2019 Beaujolais

This is consistently one of the finest cuvées in Jean-Claude’s line-up, and in 2019 it is truly excellent. 80% whole bunch fruit in this blend results in a pretty style, which is concentrated but also so fresh and lively with raspberry and blueberry fruits. The tender fruits on the palate culminate in a long finish with some distinguishing structure beneath. Tannins and fruit are harmoniously balanced here. Poised, with granitic minerality; a classical and delicious Brouilly.

This is made from a high quality Beaujolais village parcel, but after the wine was rejected in 2012 for being ‘too pale’, Jean-Claude decided to change its classification to the much freer Vin de France, valuing the innate character of the wine over the AOC’s regulations. It remains one of the most interesting in his range. The palate is so light on its feet, with a lifted red berry energy. 100% whole bunch fruit gives it a cool, bright structure with lacy tannins. No sulphur dioxide is added at all here. Equally well suited as a chilled aperitif red or a superb lighter style to finish an evening off: this is natural winemaking at its finest, least-faddy best.

You can tell when tasting with Jean-Claude that this cuvée holds a special place in his heart. He only makes it in great years, from a selection of the best bunches he spontaneously keeps separate as the pickers pass through the vineyards. As a result, it comes from various parcels: a bit of Brouilly, a bit of Côte de Brouilly, a bit of Beaujolais Villages. Unlike his other wines, it is completely destemmed, and undergoes a seven month maceration in large clay amphorae. This unusual vinification makes for a surprisingly energetic wine, with a juicy body, and ripe, clean freshness on the palate that overflows with hedgerow fruit. It’s certainly not run of the mill Gamay.

This, unusually, comes in a Bordeaux bottle rather than a Burgundy one: a quirk from a strange request years ago that has been embraced as a fond tradition for this structured cuvée. Some of these vines were planted in 1900, and the concentration and depth of the wine are a notable distinction to his other cuvées. Cool blueberry fruit on the nose, and an emphatic, tannic structure on the palate, bursting with black cherry flavours. This is voluptuous Beaujolais.