BEAUJOLAIS/CRU

Founded in California in 2006, Aliane Wines has built a reputation for discovering and representing a thoughtful selection of some of the best independent vintners and family-owned, premium estates in France. All of their producers are strong proponents of quality, and they absolutely hold certain tenets to be true. As thoughtful stewards of their terroirs, all farm sustainably (sometimes organically or biodynamically), often employing the lunar calendar, cover crops, plowing, strict pruning and canopy management to achieve a superior quality of fruit that is most representative of the vintage.Aromatic, playful and with penetrating fruit, the wines of Beaujolais can turn even the snobbiest of wine lovers into a bon vivant! For added pleasure and pure refreshment, serve with a slight chill.

This has dark, almost glowing color of young Gamay, and wonderful fruits of mulberry/plum fruit with flecks of violet, clove and mineral. This comes from 35-55 year old vines planted in volcanic soils. It is hand picked and hand sorted, fermented with natural yeast and given 12 months in oak with 10% new. Beaujolais still delivers a lot for the fare and this is a friendlier version that displays all the charm of the vintage.

Jean-Paul Thevenet is one of the big ambassador of natural wines in beaujolais region. He runs his vineyard of old vines in a biodynamic way, with no pesticides and with respect of the life into the soil. 2015 was a warm vintage and this "vieilles vignes" will show a ripper gamay with excellent smooth tanins. A complex wine that can age beautifuly or can be enjoyed during his youth.

After working for years in wineries of big names in the artisanal and natural winemaking, Anthony now understands the respect of Nature in the vineyard. After taking over a little parcel from his grandfather in Morgon he is now showing excellent results with his all-natural winemaking techniques. A lovely Natural 100% Gamay. The classic freshness of Morgon coming along with the depth of the old vines for a incrdibly awesome level of acidity. Pureness taken to a different level.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "The 2014 Beaujolais Blanc had been bottled in February 2015 and comes from vines planed in 2010. Jean-Marc considers this to be his first “serious” vintage. Cropped at 55 hectoliters per hectare and matured in tank, it has a crisp pear and lemon thyme nose that gently unfolds in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a citrus-fresh opening. There is a pleasant waxiness coming through on the finish, a little resinous with a dab of lemongrass. This is a very capable Beaujolais Blanc."

When Nicole Chanrion began her career in the 1970s, convention relegated women to the enology labs and kept them out of the cellars even her mother thought winemaking was man’s work but she would not be deterred from her dream of becoming a vigneronne. The Côte-de-Brouilly appellation sits on the hillsides of Mont Brouilly, a prehistoric volcano that left blue schist stones and volcanic rock along its slopes. These stones yield structured wines with pronounced minerality and great aging potential. After her formal training at the viticultural school in Beaune Nicole had a brief internship in the Napa Valley, where she learned another approach to winemaking but, happily for us, gained a deeper appreciation of the traditional winemaking techniques of the Beaujolais: hand harvesting, whole cluster fermentation, aging the wines in large oak foudres for at least nine months, and bottling unfiltered. The resulting wines are powerful, with loads of pure fruit character and floral aromas.

VINOUS-ANTONIO GALLONI 90 POINTS: Deep ruby. Ripe cherry and dark berry aromas are complemented by suggestions of licorice and fruitcake. Lush and creamy on the palate, offering ripe, expansive black and blue fruit flavors that don't come off very Beaujolais-like to me. Seamless and sweet, with a potent black raspberry quality clinging on a long, broad and subtly tannic finish. I suspect that Beaujolais purists will find my score high, while those who love plush, seamless and assertively fruity wines will view it as stingy. Either way, the smart money is on drinking it now and over the next few years."

With a deep sherry colour, with walnut and little red fruits aromas, this wine has silky tannins that will help it to age. It will be a perfect partner for « charcuteries », Italian foods, red and white meats when young. Getting older, it will be perfect with game game meat.

The 2015 Chateau Des Tours Beaujolais should be at or near the top of your list of wines to serve during the holidays. This wine from Brouilly benefits from the nearly perfect growing season of warm sunny days and cool nights. The excellent conditions of the vintage show in the perfectly ripened fruit flavors of this wine and its generous texture with soft, supple tannins. This medium-bodied wine is a classic pairing for turkey and ham or perfect to enjoy while chatting with family or friends during the holidays.

