Bien Boire en Beaujolais 2019 afforded me to the opportunity of finding a few (relatively) new names – here are 10 of them. Where possible I mainly tasted their 2017s. The domaines were not all from Beaujolais – truth be told, there’s some very nice Mâconnais domaines too! Plus I had the chance to enjoy a large table of magnums – this time, all from Beaujolais.
Enjoy:
Domaine de la Voute des Crozes –
Nicole Chanrion
80 Grande Rue
69220 Cercié
Tel: +33 6 71 53 45 87
A 7 hectare family domaine, that has been, for many years, Terravitis certified.
2017 Côte de Brouilly
Hmm, a nice mix of perfume and fruit. Mouth-filling, fresh, lots of energy and good flavour – very tasty wine. A lovely finish… yum
2017 Côte de Brouilly Empreinte
A cuvée made from older vines; Open, fresher, if less deep aroma – attractive and quite different. A different texture too, more depth – like the nose – more open too. To wait a little more, but really delicious – growing in both depth and weight.
Domaine Grégoire Hoppenot
Les Roches
69820 Fleurie
Tel: +33 7 85 60 02 01
www.domainehoppenot.com
A new domaine – 2018 the first vintage. You may recollect Greg’s name – he was one of the senior team at Trenel but has since decided to concentrate on his own, new, domaine.
He’s converting the vineyard work to organic, and already has an impressive 10 hectares of vines, mainly in fermage.
The wines were bottled last week, oh, and I love his labels! Grég says of his winemaking “All whole cluster, 12-15 day cuvaison and I stop when it tastes right – but fermentations never go above 30 degrees”
2018 Fleurie ‘Origine’
Mainly young vines between 3-6 years of age from Roche and Garants.
A lovely floral nose. Fresh, good texture, direct, open, easy – not ultra deep but very delicious. Faintly saline with good finishing weight. Delicious.
2018 Morgon Corcelettes
There’s 0.70 hectares of Corcelettes close to Bellevue – the only bought parcel – ‘steep and stony.’
Floral, faint pyrazine aroma. Beautiful texture and more depth on the palate. Fuller but still beautiful, the form and finish are really excellent.
From the bottom of Poncie
Also a faint touch of pyrazine but also a more overtly fliral presence here. Fresh, a wine of direction and minerality. Fine energy too – far less generous today than the last two wines but it has muscle and great finishing flavour. Really great here.
2018 Fleurie Les Moriers
Vinified like all the rest – 3 hectares of vines that look towards Moulin à Vent, Grég sold the grapes from the top and the bottom part of vineyard, but kept the middle part to make this.
A silky, floral, nose. Fuller, more mouth-filling, structured but still a very fine texture, great finishing again.
Domaine Gilles Copéret
69430 Régnié-Durette
Tel: +33 4 74 04 38 08
www.domainegillescoperet.fr
This is a domaine that’s based in Régnié, but one that happens to have a lot of Fleurie – okay, like most domaines, not much Fleurie in 2017! Giles works 7 hectares, 4.5 of-which is Fleurie.
2018 Fleurie Madone
An early bottling as there’s nothing to sell.
A nice depth and floral note to the aromas. Wide, concentrated, layered wine. Lots of flavour depth here. Intense finishing too – this has a great finish.
2018 Brouilly Saburin
Bought grapes for this cuvée. Bottled two weeks…
Great colour – very floral, tending towards pyrazine. Full, beautifully textured again – super depth of flavour – round presentation. Vibrantly finishing.
2017 Régnié Le Chasty
This next to the domaine
Hmm – so sweet and ripe – cassis style – fresh attack, really an attack but so ripe and mouth-watering. Waves of finishing flavour – wow – but wait five years.
Two more days of cuvaison here
A little more mineral and floral – not the overt cassis of the last. Hmm – fresh – wide – mouth-filling. Layered, complex. Ooh, much more my style – bravo – super texture. Lots of finishing structure but to wait for…
From Charmes and Cras so no label indication
Wide, fresh, complex – very attractive. More freshness, more energy – complex, structured – the Corton of Beaujolais, no doubt, great finishing too. Bravo…
A Régnié on clay-limstone from 70 year-old vines with one year of barrel elevage – not made every year. ‘Looking to make the wine more supple with the barrels.’
