Tasted with Xavier de Boissieu of Château de Lavernette in Hurigny, 12 November 2022.
Château de Lavernette
71570 Leynes
Tel: +33 3 85 35 63 21
www.lavernette.com
More reports with Château Lavernette
Xavier on 2023 and 2022:
“Really very happy with 23. The reds were a bit more generous than we’ve become accustomed to. The whites were very good – we actually started a bit earlier than planned but then made a pause before harvesting the rest – it was hot! In 2022 we didn’t have such yields – we lacked in a few places. We have 3 ha of Beaujolais blanc and following the frost of 21 they took some time to recover so still quite low – and not much is bottled at this stage.”
The wines…
Always classy wines from this producer – as usual, this tasting across a range of vintages.
There was a little screw-cap for a time but all is cork here – “The clientele wasn’t ready – we were!”
2 years concrete tank elevage.
That’s a smaller but quite appealing nose. Fresh, energetic – wiry muscled, but the last flavours are quite generous and totally delicious. Bravo BB!
2021 Pouilly-Fuissé Cuvée Jean-Jacques de Bossière
Southern Pouilly, plain west-facing on ‘nice red clays’ – ‘sandwiches of repeating different soil types – roughly 2 years of barrel elevage.
Hmm – a nicely crystalline but concentrated ripe citrus here. A touch of oak but this wine is more about its width and clarity of flavour – I love the shape and texture. Yes, there’s plenty of oak – so keep at least 2 years I think – but what a wonderfully complex finishing flavour – yes!
2022 Bourgogne Blanc
This on granite rose with some clay. All barrel elevage – ‘but neutral barrels of 5-6 years old’
A more shy nose. Light CO2, a rounder style with some extra sweetness but also the slightly juicy twist of the vintage – a hint more strict – hard to follow the last wine!
All gamay bubbles so blanc de noirs with 3 years elevage – This the first disgorgement of the 2018s.
A welcoming depth of fine yellow fruit and flowers. Hmm, that’s nicely strict and absolutely a top crémant – bravo!
Les Reds:
2022 Beaujolais Villages
40 yo vines with concrete tank elevage – carbonic maceration. – Beaujolais-Leynes
A narrow but deep and fresh. Hmm – open, fluid, energetic, super shape – with a chalky frame to the flavours – I think this excellent BJV and rather long – yum!
2021 Beaujolais-Leynes Le Clos
A calmer but much broader, and silky nose. Energy – quite mouth-filling too. More generous in the middle and finishing flavours. Holding a fine, contemplative, delicious width of finishing flavour. Delicious!
2020 St.Amour Le Chatelet
Near Billards and Julienas. Certified BD in 2018. Old vines here with some younger vines for the first time in this vintage – elevage in barrel for 2 years – with some ceramic jars…
A very faint asparagus and cream to the red fruit. In the mouth this is very fresh and really fills the mouth. Mouth-watering with an almost garaphite minerality and then the creamy barrel in the finish. Very long – I’d be keeping this 5 years. There’s lots of potential.