Description

Cambon Brouilly is bright, ripe, dense, anise, blue, smoke, pithy and almost sweaty saddle (in a good way). The palate of Cambon Brouilly has a nice sweet core, floral, and milk chocolate. The acid and body meld together, and the fine tannins sit at the back. I tasted this vintage of Cambon Brouilly in a line up with 2 other Cru Beaujolais (one Fleurie, one Morgon) and despite being a ‘lesser’ Cru, it was my favourite wine.

Cambon Brouilly is immensely enjoyable, savoury, complex and layered. You could use Cambon Brouilly to replace mid-level Burgundy, Rhone, Nebbiolo in a line-up. Paired with a 4 hour braised short rib Cambon Brouilly was heavenly.

Sourced from vines planted on 2 hectares of granitic and clay soils in Briante and Bel Air. Hand-harvested and sorted in the vineyard, Cambon Brouilly then undergoes carbonic maceration for 10-15 days without any additions. The wine is aged in oak barrels for 6-9 months.

Chateau Cambon Brouilly 2019, and all wines are eligible for at least 5% off any six bottles. And 10% off any 12 bottles. Some wines will be at a more significant discount and not subject to further discounts.

Chateau Cambon was originally planted as 3 parcels totalling 13 hectares in 1914 between Crus of Morgon and Brouilly. Despite not being in the ‘great villages’, the potential was seen by Beaujolais legend Marcel Lapierre. Lapierre roped in two other Beaujolais legends, Jean-Claude Chanudet and Joseph Chamonard, to buy and revive the estate in 1995. In 2017 vines in Brouilly were added to the holdings. Organic viticulture and low intervention/addition winemaking is the style here. The wines have fantastic depth and character. They do not taste like Burgundy, but they are very likely to be more impressive than any French wine at a similar price point. The wines do age gracefully.

Chateau Cambon Brouilly 2019 Wine Review

Josh Raynolds
Vinous.com
93 Points

“Bright violet. A complex bouquet evokes mineral-accented red berries and cherry liqueur, along with suggestions of pungent flowers and baking spices. Silky and animated in the mouth, offering sappy black raspberry, cherry cola, spicecake and rose pastille flavors braced by a core of smoky minerality. Supple tannins sneak up slowly on the impressively persistent finish, which shows fine clarity and lingering red fruit and spice notes.”

Brouilly

Brouilly is the largest of the Beaujolais Crus. It surrounds the Cotes de Brouilly Cru (an extinct volcano) and is flatter and lower than the Cote but has rolling and distinctive hills of its own. Compared to Cote du Brouilly, the wines here are lighter, juicy, simple red fruits. In addition to Gamay, growers can make Chardonnay, Aligote and Melon de Bourgogne.

Beaujolais

Most famous for aromatic, light of body, high acid reds made from the Gamay variety. There is a Burgundian sensibility on Rhone soil types which makes for an exciting style. The quality wines are refreshingly tart with aromatic complexity and enough fruit weight to balance out the tartness. You do have the option of cellaring your quality Beaujolais, but often it is not required. The best wines are from the 10 Crus of the region with the lesser appellations being akin to an ocean in more ways than one. Whites from Chardonnay are available but hard to find.

Gamay

Grown in the French regions of Beaujolais and Loire Valley. It is early budding, high cropping, aromatic and high acid. It was outlawed from Burgundy by Duke Philippe the Bold for being disloyal. But has no doubt made up for that with honourable service. The best wines from Gamay can be Burgundian in flavour and well worth seeking out. Often they are exceptionally good value too.

French Wine

The land that so many New World (not European) wine producers look to emulate. To generalise about French wine, I would say it is savoury, lighter-bodied wines. They are the definition of elegant, complex. There are many styles, though. And there is a French wine for every palate. They lead the world in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy. Sparkling Wine in Champagne. Cabernet and Merlot in Bordeaux. Syrah(Shiraz) and Grenache in the Rhone Valley. Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris in Alsace. Sauvignon Blanc, and Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley. Gamay in Beaujolais.

Wine

Wine is the result you get from fermented grape juice. There is proof of wine production dating back 8000 years ago. Fashions, innovations and many other factors have influenced the way wine has evolved over the years.

The wine grape is special. It contains everything you need to make grape wine except for the yeast, which lives on the outside of the skins.

Human inputs can influence the final product, including the viticulture (growing) choices. And the winemaker can shape the wine to a point too.

The best wines of the world often refer to terroir. Terroir is a French term that refers to all the climatic, geological and topographical influences on a specific piece of land. And it is true that neighbouring vineyards, grown identically, can taste noticeably different.

Red Wine

Fun fact; most of the colour for wines comes from the skins. There are only a handful of grapes that have red juice. Alicante is the most well known of these grapes.

By macerating the juice on the skins, the wine gains tannins, and flavours. Certain compounds change the chemistry of the wine too.

Red wines tend to have higher alcohol. More tannin and more oak flavours compared to other styles of wine. But the thousands of grapes and terroirs they grow in influence this.

The Wine Depository

I, Phil, have been running The Wine Depository since 2011. The Wine Depository exists to make sure you are drinking the good wines. You can browse and pick what is interesting to you. Or you can make contact with me. I’ll make sure you get what you want, to your palate, to your budget and to your door.