Floral, some barrique – it’s a relatively high-toned nose. Ooh, great texture, fine freshness, great concentration – there’s barrel here that’s not to my taste – in wine – but this remains delicious. Bravo, good finishing energy too. Wait 5 years also or (probably) as long as you wish!
Domaine Cyril Coperet
560 Rue des 4 Vents
La Madone
69820 Fleurie
Tel: +33 4 74 07 58 69
Facebook
Of-course with a distant relationship to Giles Coperet. Cyril is the next in line from 7 generations of family vignerons, and has been at the domaine for nine years now. He exploits 16 hectares of Fleurie with his father, Bruno. There are also 2 hectares of Moulin à Vent and 2 hectares of Beaujolais Villages that include both whites and rosés too.
2017 Fleurie Champagne
120 year-old vines, all harvested by hand
Fresh, open floral aromas with something faintly herby too. Supple, open, an elegant wine, layered, long. Good.
2017 Fleurie La Madone
Hmm – more depth and more interest to this nose – it’s the same in the mouth – more profound, fuller, velvetty texture. Very good.
2017 Fleurie – Domaine de Roche-Guillon
The domaine with Cyril’s father’s name – Bruno Coperet
Modest colour. Airy freshness – faint herb. Nice line, layers of good flavour – a fresh wine, interesting, really quite tasty
2017 Moulin à Vent – Domaine de Roche-Guillon
More colour. More forward fruit aroma. A little more padding, a little more tannin texture but all ripe, all controlled – like velvet. Good.
Domaine Guillaume et Pierre Durdilly – Domaine de Gryphées
2 route de Montgelin
Le Bois d’Oingt
69620 Val d’Oingt
Tel: +33 4 74 72 49 93
Tasted with Guillaume and Pierre. Quite a large domaine with 30 hectares of vines, producing wine from two sites in south and north of Beaujolais, with 2 labels.
2018 Domaine de Gryphées, Beaujolais
Bottled December
Quite forward, very fruity – attractive BJ nose. Fresh, nice drive, supple, concentrated – delicious!
3 weeks in bottle, foudre elevage.
Fresh, a floral nose. Open, fine concentration, good layered flavour. Given that this has wood elevage – bravo – not a trace. Delicious finish again
2018 Domaine de Gryphées Julienas
A single parcel again. Les Boucherats
A lovely nose, depth, dimension and it’s very attractive. More width, more structure, but also more mouth-watering. A faint tannin, but this is lovely wine – excellent!
2017 Chénas
A different label – Les Grandes Rouvres, named after the old oaks of the hillside of Chénas
A little floral, less directly attractive. Drive, freshness, plenty of energy, mouth-watering, very tasty wine – the texture is perfect, the flavours good, the aroma modest.
2017 Moulin à Vent
Also a more modest nose. Fresh, good drive and energy, plenty of weight, complexity too. A wine, possibly to wait for, the overall impression is of plenty of material but lacking a little charm, yet the finish is complex and interesting.
2017 Morgon
First vintage, on schist
Another tight nose. Nice structure here – open, complex, plenty of energy, but like the other crus with this label, not the same interest as the first wines.
Domaine de la Rocottière
22 impasse du Ricottier
69640 Cogny
Tel: +33 4 74 67 41 19
Since 2013, Maxime Troncy has been working with his parents at this family domaine based in the Pierres Dorées – but they have some crus too.
2017 Beaujolais Sourire en Vin
Traditional elevage, says Maxime.
A little mildest of aromas. Hmm – nice in the mouth though – fine structure, young, many dimensions – great and still to wait for – or carafe!
2016 Beaujolais Origine Oppidum
From Pierres Dorées, barrel elevage for 8 months.
Wide, fresh, but oaky. Lovely freshness, weight and texture – fine energy. Really fine finishing. Thus is excellent!
2016 Chénas Les Brureaux
80-100 year-old vines.
