BEAUJOLAIS/CRU

WINE SPECTATOR 90 POINTS - "This is light-bodied but backed by focused acidity and streamlined flavors of pure cherry and raspberry that are tangy and spicy, flanked by white pepper, tea and herb details."

ORGANIC CULTIVATION

Les Vérillats has a deep red color with an intense nose of black fruit, unusual for the appellation. The mouth is full and supple, with a delicious smoothness balanced by the freshness of the fruit and spices.

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "The 2018 Côte de Brouilly is still a little closed after its recent bottling, but it's a promising wine in the making, unwinding in the glass with scents of cherries, plums, licorice and rich soil tones, complemented by floral top notes that blossom as the wine sits in the glass. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and satiny, with a textural, enveloping profile, a deep and voluminous core, ripe but succulent acids and powdery structuring tannins."

VINOUS 93 POINTS - "Brilliant violet color. A suave, mineral-accented bouquet evokes ripe red/blue fruits and candied flowers and a spicy nuance builds in the glass. Bright, seamless and appealingly sweet, offering concentrated yet lively raspberry and boysenberry flavors that firm up slowly with aeration. Ripe but graceful in style, finishing gently tannic and impressively long, leaving a sexy lavender pastille note behind."

Michel Chignard is a modest perfectionist who has been practicing his craft for 4 decades. His son, Cédric, now oversees the domaine with as much care as his father. The Chignard family is fortunate to own vineyards in one of the best sites of the Fleurie appellation in Beaujolais; "Les Moriers" is a 8 hectare parcel that extends into Moulin-a-Vent territory. These 60 year old vines have roots that run deep accessing minerals from the granite subsoil thus imparting that classic Fleurie freshness and "gout de terroir".



This wine beautifully expresses the terroir of "Les Moriers"; it is fresh and playful, with deep ripe fruit and finesse.

WINE ADVOCATE 93+ POINTS - "The 2018 Morgon Bellevue Sable comes from younger vines, planted on Viala rootstock in sandy soils—as the "sable" newly added to its label makes clear. Revealing aromas of blackberries, smoked meats, cracked pepper and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and muscular, with powdery structuring tannin, juicy acids and a blockier, more reserved profile than the Chiroubles and Brouilly that preceded it. This will demand a couple of years' patience before it shows all its cards."

VINOUS 94 POINTS - "Bright, youthful purple. An expansive, highly complex bouquet evokes fresh, mineral-accented cherry and boysenberry, along with building floral and exotic spice notes. Stains the palate with sweet red/blue fruit, lavender pastille and spicecake flavors that deepen steadily on the back half. Delivers a suave blend of richness and energy and finishes very long and juicy, displaying harmonious tannins, resonating florality and a late touch of earthiness."

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "The 2018 Fleurie Clos de la Grand'Cour bursts with notes of raspberries, cherries, rose petals, cinnamon and blood orange. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, with a juicy core of fruit, ripe acids and melting tannins. Pretty, open-knit and fleshy, this was matured half in foudre and half in old barrels."

The Moulin à Vent is often called the "Seigneur des Beaujolais" (lord of Beaujolais).
It's a well built wine which has a dark ruby robe. Its bouquet is dominated by iris, wilted rose, spices and ripe fruit aromas. Moulin a Vent is wine to age, classified as "Lord of the Beaujolais" wines. Serve with red meat, game and strong cheeses.

VINOUS 92 POINTS - "Brilliant violet. Mineral-accented red and blue fruits on the perfumed nose, which is lifted by a building spicy element. Juicy and energetic for the vintage, offering sappy boysenberry and black raspberry flavors that are complemented by a hint of candied flowers. Sappy and precise on the impressively long, gently tannic finish, which emphatically repeats the blue fruit note."

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.

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS: "The 2017 Fleurie Poncié hails from a southeast-facing, higher-altitude site that’s typically quite cool, and that’s reflected in its bright, perfumed bouquet of raspberries, rose petals and Griotte cherries, with suggestions of darker fruits emerging with air. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, pure and nicely concentrated, with fine tannins, a bright line of acidity and good length on the finish."

VINOUS 92 POINTS: "Shimmering ruby. Deep-pitched, expansive aromas of ripe dark berries, cherry cola, licorice and baking spices are lifted by a smoky mineral quality. Sappy and expansive on the palate, offering intense blackberry, bitter cherry, spicecake and floral pastille flavors that slowly unfurl and become sweeter on the back half. Closes smooth, smoky and very long, with resonating spice and mineral notes and dusty, even tannins adding gentle grip."

