Tasted with Fanny Courtial in Liergues, 03 March 2023.
Château de l’Eclair
905 rue du Château de l’Eclair – Liergues
69400 Porte des Pierres Dorées
Tel: +33 4 74 02 22 40
www.chateaudeleclair.com
The Château de l’Eclair has nothing to do with cakes – except that the neighbour is a Japanese (French) patisserie school!
This was once the domaine of Victor Valmorel. Also a parliamentarian for the Rhône in the early 1900s, Valmorel was the inventor of the backpack atomisers still much loved for biodynamic treatments today. Originally, he developed his atomiser for treating the vines with ‘Bordeaux Mixture‘ (copper and sulfur) – his ‘backpack’ atomiser was called an eclair – he named his château after it. The chateau, today, is an outpost of Sicarex.
Sicarex is a research group looking into vinifications, and viticulture also with headquarters at the château. They are also responsible for vinifying the harvest of the château’s 20 hectares – planted with gamay, chardonnay, muscat and gamaret.
Fanny Courtial explains, “This remains a commercial domaine, marketing 50,000 bottles of our own production but it’s also a research station linked to others around France, testing different grape varieties, different types of the same grape – multiple gamays for instance – and also researching different styles of viticulture.”
I didn’t taste their whole range but they have 3 different whites – with emphasis on Pierres Dorées, including a muscat and a crémant. There are 4 or 5 different reds, including not just a Chénas from the crus but also some gamaret which sees 12 months barrel elevage – there are also a couple of Primeurs – Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais Villages Nouveau.
Fanny on 2021:
“It was complicated here – with lots and lots of rain – but we still harvested grapes with a good maturity…”
The wines…
I found a little green in (only) the Beaujolais, this is an interesting and well-made range of wines – definitely worth a visit too!
2021 Beaujolais La Reserve
An original parcel that was the ‘reserve’ of Valmorel for his experimentation – though replanted in the last 20 years. All tank elevage, no barrels – about 15 days of maceration with manly destemmed grapes…
Plenty of colour. High-toned – a little green in this complexity but there’s energy too. A generous wine with silky texture. There’s plenty of concentration and depth to this – broad with some finishing bitters. A big wine – and I note the green/gentian is only in the aromas today.
2021 Beaujolais Villages Courtieux
From Rivolet – a hillside parcel – and the last to be harvested each year as the vines are sited at 4-500m of altitude.
A nice breadth of almost textured aroma – there is a perfume here. Rounder than the previous wine but equally silky – layered, concentrated flavour. In the finish too – plenty of extraction but seemingly there are no faults here – this will be better in a year or two as it’s a very young shape today – but I think excellent BJV!
2021 Beaujolais Blanc
This with about 10% elevage in barrel – older 228-litre barrels with one new one per year. 2 parcels – one with clay the other with limestone!
Here is quite an attractive nose – narrow but interesting – no rigour. Round shape – the elevage cushioning the edges/corners of the wine – supple in the middle – a wine of calm rather than energy. That’s a very tasty wine.
2021 Muscat
Vin de France – this had stopped with 20g/l of sugar but restarted on its own – so it’s a double fermentation for this one ‘so the aromas are different’ A very small cuvée – it’s only 500 litres…
Hmm – that’s like an intense sauvignon with its hint of mint. I have to say that it’s pure and very inviting. Mouth-filling, sensuous, and very long. Much as I’m not a fan of sweeter wines – this intrigues me and it is beautifully long too – hmm – this is excellent!