Tasted in Odénas with Julien Duport, 21 April 2016.
Julien Duport
Hameau Brouilly
69460 Odénas
+33 6 81 83 10 21
Julien Duport has been here for 10 years and is the 4th generation making wine, though his parents were not vignerons. Julien bought some vines and buildings in 2010, taking on the rest from uncles. Today Julien works 4 hectares of Brouilly, 4 of Côte de Brouilly, plus ‘a little’ Beaujolais Villages. His vines are mainly on the hillside with its blue stone terroir. Boucherattes is the cuvée de garde here – planted en 1885, just after phylloxera, so 130 years-old! 70% of vines in old goblet over are 40 years old, all new plantations are 9k with cordon. In the vines I’m ‘très raisonnée‘ he says, he’s may go for an audit this year for bio; “I work the soils but it’s hard on the hillsides.”
Julien uses concrete tanks, some enamel coated, plus some 500 litre barrels, mainly 3-6 year-old barrels. He also uses a grill in the tanks ‘grillage’ during a 17-18 days cuvaison, with whole clusters. 12 months of elevage on lees, or 18 months in barrel and demi muids.
Some small négoce purchase here – ‘only niche’ he says. Julien has a good base of sales with locals and restaurants, now with importers in the UK, USA and Belgium too. “The first years were all were sold to negoce” he says. Some salons and agents place the wines too. Prices are very reasonable – indeed probably too low – with €7.90, €9.00 for the first two cuvées, and Boucherattes is €14 direct from him.
Julien planted a little white last year, but says that he prefers to keep to his current size and concentrate on those vines so that he can exert full control…
The wines…
2014 Brouilly le Folie
35-40 year old vines at the top of the hill, ‘has a good concentration but it keeps its finesse.’
A fine pure dark red fruit. Quite large in the mouth, super texture just suggesting a hint of fat as the flavour grows in intensity and has just a little tart edge to the fruit. Fresh and tasty a super intensity of finishing flavour where it’s quite mineral.
Bottled just in the last days. Blue rock, at the start of that sector, here is ‘cuvée Lieu-dit Brouilly’ on the label.
A nose that starts tighter but opens with a fine depth of dark red fruit – this is very attractive. More intense, sleeker, super line of flavour – this is really excellent. Super in the finish, long and satisfying. Bravo!
2012 Brouilly le Folie
Here is a lovely delicacy and focus of fruit. Some fat, but very fine acidity. I like the fruit more here than the 14. The overall style is excellent and shows super intensity. Very lovely wine. Here with a little floral offering to finish.
More open with some flowers, this is a beauty. Direct, a base of tannin insinuating, ever more intense flavour, lovely width of flavour dimension – wow – but wait, the 14 is much easier to drink today, so wait. Great finish – with flowers!
2014 Côte de Brouilly Boucheratte
These 130 year-old vines have no maladies and manage to deliver 35 hl/ha without trouble. Left side of the hill, high up plain west-facing. Always a good maturity indeed early ripening. Will assemble tomorrow and probably bottle in a week.
A little oak on the nose. Beautifully, silky wine, concentrated with a growing base of tannin but its 90% covered. Some oak flavour so to wait for. A great mouth-watering finish. Today clearly a little tight but great wine in waiting!
2013 Côte de Brouilly Boucheratte
Three times hailed in 13, Julien blames this for the slight dryness of the tannin.
Really open, floral, and fresh. Like the 14 a wine of line and silk – again there’s a slow growth of tannin, a little oak too . A baby wine but one that plays over the palate. A bright, gorgeous finish with open flavour and lots of flowers. Really super
500 l for 12 months, not made every year – an assembly of multiple parcels.
A big, fresh, very faintly spicy nose. Round, silky wine, growing intensity of fine fruit flavour. Yum! Big flavours in the finish yet essentially a wine with lots of finesse – perfect wood integration – yum! It was marked by the oak when young says Julien but it has very quickly faded..
2012 Côte de Brouilly Boucheratte
A fresh nose, top to bottom interesting with a faint spiciness up top. Here is a deeply fruited wine, with a fine grain of tannin in support – just a little vanilla is noticeable in the mid-palate, but a fine young flavour from a fine young wine.
Very sunny vintage with high maturity.
A deep but fresh and complex nose – invigorating – yum! Silky, large-scaled wine. There is good balance and a weight of fine fruit. You can certainly drInk this today – and with a lot of pleasure – but it would be a shame to drink them all, as this will just get better and better. Bravo – an excellent floral burst to finish too.
2010 Côte de Brouilly Empreintes
The first vintage for tis cuvée
A nice mineral nose of depth and a slowly growing fruit component – very inviting. Super – good flavour that bursts with a new dimension in the mid-palate and here is still a little vanilla too – I’m surprised at 5 years of age – so I’d still wait to avoid it – but a super wine – really! Yet again the trademark beautiful finish of flowers…
2009 Côte de Brouilly Boucheratte
Another dry and sunny vintage
Deep, round and a certain ripeness but freshness of dark fruit. Excellent freshness in the mouth – a panorama of width, faintly spiced fruit – but fresh fruit – a very modest base of tannin. Not the sleek style of the last couple of vintages but very, very tasty and certainly no oak in evidence. Haha – floral finishing! And with a good, faintly dry length too. “I had the impression that it tasted more alcoholic when young but I don’t see it now” says Julien.
2006 Côte de Brouilly Boucheratte
Deep nose with a certain floral impression a little less focus to start but it grows. A big wine, and still a young one – layers of flavour, sometimes a little tart. Long finishing but less floral – the first! “A vintage that’s a little forgotten because it followed 05…”
2005 Côte de Brouilly Boucheratte
A big and complex wine, mineral, floral, spicy – everything – but also very different in character – the maturity, perhaps. Silky, fresh, a certain baseline oxidative impression – like sauce on your food, an accent. Very complex and with super freshness and great intensity. Super wine – accented like a Marsala the sauce for your chicken.
The first vintage for Julien
Deep floral, faint sous-bois, if you want to find pinosity, it is here. Big, open-armed, a wine that has missed you so much and holds you tight. Layered, tasty wine – ripe of course, but fresh enough – hyper tasty and still with plenty of structure. This is just a pleasure.
1999 Côte de Brouilly Boucheratte
This 1999 was made by Julien’s uncle. 12 months in barrel at this time. “This and 2000 were great vintages in Beaujolais, just a little more yields in 2000.”
Fresh, complex, herby but super clean and dark fruited – I just know that this will be great. Cushioned, complex, brilliant wine – blind you would never guess the age, there’s virtually no oxidative suggestions here – maybe in the mid-palate, but a great wine with layers of flavour and a great finish. Wait long enough and a small oxidative note adds to the nose too – but it’s no negative – still great wine. It’s hard to understand how a wine can offer those oxidative hints, yet be so fresh, vibrant and from many perspectives still young.