BEAUJOLAIS/CRU

This highly aromatic Côte de Brouilly oozes with flavors of kirsch, crushed rocks, potpourri, and ripe raspberries. Juicy and fresh, the wine’s tangy acidity and structured backbone lead to a long finish. Drink over the next five years.

PRACTICING ORGANIC

The wines have a seductive aromatic component, a silky texture, and a downright deliciousness that is unmistakably Foillard. After all, Alex used tried-and-true techniques to craft his wines: whole-cluster fermentation with natural yeasts, no fining or filtration, and no additives of any kind save for a minute sulfur dose at bottling. The new generation at Domaine Foillard has burst onto the scene with a bang, and the future is full of exciting possibilities for this talented Beaujolais youngster.

Growing up the son of famous “Gang of Four” Morgon producer Jean-Paul Thévenet, Charly Thévenet was exposed quite early on to traditional, more natural viticulture—a philosophy that his father and friends helped to resurrect in Beaujolais in the early eighties. Though only in his twenties, Charly has already started a dynamic career. A few years ago, with extensive experience working for his father and in Marcel Lapierre’s winery already under his belt, he purchased a parcel of eighty-year-old vines in Régnié, west-southwest of his hometown of Villié-Morgon. Régnié is a terroir enjoying something of its own renaissance in the hands of talented growers like Charly and his dad’s pal, Guy Breton. In fact, Regnié has joined the short list of Grand Crus in the Beaujolais. Situated on a plateau of seabed stone in the foothills of the Côte du Py, it gives a fresh wine with solid acidity.

As the next generation of the natural wine movement, Charly seems to have inherited his father’s savoir faire. He uses biodynamic farming techniques in the vineyard, never adding synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides to the vines. He harvests late, with an aggressive sorting of the grapes, adds minimal doses of sulfur dioxide, ages the wine in four-year-old Burgundian barriques, and bottles his wines unfiltered. Add a dose of that Thévenet talent, and you have a recipe for excellent wine! The 2007 vintage marked his first release and his first collaboration with KLWM.

We are unanimously impressed with this rising star.

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 94 POINTS - "Bottled only a week before I tasted it, Alain Coudert's 2019 Fleurie from the Clos de la Roilette is showing beautifully, wafting from the glass with aromas of rose petals, red cherries, raspberries, spices and orange rind. Medium to full-bodied, deep and velvety, it's elegant and fine-boned, with lively acids, refined structuring tannins and a long, perfumed finish. Readers who gravitate toward classical styles of Beaujolais will prefer the 2019 to the richer, more gourmand 2018, but both are lovely vintages for this reference-point address."

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "Bottled a mere week before I tasted it, Thivin's 2019 Côte de Brouilly unwinds in the glass with inviting aromas of plums, red berries, warm spices and peonies. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, it's bright and precise, with fine depth at the core and real energy, concluding with a long, gently tannic finish. A touch finer-boned and more dynamic than the gourmand, demonstrative 2018, this is showing very well."

WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS - "Bouland's 2018 Chiroubles bursts with aromas of ripe blackberries, red plums, violets and cracked black pepper. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, with a succulent core of fruit, fine concentration and a long, lip-smacking finish. An especially gourmand rendition of this cuvée, it hails from a steep hillside site and is matured in tank."

WINE ADVOCATE 92+ POINTS - "Aromas of smoky berry fruit, cassis, spices and candied peel introduce the 2018 Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Melanie, a medium to full-bodied, succulent and fleshy wine that's layered and incisive, remaining fresh and lively despite its impressive mass and volume. Thanks to its perfectly mature tannins, this is unusually approachable out of the gates."

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."

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "The entire contents of the five-year-old foudre that contains Bouland's 2018 Morgon Pré Jourdan were reserved by his US importer, so overseas consumers may have a hard time finding this superb wine, which hails from lieu-dit near the village in the direction of Fleurie. Aromas of blackberries and spices mingle with notes of rose petals, violets and potpourri in a bouquet that has taken on a discrete patina from its comparatively new foudre. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, layered and succulent, with fine and powdery tannins, ripe acids and a perfumed finish."

VINOUS 92 POINTS: "Vibrant ruby. Smoky, mineral-tinged red and blue fruit and floral pastille scents, along with hints of cracked pepper and licorice. Sappy, appealingly sweet black raspberry and blueberry flavors smoothly blend power and finesse and pick up a smoky nuance as the wine opens up. Closes very long and pliant, offering building tannins and an echo of ripe blue fruit."

DECANTER 92 POINTS: "Textured and bullish, with layers of black fruits, raspberries and blueberries bound in grippy tannins. Very good now and with the legs to improve."

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!

Jean-Louis Dutraive represents the fifth generation of Domaine de la Grand’Cour, joining his father at the estate in 1977. The family’s total holdings comprise 10.6 hectares, farmed all organically. Fruit for the 2017 ‘Les Deduits’ comes from old vine plots, vinified in concrete and aged in oak for six months. Dark fruited and fresh, full bright, thirst-quenching acidity and silky tannins; serve slightly chilled with pizza, pasta, or tacos.

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.

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.

We are very excited to announce the 2019 Beaujolais from Domaine Dupeuble as our Wine of the Month 2. We recently tasted this wine and were blown away! As with the outstanding prior vintage, the fruit and floral aromatics immediately caught our attention and the fireworks began when we tasted the great purity, balance and freshness of this wine. This collaboration between the historic domaine and the great importer Kermit Lynch is absolutely delicious and represents an insane value.

Our buyers unanimously selected this as "the one" due to its amazing drinkability and fantastic quality to price ratio. This Beaujolais drinks like a much more expensive Cru Beaujolais-it's that good!! This offers a melange of red, blue and dark fruits and is definitely one of those crowd-pleasing wines everybody will enjoy.

Last year, Dupeuble was selected as Wine of the Month, which illustrates the incredible consistency of this wine. If anything, the 2019 might have a touch more freshness which makes us want to reach for another glass, or two!

Our buyers unanimously selected this as "the one" due to its amazing drinkability and fantastic quality to price ratio. This Beaujolais drinks like a much more expensive Cru Beaujolais-it's that good!! This offers a melange of red, blue and dark fruits and is definitely one of those crowd-pleasing wines everybody will enjoy.

Tradition runs deep in the family and the estate perched above a narrow creek in the hamlet of Le Breuil has been in operation since 1512. The 50-100 year old Gamay vines are grown primarily on granite-based soil with the remainder a mix of clay and limestone. The Dupeuble family tends their vineyards without any chemicals or synthetic fertilizers with the grapes harvested manually and vinified completely without SO2. The wines are fermented using natural yeasts and are bottled without filtering to preserve the intensity of flavor.

There are very few wines in the world that can compete with this quality at such a great price. This is one to stock up on and enjoy as your new house red.

This gorgeous red is deep purple in color with riveting aromatics. A farmer's market feast awaits as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries, violets and cinnamon greet the nose. On the palate, this wine is medium-bodied yet layered with a rich, smooth texture. The fruits listed above cascade across the palate with a freshness that has us asking for another glass. A knock out!

ean-Louis Dutraive joined his father at the family estate in 1977 and now represents the fifth generation of Domaine de la Grand’Cour. Their estate is comprised of 10.6 hectares of organically farmed vines. Fruit for ‘Le Clos’ comes from organically farmed 80-year-old vines and is vinified with native yeasts via carbonic maceration then aged in French oak. Silky and smooth, the wine shows flavors of cherry, cloves, and a hint of black pepper.

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.