Tasted in Juliénas with Sylvain Tête, 17 February 2022.
Michel & Sylvain Tête
“Les Gonnards”
69840 Juliénas
Tel: +33 4 74 04 41 62
www.micheltete.com
More reports with Domaine Michel & Sylvain Tête
Sylvain on 2021:
“21, for us, wasn’t bad. We have mainly mid-slope vines and we didn’t really have many problems with frost – the lower slopes yes – but I’m happy with the volume. I thought the wines a little green when first moved to tank but now they seem much more fruity and pleasant.”
Sylvain on 2020:
“Really happy – we also didn’t lose much despite the dryness – the soils here support that. All the 20s are now bottled – between June and December – the latter for some second bottlings.”
The wines…
Very good to excellent wines chez Tête in 2020
2020 Beaujolais Villages La Roche
From the sector of Julié – there’s 5 hectares of this from the domaine’s total of 17 ha.
That’s a welcoming nose – a big hug. Supple, nice mouth-filling shape – some sweetness of fruit but still a tiny austerity of structure – you could wait another 6-12 months before drinking – no problem.
2020 Juliénas Clos de la Fief
3ha lieu-dit here.
Deep with a small reduction but in just few moments, more airy and starting to show flowers. Supple, more concentration but with a fine energy and mouth-watering line. That’s just very finely assembled and delicious. Very good.
2020 Chénas Grand Gandelins
Here there’s more granite
Directly a more airy nose – red fruit and energy. More open and vibrant – structured but never hard – that’s super. It needs to lose a small reduction but this is also very good – it finishes with vibrancy too.
2020 Moulin à Vent Les Dechanes
High up on a modest depth of sandy soil then it’s the rock. ‘It doesn’t like the dry as much up here!’
Ooh – now that’s a nose, vibrantly complex and fresh – it’s great. Wide, there’s plenty of concentration here despite the altitude. Supple, concentrated, a little redder but also much more complex fruit – floral accented in the finish too. That’s got the potential to be excellent…
2020 St.Amour Les Captains
1 ha of this the soils a bit more like Juliénas here but plain south facing.
That’s a nicely wide, sophisticated, slightly floral nose. Ooh- there’s concentration here – highlighted with a little salinity – depth of flavour too – I’d be waiting 2 years to start my journey with this wine – I think 3-5 will be all the better. I think excellent – but give it time…