A tight nose but fine. Fresh, open, fine energy again. Love the openness here – really a very nice mouth-watering impression in the finish. Yum!
2017 Chénas Les Brureaux
Two weeks in bottle.
A similar nose – quite tight. Lots of mouth-filling volume – more energy here. Still, this is a very young wine, one to wait for – definitely needs a carafe. Good wine.
2016 Moulin à Vent Chassignol
12 months in barrel for this.
Fresh, a little floral, still quite tight. Fresh, with good drive to the flavour, lots of attractive tiny complexities, no obvious barrel notes. Quite good.
2017 Moulin à Vent
Lots of colour, also just a couple of weeks in bottle. A tight nose. Bigger, more weight, the structure is overt but controlled. Really a fine finishing complexity – of-course to wait for, again.
Domaine Cheveau
Route des Concizes
71960 Solutré-Pouilly
Tel: +33 6 83 77 07 25
www.vins-cheveau.com
Actually a domaine in Pouilly-Fuissé – ‘in the Hameau de Pouilly.’ They produce 2/3rds white wine from their 20 hectares of vines – “Yes we’ve some frost damage in 2019, more in the whites” – but they also have some St.Amour:
500 litre barrels, no sulfur during elevage – just at bottling, after (a rare) 12 months elevage
Plenty of colour – a nice saline edge too. Supple, concentrated, silky – ooh that’s super almost chocolate – bravo!
Les blancs:
2017 Mâcon-Fuissé Les Grands Bruyères
Round some aromatic interest here – citrus skin. Hmm, this has a little rigour of minerality but it opens with delicious energy and green citrus fruit. Its very good.
2017 Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles-Vignes
Vines older than 50 yo, elevage in 500 l barrels, at least a dozen parcels assembled here.
Plenty of energy, less volume but more inviting. The oak is a little forward today but there’s both concentration and energy, good texture too. Long, mineral and with a good sweetness.
2016 Pouilly-Fuissé Vers Cras
22 months elevage! 12 in barrel the rest in tank. 1er cru level vines.
More sweetness, great depth of aroma – mineral, complex, good energy, young wine. Some oak but quite modest. Not a modest finish though – long and delicious with a faint phenolic touch to the finishing texture. Simply excellent!
Domaine Château de Rougeon
Rougeon
71390 Bissey-sous-Cruchaud
Tel: +33 3 85 92 02 54
www.chateauderougeon.com
An old domaine, for over 200 years in the Bouchard family, a little out of place in this tasting as it’s sited in the heart of the Côte Chalonnaise.
2017 Aligote
Vines all on granite.
A nice freshness but a mineral rigour below. Good volume and fine texture, good energy, with that granitic rigour below.
2016 Aligoté
Fuller, wider, less rigour, almost a little creamy aspect. This has both energy and the rigour – it’s still here – though it’s a little softer. Good, bright and complex, finishing.
2011 Chardonnay
A width of aroma, with faintly reductive, struck match aroma. Fresh, of drive and energy, long, reductive, refreshing and long. Impressive stuff!
Domaine Robert Perroud
Les Balloquets
69460 Odenas
Tel: +33 6 15 12 28 42
www.robert-perroud.com
Robert is a 7th generation vigneron, based in Brouilly – “I live at the foot of the Mont Brouilly. I aim to spend all my time in the vines so that I can start with the best grapes!”
2017 Côte de Brouilly Foudre 5
3 different lieu dits assembled in this cuvée
A modest nose that mixes good fruit and a little structure. Supple, concentrated, nice layers. Covered structure – tasty, very fine wine.
2017 Brouilly Enfer de Baloquets
Robert’s biggest cuvée – a blend of parcels
This nose has a little more impact if a little less clarity. Supple, nice drive to this flavour – concentrated with super texture, slightly spiced. Excellent!
2017 Brouilly En Saburin – Pollen
12 months elevage in old barrels, bottled only 2 weeks.
A little more colour. A compact nose, faintly herbed. Round, lots of volume, fine texture again, complex. Juicy yet dry from the structure at the same time.
