Description

Marrans Clos du Pavillon is one of the wines I selected to showcase at my French wine dinner. Marrans is a producer I have enjoyed for many years due to their ability to craft Beaujolais of great complexity. Marrans Clos du Pavillon is a monopole, meaning there is only one vineyard owner. My mentor, Patrick, often said that he believes that they take better care of the wines and vines for monopoles because it is their chance to create something that no one else can.

Marrans Clos du Pavillon delivers on the promises implied above. The nose of Marrans Clos du Pavillon is fragrant with a swirl of sweet and savoury; raspberry and strawberry intertwine with iodine and dark stones. The palate is long, lean and elegant, with the fruits and flowers sitting in the middle. Marrans Clos du Pavillon is highly drinkable.

Domaine des Marrans Clos du Pavillon Monopole Fleurie 2021, 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.

Domaine des Marrans is from Beaujolais’ Northernmost appellation of Fleurie. Mathieu Mélinand joined the family Domaine in 2008. He exploits organically grown, old, gobelet-trained vines on crystalline granite sites. Harvest is by hand. Vinification is with semi-carbonic maceration using whole bunches and indigenous yeasts. The wines are then aged in large older barrels for 10 months. Their wines are pure Gamay with a spicy, racy, savoury edge. They speak of the sites they grow.

Domaine des Marrans Clos du Pavillon Monopole Fleurie 2021 Wine Review

James Suckling
92 Points
March 2023
“This Fleurie is the opposite of the charming wines so many seek from this appellation, but in a very positive way. With a bit of aeration violet and wild strawberry notes develop. Sleek, tightly structured and compact with stacks of healthy tannins, but it has a delicate sweetness that balances all this very well. Long, subtle finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2024.”

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 interesting 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 less appellations being akin to an ocean in more ways than one. Whites from Chardonnay are available but hard to find.

Fleurie

Outside of Morgon, Fleurie appears to have the greatest concentration of good producers. And with particularly fine terroir, Fleurie is another great source of Cru Beaujolais. “Fleur,” of course, means “flower” in French, and indeed the wines of Fleurie are characterized by a distinct floral note – think violets. Pink granite is a feature of the soils here. The celebrate site of La Riolette was originally part of Moulin-a-Vent

Beaujolais Villages

Quality-wise, it sits between Beaujolais AOC and the Cru level wines. It covers 39 villages in the northern part of the region. Approximately one-quarter of production. The terrain of this region is hillier with more schist and granite soil composition than Beaujolais AOC. The wine has the potential to be of higher quality too. Several of the communes in the Beaujolais-Villages AOC also qualify to produce their wines under the Mâconnais and Saint-Véran AOCs.

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.

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.