Beaujolais is located just south of Burgundy and its vineyards are classified according to quality. Chateau Des Tours is located in Brouilly, which is one of the 10 Cru’s considered to be the crème de la crème of the winegrowing region and recognized for their exceptional quality of their wines. At their best, the Cru’s of Beaujolais rival the drinkability of village-level Burgundy and offer outstanding value. Chateau Des Tours is located at the foot of Mount Brouilly and its 40 year-old vineyards are situated in a natural amphitheater around the Château. The vines are planted in sandy soils made of decomposed granite over bedrock.

Chateau Des Tours has crafted a wine which is generously textured yet bright. This pleasing Beaujolais is ready to drink now, yet capable of aging for several years if desired. Des Tours shows how good Cru Beaujolais can be at a price that is an outstanding value.

Medium ruby in color with brilliant reflections. The bouquet is dominated by violets with red and black fruit aromas along with a touch of spiciness. The palate is rich and round and medium-bodied. The tannins are soft and supple, framing fruit flavors which are mouth-watering. Fresh-picked black cherries, dark raspberries, plum and warm spices are ripe and juicy. Drink now through 2021.

The "Champs Grilles" lieu-dit is situated in the heart of the Saint Amour appellation on soil composed of sand and schist. The average age of the vines are 70 years (as of 2011) with some as old as 90 years. The grapes are hand-harvested, subject to multiple "tries" (both in the field and on a sorting table); then, the grapes are destemmed, a brief cold maceration is done to extract color and aroma, followed by a 12-day cuvaison with regular pigeage and remontage. The wine is aged in stainless steel and bottled within a year of the harvest.

eROBERT PARKER 91 POINTS : "The 2015 Fleurie les Moriers has a similar bouquet to the 2014 but with a little more intensity. This springs out of the glass whereas the previous vintage needed more coaxing. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy ripe red fruit on the entry. I like the cohesion and focus here, demonstrating fine structure for a Fleurie, almost Morgon-like on the finish. This is a superb follow-up to the impressive 2014."

"Diochon's muscular red may not be as immediately accessible as the other crus, but it will change any preconceived notions you may have about Beaujolais. Deep, dark aromas of earth and blackberries put a powerful spin on quaffability." Importer

Jean-Louis is a devout practitioner of organic viticulture and the property has been certified by ECOCERT since 2009. Harvest is done by hand and grapes are immediately placed in tank at low temperatures to begin carbonic maceration (without sulfur)
The wines of Jean-Louis Dutraive are some of the most unique aromatically and texturally in all of Beaujolais. One whiff, and the wines display an almost exotic floral and spicy aroma overlayed over lush minerally Gamay fruit, sort of like a top Morey St. Denis 1er or Grand Cru nose combined with earthy, Volnay-like fruit. There is also a textural lushness and exuberance backed up by ample structure and acid. These are substantial Beaujolais, and ones that could certainly stand up to food. They also have the requisite material to develop and evolve over the medium term, i.e. 10-12 years of aging, easily!

No herbacides or pesticides, organically farmed.

Jean-Louis is a devout practitioner of organic viticulture and the property has certified by ECOCERT since 2009. Notes: Aromas of dark cherry, violets and iris on the nose. Rustic and complex, Dutraive compares the Grand'Cour to a Beaune Rouge in its muscle and broad nature.

Lafarge, biodynamics, Gamay, granite – sounds like a match made in heaven n’est ce-pas? As if managing the Lafarge family’s iconic domaine in Volnay wasn’t enough, Frédéric and Chantal Lafarge decided in spring 2014 to embark on a new adventure a little further south. Still Burgundy but a new sector, a new grape variety and the inspiring Beaujolais Cru terroirs that come with it. What’s perhaps most beautiful about the new project is that the couple really wanted to invest in something together that would be entirely their own creation. This equal partnership is reflected in the inclusion of both of their names for the domaine’s title and on the label (Vial is Chantal’s maiden name).

The couple kicked off their venture by purchasing 2.25 hectares and winemaking facility in 2014. For this first vintage, they produced three cuvées – Chiroubles, Fleurie Bel Air and Fleurie Clos Vernay. In true Lafarge fashion, each one reflects its individual and specific vineyard origin. Frédéric and Chantal immediately began working all acquired vineyards biodynamically, with the same intention and detailed observation as for their Côte d’Or vineyards.

