Tasted in Oingt with Quentin Morel, 23 February 2024.
Domaine des Prévelières
Quentin & Gaëtan Morel
986 route du Layet du Bas
69620 Val D’Oingt
Tel: +33 6 89 40 85 33
Domaine Instagram
www.domainedesprevelieres.com
More reports with Domaine des Prévelières
Quentin on 2023:
“40-45 hl/ha – it’s what we aim for. Of course, the last harvested are going to be richer than those at the start but, overall, very nice – though it’s my first vintage with some slow fermentations – since 2012 – fortunately without higher volatiles but far from easy – so I didn’t hesitate to add a gram of sulfur to some of the difficult cuvées.”
Quentin on 2022:
“By comparison an easy vintage – a little structure but a good freshness too that makes for tasty wines – and they were very easy to vinify, there was almost nothing to do – just a remontage or two but effectively I had no interventions. We have done a small bottling for primeurs (Nouveau) – about 15% of what we produce. Afterwards came an early first bottling as we had no stock after the small 21 vintage.”
The wines…
Still one of the best addresses in the Pierres Dorées!
2023(!) Beaujolais Pierres Dorees, Grain d’Argile
An early (assembly of parcels – 6 or 7 from 4+ hectares) bottling in January with the rosé done at the same time.
A larger nose – round and a little cushioned – but no oak is used here – still a little creamy. Large scale in the mouth too – delicious red fruit – extra energy and just a small support of grainy tannin. The finish is a very good one – some (small-)grain of tannin. Very tasty wine!
2023(!) Beaujolais Pierres Dorees, Vignes Brun
About 40% destemmed. 90% tank elevage with some 500-litre large-format barrels too. Bottled at the same time.
Breadth and a fine depth of darker-red fruit. Hmm – wider, silkier, more intense. A little more structure and some stony fruit in this finishing flavour. I would drink the previous before this – wait 1-2 years.
2022 Beaujolais Pierres Dorees Mont Joli
Practically the only place here in the Pierres Dorées that has granite, plus wind from all directions – very meagre soil that can dry out quickly. 13 months of elevage. 70% old demi-muids for elevage the rest in tank.
Hmm – that’s a very attractive width – slightly textured, pure dark fruit – yes! Extra sweetness and concentration – here the texture is more velour as the still almost grainless tannin asserts itself. Really creamy in this finish. Wait a year or two!
2022 Beaujolais Pierres Dorees Rongefert
From a very stony, volcanic, hillside with white limestone.
Darkly fruited with freshness. Large in the mouth – and much more visible structure. All is framed with plenty of tannin but there’s hardly any grain here. Open, fresh but what a baby! I’d wait for as much as 3 years before starting to drink…
About 15 year-old vines.
Very dark colour. The nose, blind, I would describe as a lovely gamay – of freshness and perhaps a bit more elevated floral perfume. Hmm, in the mouth this is more direct and much more perfumed than your average gamay – high-toned too. In the finish it’s juicy with dark fruit and lots of higher-toned perfume – here I wouldn’t guess gamay – but I’d be near the front of the queue for a second glass!
2023(!) Beaujolais Gamay Rosé
‘We try to make our rosé from very ripe fruit – then directly pressed and vinified like a white.’
That’s a lovely width of soft fruit – not overtly red fruit. Supple, generous, almost rich but with a nice intensity and mouth-watering style in the finish – a little sweet at the end for me but very easy to drink.
And Les Whites:
2022(!) Beaujolais Pierres Dorees Blanc Les Pierres Dorees
Vinified for its freshness and its aromatic – to drink fresh and young. Only tank elevage for the first bottling – maybe 10% barrel for the second. These vines (and the next) only on limestone – except the domaine’s Viognier!
A clean, smaller nose – but what an attractive nose! Mouth-filling, a little structural but with enough juicy and attractive flavour to balance out the mineral rigour. The finish is a very good one.
2022 Beaujolais Pierres Dorees Blanc Les Carrières
A ‘small’ parcel near the house – 1 ha surrounded by acacia woods, below is the limestone of the Pierres Dorées – stone quarries are hidden in the woods that surround the vines – hardly ever more than 30 cm of soil before the bedrock.
A rounder and more generous nose – there is some depth of flesh here. Large in scale, very silky, supple and concentrated but with fine balance. The barrel announces itself from the middle and into the finishing flavours. But never harsh or too forward. I’d still wait 1-2 years to let it fade further into the background – currently, the finish is very long and even has a small caramel touch too – there’s a flourish to this finish!