Tasted with Raphaël Chopin in Lantignié, 22 April 2016.
Raphaël Chopin
La Savoye
69430 Lantignié
Tel: +33 6 22 08 59 09
www.domaine-raphael-chopin.fr
This 5 hectare domaine was started by Raphaël’s great-grandfather. Raphaël has been here since 2009 after a stint making wine in Australia – the domaine’s vines were planted between 1989 and 1905.
Raphaël explains “I’m raisonnée in the vines, though moving more into bio in some parts of the domaine. I think I’m fairly traditional when it comes to wine-making – I use a grill to keep the clusters below the surface and a 12 day cuvaison is typical – a couple of days more for the Morgon. I use cement for elevage and a mix of barrels and demi-muids for the later cuvées.”
The main markets for these wines are Swiss, Belgian and French – Japan is just starting too. Roughly 25,000 bottles are possible here, but Raphaël is currently commercialising only about 13,000, the rest to the négoce. “Though I hope that I will get the chance to sell more of the super 2015s” he says.
The wines…
A nice selection of 6 cuvées at this domain, from €7.50 to €18.00…
2015 Beaujolais Villages La Savoie
All goblet-pruned, bottled in November, this is the domaine’s ‘classic cuvée and style’ – or rather ‘nouveau style.’
This is deeply coloured and I have to say it smells fantastic. – a really fabulous, almost explosive, really beautiful – not a hint carbonic. Supple, a little fat and certainly a weight of flavour.nhere is a more classic almost nouveau style that is less to my taste – but really quite some wine for 7.50! Silky, wide and mouth-watering in the finish. Yum…
2013 Regnie La Ronze
The name of the lieu dit.
A really lovely, silky red-fruited nose. Crunchy red fruit, a base of tannin, faintly accentuated with dryness. A really lovely line of flavour into the finish. Improbably tasty wine at €9…
2014 Regnie La Ronze
Schist and rosé granite here.
Starts smooth and interesting, growing a spicy peppery aspect. A little pyrazine, a little salinity; here is a fine width of complex, slightly mineral flavours and texture. Young but lots to enjoy here.
2014 Morgon Les Charmes
Near the Roman road, direction La Beche.
A peppery nose, herbs. A little pyrazine again, a certain minerality too. This has good freshness and a saline, mineral complexity. Actually this is very nice wine. Far from simple, easy fruit-driven in personality. Tasty! And a little extra dimension of fresh floral references in the finish.
2014 Regnie Caprice
Name of the cuvée. This from old vines in Laronze ‘but capricious wines!’ Here with elevage of 12 months in demi-muids of 500 litres.
Great colour. Really a higher level of power to the nose, with super fruit and a little spice and vanilla from the oak – nothing dominates – this is already showing very well. Round, nice texture and freshness but with a little cushioning to the texture. Here is really a little too much vanilla flavour for today – wait 2 years – but the general intensity and flavour will be worth the wait. Super mouth-watering finish – yum!
2014 Morgon Archambault
The old vines from Charmes with in-barrel elevage.
Fine silky red cherry fruit and a very much lower order of oak influence after the Regnie. Very silky, fresh, almost muscular wine – fresh through the mid-palate, a little mineral and with just a little dryness of tannin here – but like the nose, there’s only the most modest of oak influence. Still, wait a couple of years as there’s super wine in waiting here.
La Ronze’s old vines but made in a round tank of 10 hl – see photo – which looks like a large cement mixer that’s turned through 360° ‘maybe’ once per day for 12 days. Afterwards the elevage is in demi-muids of 500 litres.
A little less colour. A bright and pretty red fruit nose that’s fine and transparent, augmented by a little vanilla for the moment. Nice volume in the mouth, still a little oak influence but there’s a nice sweetness of cherry fruit that’s not at all confected. This will be lovely, but still to wait for another couple of years. Really a contemplative wine – not a wine of fireworks. Super fine tannin here – excellent!