BEAUJOLAIS/CRU

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.

This top class wine has a nose dominated by blackberries and cherries and a silky smooth palate with fine tannins combining. Classic Morgon, showing the fruit of Beaujolais and the charm of Burgundy. This wine is ready to drink now but Morgon is one of the longest-lasting crus and will therefore develop for a futher year or two.

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."

The 2016 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.

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.

JAMES SUCKLING 93 POINTS - "Impressive, ripe and plush blackberries and raspberries, making it an attractive, straight-up wine. The palate has a core of deeply plush and dark strawberries. A super fresh, silky and drinkable Beaujolais. A big, fruit-soaked finish."

"The vineyard holdings of the Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois extend across the Fleurie boundary into Chiroubles. Their parcel is dominated by granite and is planted to vines that are of an average age of fifty (50) years. The cuvaison for the Chiroubles is normally a 10 to 12 day affair. The resulting wine has a vibrant expression of fresh red fruits; it is marked by delicate tannins; and, it is the most precocious and welcoming wine of this estate. [NOTE: approximately 150 cases per year are available for distribution in the USA]" MADROSE.COM

Delicate and fragrant with a satisfying weight of damson and dark cherry fruit - not overly complex yet full of pleasure.

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!

Viticulture: No herbacides or pesticides, organically farmed. Vinification: Traditional vinification without sulfur and with natural yeast at very low temperatures. Carbonic maceration and little or no filtering.

Wine Advocate: "The 2016 Julienas Vieilles Vignes has a light red cherry and cranberry-scented bouquet that is pretty and classic in style. The palate is fresh with crunchy red fruit, good structure here for a Juliénas with a short but punchy blackcurrant finish. Drink over the next 3 to 4 years—this is a worthy follow-up to the superb 2015."

WINERY NOTES

Average age of the vines: 50 years

Welcome to the Perrachon domain. We pursue the work of our ancestors producing wines the traditional way. Julienas history already mentionned the PERRACHON name in 1601. The Perrachon family acquired the domain of la Bottière, in Juliénas, in 1877. Then came the Domaine des Perelles on the Romanèche-Thorins territory, at the feet of the Moulin-à-Vent hills. The Domaine des Mouilles, now the heart of our operations, was acquired in 1989. It is the heart of the Julienas appellation, benefiting from the best exposure and the best soils. Recently, we added smaller parcels in Chénas, Fleurie, and Saint Amour.

The Moulin à Vent is often called the "Seigneur des Beaujolais" (lord of Beaujolais). Our Moulin à Vent is a robust wine, with aromas reminiscent of southern wines and very ripened fruits.

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.

Certified organic Vineyard

Just below the family's monopole Le Clos about 300 meters down the hill lies the terroir "Champagne." Approximately, 1.5 hectares of low yielding 70 to over 100 year old Gamay. The town considers this one of the finest terroirs in Fleurie.
As with all of Dutraive's vineyards, Terroir Champagne is organically farmed and worked by hand.
Carbonic maceration with no added sulfer and natural yeast.
Aging- one year in futs de chene (barrel). approximately 25% new.
Production 500 cases
Notes - Beaujolais like this is worth seeking out immediately.

ORGANIC FARMING

Friends refer to Breton as Petit Max, and of the gang

The 2015 Fleurie has a generous, open-knit bouquet with mineral-driven red cherries, fennel and blackcurrant leaf aromas. The palate is well balanced with fine tannin. It feels very fresh in the mouth with just a hint of menthol furnishing the harmonious finish. It represents one of the most delicious offerings from Foillard at the moment.

VINOUSMEDIA 91 POINTS: "Bright magenta. High-pitched red fruit and lavender aromas show excellent clarity and pick up a mineral nuance as the wine stretches out. Juicy and precise on the palate, offering intense raspberry, bitter cherry and spicecake flavors that deepen slowly on the back half. In a vibrant style, with no excess fat and a very long, smooth finish that echoes the red fruit note."

A ‘Gang Of Four’ member, the term widely known in the world of Kermit Lynch Imports, Jean Foillard followed the traditional mindset and practices of Jules Chauvet. Alongside Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Guy Breton these four vignerons focus on older vines, abstain from herbicides and pesticides, harvest late, sort rigorously to remove damaged grapes from the bunches, add minimal sulfur (or none at all) and refrain from both chaptalization and filtration. These are natural wines made with knowledge and experienced decision-making.

The wines of Domaine de la Grand’Cour are filled with expressive aromatics, texture, depth and flavor. These are wines that are as vibrant and complex as anywhere in Burgundy. These are wines that are addictive. These are wines that should not be missed.

WINE ADVOCATE 91 POINTS - " The 2015 Morgon Grands Cras has a complex nose of black plum, mulberry, licorice and baking powder scents that are well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy ripe black fruit but there is a serious structure, a firm backbone to this Morgon that renders it more masculine than its peers. It does not quite have the length of the Morgon Les Charmes this year, but it demonstrates impressive delineation and a wonderful saline, marine-influenced finish that lingers just long enough."

An elegant Beaujolais: intense ruby-red colour; on the nose, aromas of violet, lilac, sometimes blackberry and cranberry. Supple tannins, with lively acidity. On the palate, the wine leaves a pleasant note of wild berries"~ Winery notes