Tasted in Montmelas-Saint-Sorlin with David Large & Celia Rostand, 15 February 2022.
Domaine David Large
Le Clerjon
69640 Montmelas-Saint-Sorlin
Tel: +33 4 74 67 30 95
www.davidlarge.fr
More reports with Domaine David Large
David on 2021:
“Some allocations as have to be 50% less in 2021 – we were twice hailed in our Beaujolais so there was a lot of work in the vines and plenty of triage to do too. We had hail impacts in the wood but pruning hasn’t been too bad. The frost didn’t seem too bad early in the season but the flowering was definitely affected. We had 90% losses on Montmelas – all hail… It didn’t help yields that we are replanting some areas too.”
David on 2020:
“Yields were okay. Bottlings in April 2021 for the Beaujolais and the Vin de France. There was a little frost in Moulin à Vent. The Summer was windy and dry – we stayed vigilant for oïdium, and a strong storm came – not too bad. At the start of August we began our preparations but already around 20 August everything was 12.5-12.8 and we decided not to wait – I think that it was a good choice as the acidities dropped afterwards and the chance of volatiles increased – finishing our harvest 7 September in Moulin à Vent.”
The wines…
This is the best series of reds I ever tasted here and, as much a fan of 2019 as I am, these are better at the same stage of tasting. A great address for 2020 wines!
Only stony clay in Denicé
Plenty of colour. Dark fruit – lots of freshness. Really large-scaled but with fine freshness. A leading-edge of dark, succulent, flavour that slowly fades in the finish – almost a little strawberry flavour in these finishing notes. Bravo!
A Bordeaux-style bottle – Even some blue-stone in this part
More airy width a hint of the lower sulfur regime but highly attractive dark fruit. More direct, more juicy, framed with a little tannin. A wine of sleek energy – very different. Beautifully melting finishing flavour – bravo again!
Vines in the heights of Chénas – 1 ha – 470 m of altitude so avoided the frost of last year. Usually, the parcel to be last harvested. ‘A wine that starts timid but grows with age.’ Bottled in August
Here’s a much tighter nose but sleeker, still dark fruit. Ooh – that’s incisive, very wide, cool fruited freshness. Impressive purity to this flavour. Small, juicy waves of finishing flavour. Ultra-sophisticated and lingering with gorgeous fresh flavour. Easy – bravo!
2020 Côte de Brouilly
Actually from the climat of Côte de Brouilly – but that’s not allowed on the label! All blue-stone here.
More open, wide slowly encompassing nose – again with lots of freshness. Mouth-filling – a little gas – but with airy, delicious, flavours here – some structure but nicely done and open flavoured. Another juicy and delicious wine – it’s excellent, finishing with a very impressively persistent finish…
Old gamay, volcanic rock, some sand, like the Nelson with small black grapes. David’s grandfather and father always vinified these apart, steep here. Old vines that don’t produce much.
A nicely airy width of aroma with a little spiced extra. The depth is impressive though too. Supple, luxurious texture – there’s a generosity here that is countered with lovely mouth-watering style and clarity of flavour. The fruit is dark, almost black, but pure and delicious. That’s another great wine.
The white:
2020 Beaujolais Villages Blanc ‘Dos Argenté’
The ‘silverback.’ ‘I don’t have a tank adapted for white – I chose to protect it by bottling it!’A 500-litre barrel plus some pyramidal tanks – about 50-50.
Ooh – that’s very perfumed – forward nose. Again the right balance between concentration, generosity and cool, mouth-watering, mineral flavour. The oak can be detected but it’s deliciously discrete – only exerting more of grip at the very finish – so give this 12-18 months before attacking your bottles…