Tasted in Denicé with Cyril Picard, 20 April 2016.
Château de Cercy
69640 Denicé
+33 4 74 67 34 44
chateaudecercy.pagesperso-orange.fr
Denicé is less than 10km from the administrative centre of Beaujolais – Villefranche sur Saône. The château is in a really beautiful area close to the top of a Hillside, with buildings available for receptions and seminars et-cetera – 4-5 thousand visitors per year come to taste.
It’s a 30 hectare family domaine, bought by this family in 1900, but the oldest parts date from the 15th century. Cyril Picard is my guide “I like to sell wine, but my job is really to make the wine” he says. Cyril finished his studies in 1996 and did stages in the Rhône and Bordeaux, now he’s done 20 vintages.
They have been bottling here since 1974. it’s now about 400k bottles per year – including whites and some nouveau from old vines. The appellations on offer include Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages, Brouilly, Moulin à Vent, Beaujolais Rosé and Beaujolais blanc.
Whites see elevage in stainless-steel, the reds have elevage in concrete, Cyril says that he’s been making long macerations since 2000. They have lots 80-100 year-old vines, planted by Cyril’s great, great grandparents. All the harvesting is by hand, half of the production going to Beaujolais Nouveau to be bought by Cottin and Boisset from Nuits St.Georges. The 30 hectares are harvested in about 14 days by 25-30 harvesters. 30% of production is sold from here in bottle – though Cyril would love to expand his exports.
The wines…
2015 Bourgogne Blanc Cuvée Prestige
12 months elevage. All chardonnay, from Lachassagne.
A deep floral nose – very similar in the flavour. A real depth of flavour.
2015 Beaujolais Cuvée Marly
Made from 100 year-old vines.
Deep, but fresh dark vibrant fruit. This tastes really well with a good line of flavour, depth too – very impressive!
2015 Moulin à Vent
Bought grapes, – ‘we have some Brouilly too.’
Wide and fresh nose, some floral aspects. More gas here, but great length, some tannin to but (naturally) very ripe.
2015 Beaujolais Cuvée Marly – Le Reserve
Massive colour – it looks like a fresh Barossa shiraz. The nose a little discreet, fine, with brilliant clarity of fruit. Lots of finishing tannin, but this is simply a great wine!
2014 Beaujolais Blanc
Only difference to Bourgogne Blanc is that this wine is always eleveged in wood/foudres. Some stirring of the lees in tank too.
A fresh, ripe nose with flowers and a certain invitation – fat but with balanced mouth-watering flavour.
2014 Bourgogne Blanc
Bright, vanilla, floral. Lots of energy, a certain impression of minerality mixed with the vanilla oak. I would certainly wait to drink this. A hint saline. Holds well – apparently the 1988 is tasting really well at the moment!
2015 Côteaux Bourguignone
Bottled last week. Just one parcel of vines.
Medium-plus colour. A deep nose, a gamay nose but attractively so. Layered, intense, lots of flavour that grows ever-more intensity – the flavour is very long for what it is – rustic but in the best sense of that word.
2013 Beaujolais Cuvée Marly
No destemming, here, though most are destemmed a certain amount. 37 days of elevage.
Fresh, deep, nice aromas of fruit. In the mouth this is both textured and concentrated, lots of good fruit, plenty of structure below – a real, yet attractive, vin de garde. Very good finishing.
2012 Brouilly
90 year-old vines, south-facing on argillo-calcaire ground.
Really a deep yet refined fine dark red fruit – lovely! Almost a floral development too. Great in the mouth, lots of interest, faint sweetness, fine mouth-watering flavour in the finish. Bright finishing, again with a hint of salinity. Plenty of structure but beautifully balanced. Excellent.
2014 Moulin à Vent
From ‘Champagne’ – despite being 37 km away, we buy this fruit because me and my father simply love the wine…
A deep, vibrant, floral nose – rather perfumed. Fills the mouth, a little tannin, layers of flavour, a big wine but a very balanced wine – tastes great!
“Really only made when the vintage allows, 100% jus de presse”
Also super aromatic, floral a nicely vibrant nose, hinting at chocolate too. Intense, fresh, plenty of tannin at the base – a modest bitterness but there is superb density here without losing balance. Just a great finish that will become ever-more elegant with time – I wouldn’t drink this for 10 years. Super wine!
2014 Moulin à Vent – Premium de Cercy
Also, like the Reserve de Marly, 100% jus de presse.
Deep and concentrated nose – dark fruit but with clarity intensity and concentration. Super intense, lots of dimension of flavour the structure shifts it down a little – so like the last wine I’d be waiting up to 10 years but lots of pleasure awaits here, I’m sure.
2014 Beaujolais Cuvée Louis
Louis will be (hopefully) the 9th generation of the family here at the château – bottled 5 days ago.
Deep colour. A little distracting oak today – in the mouth this has waves of flavour, great weight and intensity – plenty of structure again – to wait for, but it will be worth it. Super wine. Blind you would never guess BJ Villages…
2005 Beaujolais Cuvée Marly
A fresh nose, some meatiness, a depth of faintly spicy notes. A fresh wine with nice energy too – still plenty of tannin here, faintly drying. Tasty fruit but what baby. A wide weight of fruit in the finish, not particularly focused but tasty all the same.