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.

WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS - "The 2018 Fleurie La Tonne hails from a high-altidue amphitheater-shaped parcel that encompasses expositions from southeast to northwest. Bursting with aromas of rose petals, Griotte cherries and blood orange, it's medium to full-bodied and ripe but succulent, with melting tannins and an aromatic finish. Pretty and charming, it's a pity it will be the last vintage of this bottling."

VINOUS 93 POINTS - "Shimmering, youthful purple. Mineral-accented cherry and black raspberry aromas are underscored by a spicy element that builds as the wine opens up. Sappy and focused on the palate, offering appealingly sweet dark berry and spicecake flavors along with complicating suggestions of licorice and candied violet. The spice and floral notes build steadily through an impressively long, smooth finish, which is framed by harmonious tannins that fold slowly into the wine's intense fruit. Many of these vines are over a century old now."

WINE ADVOCATE 91 POINTS - "From a northeast-facing lieu-dit with deeper soils than Champagne and Grand'Coeur, Dutraive's 2018 Fleurie Chapelle de Bois offers up aromas of wild berries, cassis, cloves and rose hips. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and succulent, with a delicate, open-knit profile and a light framing of powdery tannins. It's a delicious Fleurie that will drink well for a decade.

Jean-Louis' “sans soufre” bottling immediately overflows with soft, beautiful exotic red and yellow fruits that comfortably rest on fresh, striking acidity. It is the most charming and perhaps the least serious wine in the range only due to its shorter drinking window. Jean-Louis is candid about the need to drink this wine within a 6-8 hour period as the wine has a wonderfully high peak of drinking. However, without SO2 the wines loses a good portion of its charm the next day. It is a rare and wonderful wine.


All of Jean-Louis’ wines are made with whole clusters, zero extraction and natural fermentations. They are made from a combination of nearly perfect farming and zen-like observation. The elevage of this wine is 60% in stainless steel and 40% in futs de chene (barrel).


Terroir: Just on the north side of the domaine, this vineyard is on a gentle slope facing north. The soil is decomposed granite that is slightly deeper than most sections of the Clos de la Coeur; in fact, it is the deepest soil in his roster of vines. It is also the coolest site, thus rendering wines with greater acidity. This combination of higher natural acidity and a cooler terroir is the reason why he chooses this site to bottle a wine completely free of Sulfur.

WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS: "The 2018 Morgon Côte du Py derives from both higher-altitude and lower-lying parcels, and it is a great success this year, offering up a lovely bouquet of dark fruits, cherries, smoked meat and licorice. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ample and layered, with a fleshy and concentrated core, fine girdling tannins and succulent acids, concluding with a long and sapid finish."

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS: "Burgaud's 2018 Morgon Les Charmes is superb, revealing a lovely bouquet that mingles cassis and dark cherries with smoked meats, dark chocolate and peonies. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and charming, with velvety tannins, succulent acids and a fleshy, layered core, concluding with a long finish. Despite its visceral drinkability, it's also a serious wine that will evolve gracefully for 15 years."

VINOUS 91 POINTS - "Shimmering magenta. Lively, mineral-kissed raspberry, cherry and floral aromas show very good clarity and an exotic touch of star anise. Juicy red berry and spicecake flavors show very good depth, silky texture and a touch of licorice that builds with aeration. Delivers a suave blend of power and finesse and finishes juicy and long, with just a hint of fine-grained tannins adding closing grip."

ORGANIC FARMING

The vineyard is farmed using organic methods and in accordance to the lunar cycle.
CRISP, DRY, ELEGANT AND AROMATIC, FLORAL, FRUITY, LIGHT, MINERAL

VINOUS 93 POINTS - "Youthful purple. Expansive, mineral- and spice-accented raspberry, cherry and floral pastille aromas show outstanding clarity and pick up a subtle hint of gaminess as the wine opens up. Stains the palate with sweet red/blue fruit flavors that display both depth and vibrancy. Firms up stealthily on an impressively long, floral- and mineral-driven finish that's given shape by smooth, well-knit tannins."

VINOUS 94 POINTS - "Glistening ruby. Mineral-inflected red/blue fruits on the assertively perfumed nose, along with incense, exotic spices and fresh flowers. Alluringly sweet and penetrating, offering intense boysenberry and raspberry flavors braced by juicy acidity. Fine-grained tannins add spine to a wonderfully long, sappy finish that strongly repeats the floral and mineral notes."