Following a few additional vineyard purchases, the domaine’s total surface area increased to 4.1 hectares for the 2015 vintage. This includes the acquisition of the gorgeous, high altitude, old vine plot of Joie du Palais in Fleurie. Here the steep slopes require horse-plowing, for which the Lafarges recruit Max, a beautiful gray horse who also spends time working Olivier Merlin’s vineyard in Moulin à Vent.

Frédéric is as giddy as a kid with a brand new toy – new terroirs to understand, new vineyards to observe and adapt his biodynamic methods to, and a new grape variety through which to communicate the combination of these complex elements.

The slight delay in ripeness between the Côte de Beaune and the Beaujolais allow the Lafarges to be fully present during harvest at both domaines for their first two vintages. The steep, gobelet-trained vineyards are hand-harvested and mostly de-stemmed, though there is up to 25% whole cluster in 2015. The couple prefers to stick to their traditional Burgundian vinification to ensure transparent terroir expression. Gentle extraction (with alternated punch-downs and pump-overs in 2014 and only pump-overs in 2015) and a relatively short élevage of 12 months in older barrels (228 or 350 liters) or foudres (30hl) is the rule of thumb for these Beaujolais Crus.

You can’t ignore the “gryphées,” or seashell fossils, that crunch underfoot as you walk through Pierre Durdilly’s vineyards in Moulin-à-Vent, as if the ocean were just over the next gentle hill. The father-son team of Pierre and Guillaume tend their older vines on very steep, granite-rich hillsides, with beneficial herbs planted between rows to both prevent erosion and combat pests. Grapes are harvested by hand and fermented in cement tanks. Wines are aged in large, older foudre, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Estate vineyards are located on steep hillsides at 1,050 feet and higher in altitude; "Paquet" (parcel or package in French) is a selection of vines from sandy, clay-rich soils. Silky, smooth, seductive: a refined Gamay wine with a good amount of spice and soul.

In 2011, Yohan LARDY came back to his native village of Fleurie after spending almost one year in Chile working for an estate during harvest and winemaking. Yohan is 27 year old, he obtained a BTS Viti-Oeno in Macon-Davaye, he is completely passionate by winemaking. In 2011, he decided to buy 2 hectares of vines in Moulin à Vent, the lieu-dit "Les Michelons", one of the best terroir of the appellation, on the top of the hill, very steep with a southern exposure. One part of the vines were planted in 1911 and the other part in 1950. 2012 is his first vintage.

This well-balanced wine has typical aromas of violet, roses with an emphasis on fruit, very spicy (cinnamon) and floral notes. The mouth is full, well rounded, displaying berries and cherries notes, roses, a long finish with soft tannins. Pair with grille red meat, lamb legs, games.

Coming from a small vineyard of one acre located in Les Bruyeres near the Cru Fleure in Beaujolais. Handpicked chardonnay, fermented and ged in stainless steel vats. Very fresh and clean and well-balanced to pair with cheese, salad or fish.

In the hamlet of Le Breuil, deep in the southern Beaujolais and perched above a narrow creek, the Domaine Dupeuble has been running almost continuously since 1512. This wine, imported by Kermit Lynch, is known as "Coteau Belle-Vue" in Europe.

While the new release of its lighter and fruitier sibling, Beaujolais Nouveau, will make it to our shores the third Thursday in November, this Beaujolais from Dupeuble is more of a serious red wine that will delight throughout the holiday season. The nose is rife with forward red fruits: cherry, raspberry, strawberry, plum and a touch of cranberry. The fruits are the focus upon tasting, with the red berries mixed in with good acidity and harmonious balance. Raspberry and cherry lambic come to mind. The forward fruits and easy acidity will pair well with rich holiday meals and help cut through some of the lush sauces and gravies.

VINOUSMEDIA 93 POINTS: "Deep ruby. Sappy cherry and dark berries on the powerfully scented nose; hints of floral pastilles and exotic spices build in the glass. Highly energetic and appealingly sweet, offering palate-staining black raspberry and candied rose flavors supported by a spine of juicy acidity. Takes a turn to darker fruits on the gently tannic finish, which hangs on with impressive tenacity and echoing florality." -- Josh Raynolds

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