Profile: Les Capreoles

7.7.2019billn

Tasted in Régnié-Durette with Cédric Lecareux, 08 May 2019.

Domaine Les Capreoles
La Plaigne
69430 Régnie-Durette
Tel: +33 4 74 65 57 83
www.capreoles.com

Cédric Lecareux together with his wife Catherine runs a relatively new domaine in Régnié, since 2014. Organic since 2017, 2018 is the first year of Biodynamic conversion with Demeter, Cédric tells me that some of their vines had quite an intense ‘chemical life’ before they took over, so have needed some time to recover, but that they seem to be responding very well to the change.

I worked in Languedoc before coming here, but have no family background in wine – neither has my wife. But we met the previous owners who, due to poor health, had slowly shrunk the size of their exploitation, hoping for some kind of continuation for a domaine that had been operating the best part of 400 years – it was a fortunate meeting for us. So it’s already 5 years that we are here, starting with just 3 hectares, now we have 6.5 – we don’t have 30 wines to taste! But it’s a great old domaine, one with a lot of history, and a cuverie here that once supported 35 hectares of vines – so we have plenty of space!

“We sell about 50% in France today but started with much more export. All the production is commercialized under our domaine’s label.

The wines…

“These 2017 wines were really closed after bottling, but I’m happy with how they are opening, maybe it’s time to start selling them” said Cédric – I couldn’t agree more. Just a really classy range of wines – and very highly recommended.

2018 Cossinelle Rosé Gamay VdF
This essentially from grapes from Lantignié, there are 2.6 ha here plus a little chardonnay. This vintage contains about 50% from Regnié too, having done a saigné with some of the Régnié grapes. This wine was originally labelled BJV Rosé but in one vintage the fermentation stopped too early, and with 4.5g of residual sugar that label wasn’t allowed – ‘So we never went back even though the wine could be called BJV – I think about it each year but most of the wine is forward purchased, so why change?’
Pale salmon. Hmm – that’s a lovely textured width of aroma. Open, a wine of clarity, pretty, subtle red fruits – a fine gamay structure. A super depth of lasting flavour – ooh – you would be more than happy with that finish from an important red – bravo rosé!

2018 Beaujolais Lantignié l’Amourgandise
Hailed 80% here in 2017
A lovely, round, and really attractive nose that reminds of the rosé but with a little extra darkness of fruit – super. Supple, wide – a pure and fresh width of great flavour. Lovely texture and flavour with a tiny touch of tannin at the end of the tongue. Really great for a Beaujolais Villages!

2017 Régnié, Chamodère
About 30% of the elevage in older barrels – this practically all destemmed because of the hail – the last wine was all whole cluster.
Super depth of colour. Again a hyper-attractive roundness and cushioning to the nose – it reminds me of the first vintage of Mee Goddard’s wines that I tasted. More dark confiture a bit of barrel – but really this is absolutely gorgeous wine – clarity of flavour and long. I simply love this.

2017 Régnié Diaclase
It’s a big block of vines behind that they but split into 9 different sectors, this from the higher part. A mix of barrel ages though none new – ‘We didn’t have enough grapes to buy new barrels’ – this in bottle since January as it had 6 months in tank, assembled, after the barrel elevage.
Also lots of colour. The family nose – but with some more freshness and also a depth of dark fruit. Hmm, more concentrated fruit of more sweetness – really more concentrated – but this time the oak is less overt to start – more something that shows in the middle and finish. I’m simply loving this wines again…

2017 Régnié Sous la Croix
The high part of the parcel – not much soil here, just 20-30cm over the granite. All destemmed since the beginning – ‘not the oldest vines but this single place.’ A shorter elevage as the barrels are newer, bottled in June – no tank elevage after the barrels – just 3 weeks after assembling it was bottled.
Really a deep colour. A different nose – some width of modestly toasty oak – and a vibrancy of dark oak, but a wine more of width than depth today. Mouth-filling, more tannin, some oak flavour but not aggressive, super fruit of sweeping lines – not overtly fresh but classy all the same. The oak is beautifully managed – bravo for that – this is excellent wine.

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