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Chateau De Fleurie
2015 was an outstanding vintage throughout France but while the wines of
Bordeaux and Burgundy are stealing all the headlines there is another,
unsung, area that increasingly deserves our attention.
For too long the image of Beaujolais has been undermined by association
with some rather ordinary Beaujolais Nouveau. However, while the world
has turned its attention elsewhere, a quiet revolution has been taking
place in the picturesque hills and valleys of Beaujolais.
Substantial acreage of vines in the lesser appellations have been
abandoned and more and more attention has been paid to the superior
wines that come from the 10 villages that are allowed to use their own
names on the bottle (the 10 Crus).
The most famous of these are Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent, Morgon and Brouilly
but others, like Saint-Amour, Julienas, Chenas, Chiroubles, Regnié and
Côte de Brouilly have also raised their game dramatically.
For the individual wine grower the rewards for all this hard work and
attention to detail finally bear fruit in a fantastic year like 2015.
Many factors come together to produce great vintages. In 2015 a happy
combination of rainfall, hours of sunshine and an absence of devastating
frost or hail have enabled the quality wines from the top growers to
achieve heights that are the greatest in living memory.
Xavier Barbet and Jean-Pierre Rodet Winemaker
Maison Jean Loron, founded in 1711, and now under the control of the
9th. generation of the family, are one of the leading vineyard owners in
the Crus Appellations.
We have been working with this family for the last 15 years and many of
you will have enjoyed a succession of vintages of Château de Fleurie.
We have been able to secure stock of the outstanding 2015 vintage from
the family estates and other domaines that they control. These wines
will not be bottled until Spring next year but we have selected them
specifically for their appeal and their potential and we have given a
spread of years in which to drink these wonderful wines.
Gregory Barbet the current family member took over from his father in
December last year. On that occasion bottles as old as 1949 were
presented - we do not recommend keeping these wines that long (!) but
many of them will reward a short sojourn in your cellar!!
Vendanges
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2015 Brouilly, Château de la Pierre - This wonderful
property in the south of the Cru vineyards has been in the family for 10
years. The 2015 is vibrant in colour, with an attractive bouquet of red
berry fruits. On the palate the wine is fresh, lively with soft tannins
that give the wine an instant appeal. Drink 2017-2020.
2015 Saint Amour Domaine des Billards - in the family
for generations this Domaine is on the mid slopes of Saint Amour, the
most northerly of the Crus. Once a favourite at the Court of Louis XIV
this is consistently the top Domaine in Saint Amour. Darker, richer
colour and with a more complex bouquet the wine shows real power and
breeding. The tannins are soft but with real backbone and the wine will
reward keeping for up to 5 years. Drink 2017-2025
2015 Julienas, Domaine de la Vieilles Eglise - if you
are ever in the delightful small village of Julienas make sure you visit
the old church. Wine is still made here in the old church though the
wine we are proposing is made under more 'controlled' conditions!
The same bright colour that characterises the vintage and again that
wonderful morello cherry bouquet. Not a keeper but experiment by serving
lightly chilled and enjoying the wine as it develops in the glass - it
is amazing how exposure to the air and hopefully a warm summer day bring
out the best of this wine.
2015 Fleurie, Château de Fleurie - a perennial
favourite the Château sits in the middle of the village and owns
vineyards in all the best 'climats' (individual plots within the
appellation).
The seductive floral bouquet for which the appellation is reputed is
here in spades. Aged in large barrels the 2015 shows real class and will
reward keeping for up to seven or eight years though it will already be
attractive when bottled at the beginning of 2017. Drink 2017-2025
2015 Moulin-à-Vent, X et N Barbet - Xavier, who retired
in December 2015, and his brother Nicolas, purchased this small
vineyard right next to the windmill in Moulin-à-Vent some six years ago.
Perfectly situated on the mid slopes of the best location in the
village these old vines are producing wines of real depth and character
with wonderful potential for ageing. Drink 2018-2028
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Moulin à Vent
These wines give a real insight into the rapidly improving wines of this area. Due to be bottled at the beginning of 2017 they will be shipped in the Spring of 2017.