Tasted in Lucenay with Sylvain Flache, 20 February 2024.
Vignerons des Pierres Dorées
Shop – Place de Presberg
69620 Oingt
Tel: +33 4 74 71 62 81
Producer Instagram
www.vignerons-pierres-dorees.fr
There are 120 members of this coop but it’s quite a small proportion of those who sell only to the coop…
Sylvain on 2023 and 2022:
“At the Cave Pierres Dorées, the last time we had a decent volume was 2018! 2022 and 2023 were really quite dry vintages for us so had modest volumes. We had to wait longer for the whites in 22 – we always do the whites before reds but it was hardly the case in 22 as they were quite concentrated due to the dryness – and complicated to vinify.”
The wines…
It’s a range of very good wines – I found some of the ‘simple’ Beaujolais to be completely excellent!
We tasted some wines with barrel elevage over lunch together and then 5 further bottles I tasted (notes appended) a few days later at home. The following all bottled in the last 2 weeks – they like a longer elevage here:
2022 Beaujolais Corne d’Ammon
Ammon – the ammonite fossils in the vineyards – barrel aged.
Deep colour – the nose with a textured depth of darker fruit. Nice shape in the mouth – open and fluid the barrel is present but not excessive – depth of flavour. Holding well depth of flavour here – that’s a really attractive wine.
2022 Beaujolais Les Collines Altières
Not made every year – 70 year-old vines. 2019 is the current commercial vntage – elevage in 600-l demi-muids.
The oak is a little more visible in the aromas. In the mouth, this is direct, concentrated and with quite a vibrant energy. The oak in the finish also apparent – I’d be waiting about 3 years for it to fade – which seems to fit well in their commercialisation strategy. The finish broad and delicious with the creamy accents of the barrels.
2022 Beaujolais Château Laforest
Argilo-limoneux, deep soils. Also more than a year of demi-muids elevage.
A more modest quite airy nose. Good scale in the mouth and a silky start becoming more velvet. The finish shows a little barrel but it’s quite modest.
Les whites:
2022 Beaujolais La Rose Blanche
Cement tank elevage.
A pretty freshness here – not an extra ripe nose. Supple, wide, easy over the palate – actually with a nice salty tang to the finish. A very good Beaujolais Blanc
2022 Beaujolais Pierres Dorees Blanc Rostre Bélemnite
A more sombre width of aroma but with hints of interesting complexity. Hmm – this is complex and has some fresh energy. It’s obviously from the oak but there’s a very attractive creamy lime finish – a very attractive finish.
Tasted at home:
Today for me, I’d take the Gneiss or particularly the Pierre Bleu – these are very successful wines in 2022.
2022 Beaujolais Gneiss
This an organic wine
Dark fruit, airy and perfumed. Good volume in the mouth with a depth of flavour. Juicy – fine, very faintly creamy – a little barrel – slowly fading. That’s a super BJ with great texture and the lightest of bitters in the finish!
2022 Beaujolais Gravette
Less colour. Much more forward and open – red fruited nose – less concentrated. Larger scale in the mouth – airy and juicy in style – much less concentrated but with a lovely mobile complexity – the tannin is a little more visible as are the finishing bitters. Also super but very different in style.
2022 Beaujolais Schiste
More colour again but not to the depth of the Gneiss. A wider, warmer spiced nose. In the mouth too, it’s round, supple and generous. There is some creamy oak in the background flavours again. Easy and crowd-pleasing but not special wine.
2022 Beaujolais Pierre Bleu
More colour again. Depth of aroma and for the first time some quite floral perfume. More direct, sweeping and fresh – very faintly tannic but without grain. Wide, young but delicious – this is simply excellent. Lovely wine.
2022 Beaujolais VV La Rose Pourpre
Plenty of colour. Good scale and freshness – it’s also got a fine floral accent – that’s a fine invitation. More concentrated, supple, velvet texture. Dark fruit – broader, that’s a super wine.