Tasted with Jean de Rotalier in Salles-Arbuissonnas-en-Beaujolais, 27 February 2024.
Domaine L’Arbuissonnière
75 Chemin des Vignerons,
69460 Salles-Arbuissonnas-en-Beaujolais
Tel: +33 6 83 31 38 60
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www.larbuissonniere.com
More Reports with L’Arbuissonnière
Jean’s first vintage was 2020 – before that he was a seller of wine not a maker of wine – with his own wine bar in Paris.
Jean studied in Beaune and worked for a couple of years with the Lafarge-Vial team here in Beaujolais before finding his new home – here in Salles-Arbuissonnas-en-Beaujolais. ‘Here’ currently has 3.5 hectares of vines; 1.5 in Beaujolais-Villages and one hectare in Brouilly – in 2023 there was a Nouveau too and Jean also bought some grapes to make a couple of barrels of white.
Jean on 2022:
“I harvested a bit early – I wouldn’t really call it an easy vintage – I started 20th August – 12.5°. It was a dry vintage and definitely easier than 2021 – and a hot year too. I was early because I think I harvested a bit late in my first vintage of the 2020s – not bad wines but not quite the style I was looking for. I vinify with ‘traditional’ 100% whole clusters doing a remontage each day.”
The wines…
For my first visit some beautiful wines – well done!
2022 Beaujolais-Villages
Grapes from 30-60 year-old vines with a 8-10 maceration – a bit of sulfur after malo – and again before bottling.
Lovely depth to this nose – such a comforting, slightly round darker fruit – a great invitation! Mouth-filling with nice energy, just a faint, almost saline rub of tannin. Generous, not fat – generously flavoured – Lovely wine.
2022 Beaujolais-Villages Sous Le Chemin
I separated this from that last because the taste was different from this parcel – I think the granite is more visible in these flavours. The vines were a bit older too – 50+ years-old. Bottled, but later than the last in June.
A slightly narrower but deeper nose. Fuller, rounder – a bit more concentration too. Redder almost Fleurie-style to this fruit and great width of flavour. There’s a small grain of tannin – but here is excellent BJV!
2022 Brouilly Pisse Vieille
Took a fermage in 2021 – old vines of 60. A year of elevagege in a Stockinger foudre.
A hint extra colour – a bit more purple too. Hmm – all of these have a lovely breadth of aroma – this with a darker fruit. A slight CO2 and an equally slight grain of tannin but a wine of mouth-watering, almost juicy direction and in the flavours, again redder fruit. An almost chewy, finishing intensity, perfumed too. A beauty.