Tasted in Fleurie with Cédric Chignard, 10 February 2022.
Domaine Chignard
Le Point du Jour
69820 Fleurie
Tel: +33 4 74 04 11 87
www.domaine-chignard.fr
A family domaine at Point du Jour – an area that sits below Grégoire Hoppenot’s domaine but above the domaine of Alain Coudert of Clos Roilette. Here are views in all directions to the other crus of Beaujolais. This is a 10-hectare domaine but with vines that are all near the house – essentially Fleurie with much in Moriers – though there’s some Juliénas and a Beaujolais-Julié too.
Manually harvested with a semi-carbonic fermentation, the main market for the wines from here is the US.
Cédric on his recent vintages:
“Yes, we saw some frost here in 2021 and so the volumes are quite low. 2020 was easier for sure but we have vines that average over 60-years-old so we still don’t have very high yields.”
The wines…
My first visit – clearly some great wines – a quality cellar…
2020 Beaujolais-Julié
Bottled about 4-5 months – vines with altitude and a soil with lots of blue-stone.
Wide and fresh, pretty red fruit here. Ooh, that’s very silky, direct too with a little supporting structure and nicely melting fresh flavour. There’s a little extra floral finishing interest too. That’s an excellent BJV with a faintly creamy finish but there’s no wood here just concrete tank elevage!
More colour. A broader nose, more complex and airy – floral, gentian. Mouth-filling. Modestly tannic but with no grain – growing in intensity – super width with a mm of cushioning and a texture of velour. Red fruit and lots of finishing perfume. That’s a super wine – I’d let it rest in the cellar to lessen the tannin a little but that’s potentially a great Julaiennas.
2020 Fleurie Les Moriers
Largest cuvée of the domaine – 7 hectares worth – old photos (1920s) show the Clos de Morriers cru ‘belonging’ to MaV
A broad and impressive nose – really very much complexity here – floral and spiced. An extra width on the palate – like the nose – a wine with a core of concentration that slowly melts over the palate. Extra finishing sucrosoty – again flavours of complexity – this is beautifully balanced but quite contemplative finishing – possibly more because of the extra things to find in the finish than any lack of energy – the very last impression a little more mineral. Simply excellent wine.
Open, airy, floral. More incisive – direct, ultra-silky. I love the cool fruit here. Really a gorgeous mouth-watering finish. More frank – you might even say strict. That’s a great wine!
2020 Fleurie Les Moriers
A more composed width of aroma with a really silky impression – floral too. Super in the mouth – a wine that welcomes you with open arms and hugs the palate. The tannin is visible but completely ripe – micro-grained and with no particular dryness. Contemplative finishing like the 2020 but again because of all the things that you are finding. Again, simply excellent wine!