2016 Côte de Brouilly La Fournaise du Perou
A little less colour. Another nose thats rather modest in weight. Great texture, width and depth of flavour. Complex, herby but exciting in the finish. Yum!
2016 Brouilly En Saburin – Romain
Another nose that needs plenty of swirling to fill the glass. Good volume and energy, some salinity, faint pyrazine in the flavour.
Domaine JA Ferret
61 rue du Plan
71960 Fuissé
Tel: +33 3 85 35 61 56
www.domaine-ferret.com
Established by the Ferret family in the mid-1800s, this is an import property from the Mâconnais, today in the hands of Louis Jadot.
2017 Pouilly-Fuissé
An airy nose, but with a suggestion of depth – almost aniseed. Wide on the palate, complex, oaked but not obviously so – more spice. The elevage uses about half old barrels.
2017 Pouilly-Fuissé Autour de la Roche
12 parcels, part oak, part cement, part tank elevage.
Much more floral freshness – such a fine invitation. Full, good depth, layers of flavour, intense, a touch of rigour – carafe or wait two years. Delicious finishing already though.
2017 Pouilly-Fuissé Clos des Pruges
A very subtle touch of oak in a more floral aromatic freshness. The oak is more present on the palate – but this is wine of complexity and energy. Vibrant finishing – yes!
2017 Pouilly-Fuissé Les Perrières
Again the first impression is the oak, the second the open, freshness. The palate is the reverse – full of energy and complexity slowly showing a little barrel – open impressive – excellent wine!
More than a touch of oak. More mineral, more energy, not a wine of rigour though certainly one of structure. Complex – wow wine!
Magnums…
You rarely get to see good Beaujolais in magnums – so here’s 28 of them! All assembled on one, creaking, table at Bien Boire en Beaujolais 2019 – 08 April in the Château Pizay.
Enjoy:
2015 Château Ravatys, Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Louis Pasteur
A complex nose, already a suggestion of development. Sweeping fresh lines, concentrated but still with drive. Long, with graphite in the finish. I like!
A vibrant but ripe-fruited nose. Depth of flavour, concentration – so much youth, long, layered, this will be great and you don’t often get to say that about 2017 Fleurie!
2016 Richard Rottiers, Moulin à Vent ‘Foudres’
Another hail-swept vintage here.
Lighter much more floral aroma. Good volume, plenty of energy, open and tasty, indeed delicious flavour – light for the label – but not for the vintage difficulties here.
2013 Pirolette, St.Amour
Another wine with an attractive width of complex, relatively developed aroma. More grab from the tannin, less interesting flavour, despite some ripe fruit aspects, far from the class of today’s wines at the domaine…
2015 Julien Duport, Côte de Brouilly La Boucheratte
Good weight and quite a floral nose. Full, some structure but there’s enough softness to this ample concentration. Mouth-watering through plenty of tannin. Very good, but most certainly to wait for!
2014 Steeve Charvet, Chiroubles
A rather intense floral aroma almost coupled to a petrol note – but not unattractive! Great shape, texture and energy in the mouth. This could do with a bit more flavour and a bit less aromatic intensity, but it’s still very good!
2009 Ruet, Brouilly Vieilles-Vignes
A subtle complexity, a development of aroma – leafy, sweet and inviting. Full, sweet, complex, still structured – still a baby but beginning to add the complexity and marsala-inflected flavour of age. I like!
2016 Ruet, Morgon l’Eveque
New (better!) label design.
Intense fruit, ripe and liquoreaux. Wide, complex, structured and fresh, but with fine texture. Initially lacking a bit of flavour interest, despite the sweeping lines, until the finish – here it’s lovely. A wine that needs to open a little more before drinking.
2015 de la Madone, Fleurie Madone Vieilles-Vignes
Hmm – a nice mix of development and fruit and another suggesting a little petrol. Wide, concentrated, structured, young wine. Lacking some charm today, but still a super wine – long too – patience!
A nicely open nose – suggesting faint development. Mouth-filling, layered concentration, a faint touch of tannin – great bjv!
