colour. A tighter nose – cherry-stone impression. Fuller, more silken textured – more mouth-filling wine. Young vines or not that’s super quality Beaujolais for the fruit – bravo!
2018 Beaujolais l’Anciene (not Le Bussey)
Vines of about 70 years old – the old vines cuvée.
A much wider nose, less overtly deep very red-fruited again. Vibrant, energetic red fruit – so much energy. Long. Excellent again, once more perhaps better. So good!
2018 Côte de Brouilly
Here facing the rising sun.
Darker in colour. A nose of depth but tighter than the previous wines. More serious of structure but open and pure – lovely freshness and energy gain. Very faintly saline in the finish. Lots of volume, excellent wine!
On the hill towards le Bourg not far from the cemetery.
Ooh, a nose of finesse – wide, nicely complex and inviting fruit. Nice drive here – a direct wine yet still with good width. Energy and intensity, here’s a little more finishing salinity. That’s excellent again with a finish that’s great!
2018 Fleurie
Had the vines about 10 years – it’s a hot area. A little more than 5 ha, here with an age of about 40 years.
A little more compact again, but here there’s still a width of red fruit. Fresh, nice attack, nothing sharp but still a wine of definition and again fresh intensity. No surprise – excellent! The red fruit holding very well in the finish.
2018 Fleurie Les Garants
First vintage. South-facing hillside.
Here the nose has a little more volume – classically red-fruited for here. Starting with modest impact but opening until it fills the mouth. Concentrated red fruit can be seen amongst the fine-grained tannin in the middle – never any astringency. Excellent finish – it’s really super here!
2018 Morgon
2.5 ha in Bellevue.
This is more spicy, perhaps a more graphite-mineral aroma impression. Fuller, here is density, mouth-filling concentration and darker fruit – like a different producer! Layered finishing – the terroir is strong with this one…
Foot of the hill, fourth vintage.
Faintly spiced, narrower but deep and high-toned – a vertical nose. More direct, a wine of drive, of concentration but cool fruit. Here is a wine to wait for – modestly with salt and pepper spice. A wine of presence! Bravo!
2018 Moulin-a-Vent
Tour du Bief in Chénas – 6 hectares – about 50 year-old vines
A wide nose, less deep than Javernières – nicely complex and becoming floral. Really plenty of complexity here, plenty of über-fine tannin too. A modest salinity – a moreish wine but without sweetness. Holds a long, great finish…
A contract here.
A compact nose again but still of freshness and not bad complexity. Open of clarity, but structure too. The mouth-watering red-fruit flavour becoming ever-more juicy as you head into the finish. This needs time but I think it will be great – almost an extra floral note in this finish.
The nose has clarity, structure and florals – nice. Extra width, a little more vibrant, here is more concentration than density, but with well-judged balance. Full, complex and mobile. Very floral finishing. This needs time to open but another great MaV from JP!
2018 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
From 3 ha here in Pierres Dorées
A different style – open, wide, faintly smoky, depth of red fruit. Mouth-filling but open and complex. The shape is different, the style of the tannins too – but there is still the house style of red fruit, mouth-watering in moreish style.
Les Blancs
Fewer whites here in terms of cuvées, but it’s an important volume for the domaine – more than 25% of the volume. ‘We prune Guyot so 8-9 buds, that’s quite modest:‘
2018 Beaujolais Chardonnay Classic
A bright and forward fruit, ripe but not overly exotic. Lovely drive and vibrant acidity here – no rigour but certainly mineral. A salinity to finish too. Excellent and showing a very sneaky length.
2018 Beaujolais Blanc
Here with some barrel elevage – ‘it brings something of more depth and character.’
Round, faintly oaked. Mouth-filling, plenty of energy, round in the mouth too, not too much oak – but it’s present – a tasty if oak-inflected finish. Long. Good wine…
Cremant – Charmes
All chardonnay, 24 months sur-latte – this is from 2017 – 5g dosage.
A nose of depth, golden fruit. Very fresh a little apricot fruit, not sweet, long and this is very, very tasty – I like a lot!
Rosé. 100% gamay, ‘methode ancestrale’ vinification in tank. 30-35g sucre, no malo.
Sparkling Rosé. That’s a super-inviting nose a – a bouquet of fruit and flowers – yes! Unfortunately for my palate, this is much too sweet, but it plays beautifully over the palate. And is long too – Great but not a wine for me.