Tasted with Jonathan Buisson on the hill of Mont Brouilly, 03 April 2024.
Domaine Les Roches Bleues
961 Route du Mont Brouilly
69460 Odenas
Tel: +33 4 74 03 43 11
www.domainelesrochesbleues.com
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More reports with Domaine Les Roches Bleues
Jonathan on 2023 & 2022:
I think that 23 could be better than 22. I like the balance that both vintages have – we suffered less from the dryness here in 23 than in 22 and the volume was good. The 23s are lovely and more accessible – they are on their fruit right now. 2022 is certainly a vintage with concentration and maturity, wines where you could easily wait a while before opening the bottles…”
The wines…
These delicious 2022s are the most complete range of wines I’ve tasted from this domaine – well done !!
2022 Brouilly, La Croquant
An assembly of grapes from pink granite soils – this with all tank elevage. ‘My entry wine – vinified to be an easy drink.’
A little cushion to this red-fruited wine – quite perfumed. Round, accessible, slowly more juicy – again red fruit in the flavour. Broad and a lovely bright intensity of finishing flavour with a small velour texture from the tannin. That’s delicious – and you could wait another year before attacking too.
Young vines facing the domaine – 10-years-old – direction Pierreux with a blend of soil types – blue-stone but also more alluvial soil. Here with foudre elevage, but relatively short.
A more airy width of fine perfume – that’s a lovely invitation. Cooler, fresher, mouth-filling wine. There’s an accessibility here of juicy, boiled sweets – that’s just so delicious in this style it’s a great wine – vin dangereux…
14 days of maceration – a little longer than the previous, bottled end of May. The first vintage with a small amount of produce from blue stone soils – this is normally just from the pink granite.
A breadth of aroma here that hints of nice texture. In the mouth too, this has concentration, a velour texture and it’s completely delicious and rather perfumed too. A gorgeous finish. Great wine again!
2021 Brouilly Pierreux
Old vines here with longer elevage – a rare Brouilly on blue-stone. There is no 22 of this – it’s a very small cuvée, in tank and he’s not sure he will bottle – but then he said that about his 21 too !!
Less width of aroma but here is plenty of depth. Silky more freshness and mouth-watering style – the faintest suggestion of gentian in the aromas and flavours – the faintly drying structure suggesting waiting another year – but the finish is broad and delicious…
2022 Côte de Brouilly L’Heronde
An extra impact of aroma – slightly spiced in this case. Another very perfumed wine in the mouth, round, a texture of velour again – this very accessible and I’d probably drink it before the 21 Pierreux. Just so delicious – and this is not yet a commercial wine.
2022 Côte de Brouilly Brulhié
A more linear, direct and precise nose – that’s smaller in scale but a beauty. Another wine of juicy flavours – less mouth-filling to start but growing in volume. The finish, like the rest of the wine, growing in both stature and intensity – then finishing clean and mineral… That’s a simply excellent wine but the way it grows and grows indicates that there could be even more here. Certainly an excellent wine – potentially with a little more reserve too.
And for the road? Some 2023s:
2023 Beaujolais Villages Rosé L’amus Bouche
Plenty of colour. A large scale nose, fine and inviting aromas. A richness of flavour but with a fine, bubbling energy. A delicious rosé with a modest sucrosity – and you won’t (for a few glasses!) note the 14°…
2023 Brouilly, La Croquant
A round core of very fruit aroma – gentian too. In the mouth juicy – more open and fluid than the 22 and very deliciously perfumed – I love this finishing energy, intensity and purity. I might alsoprefer to drink this before the 22 !!