2015 Baron de l’Ecluse, Côte de Brouilly Les Garances
Hmm, that’s a fine width of complex-fruited aroma, not so deep but lovely. Mouth-filling concentration, plenty of energy and intensity too. Impressive yet lacking detail. Tasty wine all the same.
2015 Baron de l’Ecluse, Côte de Brouilly l’Ecluse
Not much depth but here’s an attractive width to this aroma. Mouth-filling, a little more evident structure, a little less overt concentration but this is more open and interesting.
Ooh – that’s a super nose – not the biggest, but such a silky blend of sweet leaf and fruit – bravo! Supple, concentrated, waves of flavour with mouth-watering freshness – still tight from the mid-palate – but this wine more than suggests greatness! Wine of the tasting!
2011 Labruyère, Moulin à Vent Le Clos
Complex, silky – like the last – except there is still some oak on display here. Mouth-filling, faint tannin, long, mineral some vibrancy of flavour here – excellent as a minimum – but, very young…
2015 Christophe Savoye, Chiroubles Cuvée Loic
Not a big nose but of fine floral width. Round, lots of concentration – of-course – mineral, fresh, complex, spiced-even. Super!
2009 Château de Pizay, Morgon Cuvée du Py
Still a lot of colour. A waft of good aroma that’s deep but not wide. Oof – big, grainy tannin, a little lacking in the perfect texture department – slightly tart finishing – a wine that started great, but…
2017 des Marrans, Fleurie Champagne
An intense liqueur fruit nose. Concentrated, liqueur style fruit in the mouth too – not my style of wine…
2013 des Marrans, Fleurie
Calmer, good width – an inviting nose. On the palate there’s much more development to the flavour – more rustic structure too – yet a wine that’s much more interesting and tasty than the last which was too much – in more than one dimension…
Wide, fresh, pure fruit and with flowers too – simply lovely. Hmm, also fresh, wide, energetic, growing in weight, growing in class – simply excellent, and for a 2014, bravo!
2003 Haute Combe, Juliennas Clos Haute Combe
A big waft of fresh, complex, mature, inviting notes. Ooh, that’s fresh but still bathed in fine tannin. Wide, complex – certainly ready flavours, less so the structure. But it’s delicious all the same if you don’t search for the structure – yum!
2017 Château Pizay, Morgon Les Sybarites
Wide, cushioned, attractive nose. Full, fresh, intense, lots of tannin but not a lot of grain despite some astringency. Okay…
2009 Château Thivin, Côte de Brouilly Godefroy
Still full-coloured. Some cushioned floral aspects above, tighter below. Full, lots of weight and energy together, still some astringency – far from ready but full of finishing energy. Excellent…
2013 Le Nid, Moulin à Vent Rochegrès
A modest intensity of aroma but with an attractive, almost creamy, impression all the same. Drive, fresh, direct wine. Plenty of tannin but flavour complexity too. Maybe the last vestiges of some oak – but only maybe – tasty, still a young wine.
Almost, but not quite a liqueur nose, even a touch of tobacco – nice! Vibrant, complex, intense fruit, missing the mid-palate depth of the crus but not the volume or weight. Excellent, indeed bravo BJ!
2015 Antoine et Maxime Graillot, Fleurie
A small touch au-naturel reduction on the nose. Mouth-filling, full of fresh energy. Tasty – not oppressively concentrated – delicious – bravo! The label looks like those of Julien Sunier, the wine tastes like it too!
2016 Laurent Martray, Côte de Brouilly Lois
Ooh, that’s a pretty nose – suffused with floral perfume. Concentrated yet with fresh energy. Really delicious finishing! Excellent
A nice airy freshness to this nose, not much showing below. Attack, freshness, some modest drive as this quickly widens, melting flavour over the palate. This is excellent but almost painfully young despite beautiful texture. Bravo but wait!
2016 Bertrand, Brouilly Pisse-Vieille
Hmm – a high-toned, concentrated nose – almost liqueur-like but just avoiding excess. Mouth-filling, fresh, silky. Easy, tasty finishing. Yum.