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.

Nose: very intense, it reveals subtle and varied perfumes. Strawberries aromas are wonderfully blended with blackberry and a note of toasted coffee complexifies this aromatic panel.
Palate: powerful and linear, the palate is supported by elegant tannins. Black fruits flavours invade our senses, long and supple finish with sensations of candied fruits.

BURGHOUND 91 POINTS - "A ripe and overtly peppery mix of red and dark fruit, cut with plenty of earth character. This can also be found on the beautifully rich, seductive and opulent flavors that culminate in a lingering and slightly warm finish, where a hint of bitter cherry pit arises. This should drink well young, yet reward mid-term cellaring as well."

We have long been fans of Chateau Thivin which is a benchmark domaine of the Côte de Brouilly. Thivin consistently produces wines which are utterly delicious and showcase amazing purity of fruit without being heavy.

A visit to this domaine was one of the highlights of our trip to Beaujolais last year. The bucolic scenery and warm hospitality of Claude and his wife made this a memorable stop. The wines perfectly complemented the cheese, charcuterie and pate which were served on a sunny afternoon overlooking the vineyards.

Château Thivin is the oldest estate on Mont Brouilly and was built in the fifteenth century on an ancient volcano which juts out steeply into the valley below. It is one of the historic estates of Beaujolais and consistently produces exceptional examples from the Cru of Côte de Brouilly. Thivin's parcels are predominantly south-facing and are planted entirely with Gamay vines that average 50 years of age. Traditional whole-cluster fermentation maintains the characteristic fruity qualities of Gamay, which is transferred to large neutral oak barrels for aging before bottling.

In 1976, Richard Olney took Kermit Lynch to visit Chateau Thivin on their first wine trip together. It was Olney's top recommendation in the whole of the Beaujolais region. Of course, Kermit is known for his keen eye for quality and soon a relationship was formed and the wines were imported into the U.S. Today, Claude, his wife Evelyne, and their son Claude-Edouard continue the tradition as staunch and proud defenders of the terroir of Brouilly.

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "The 2017 Brouilly Reverdon bursts from the glass with lovely aromas of blackberries, cassis, plums and potpourri. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, bright and juicy, with sweeter fruit than the 2016 rendition but a shared sense of crunchiness and vivacity. It was only bottled three weeks before I tasted it, but it was already showing very well."

WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS - "The 2017 Chiroubles offers up a pretty bouquet of raspberries, red cherries, plums and dark chocolate, lent lift by pretty floral top notes. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ample and succulent, with a layered core of fruit, fine tannins and mouthwatering acids. It hails from a steep hillside site and is matured in stainless steel."

WINE ADVOCATE 92+ POINTS - "From a south-facing site near Château Thivin, the 2017 Côte de Brouilly Cuvée Melanie exhibits a deep bouquet of blackberry, wild berries, grilled meat, dark chocolate and licorice. On the palate, it's full-bodied, rich and ample, with a juicy core of fruit, ripe but chewy structuring tannins in abundance and a gourmand, layered profile."

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.

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!

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 recently tasted this wine and were blown away! 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.

This Beaujolais drinks like a much more expensive Cru Beaujolais-it's that good!! This is 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!

ORGANIC -Semi-carbonic maceration with no added sulfer and natural yeast. Vinification occurs in concrete before aging in a combination of stainless steel, neutral Burgundy barrels and demi-muid for 6 months. Wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2 added. Fruit for the 2017 Chiroubles comes from 70 year old parcels, vinified semi-carbonically. Concentrated and balanced, full of lively dark fruit and age-worthy potential.

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.

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.

Never using synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvesting late, rigorously sorting to remove all but the healthiest grapes, adding minimal doses of sulfur dioxide or none at all, and refusing both chaptalization and filtration. The end result allows Morgon to express itself naturally, as it should be without the bubblegum and banana aromas of so many other Beaujolais available today. Its rustic structure, spicy notes, and mineral-laden backbone are what real Morgon is all about.
This estate comprises nearly fourteen hectares. Foillard’s Morgons are deep, structured, and complex, with a velvety lushness that makes them irresistible when young despite their aging potential. Jean raises his wines in older barrels sourced from top estates in Burgundy, a logical decision for someone crafting Gamay in a Burgundian style. It is the passion and dedication of vignerons like this that have brought pride back to the crus of the Beaujolais.
MADE FROM 80 YEAR OLD VINES!

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.

Justin Dutraive, son of renowned vigneron Jean-Louis Dutraive, acquired two small parcels of land in 2015, ‘Les Bullands’ & ‘Les Tours,’ comprising a total of 1.2 hectares across Beaujolais, farmed all organically. ‘Les Tours’ is energetic and fresh, with notes of tart raspberry, chalk, and fragrant herb undertones. A true porch pounder; serve slightly chilled.

ORGANIC FARMING