Description

Sourced from from 4.5ha of 45 year old Fleurie vines on pink granite soils rich in mica and quartz. Situated quite high for Beaujolais and making full use of the sun with its south-easterly exposure. At this age it is drinking beautifully; raspberry, black cherry, floral, spicy, smokey and mineral. There is a silk on the palate from the bottle age and it is still fresh, light with racy acid. Drink from now but there is more left in this wine. Serve with some sopressa and you’ll be happy.

Pierre-Marie and Martine Chermette make great wine! Not great for Beaujolais but great by an measure. To get there they use sustainable agricultural practices, keep yields low and utilise further green harvesting if needed. Harvest is carried out by hand when the grapes are fully ripe  Minimal intervention is the aim in the winery. Indigenous yeasts, low sulphur additions, no filtering if possible and ageing in traditional neutral oak casks before bottling. These are wines of terroir and wines that will age.

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.

Beaujolais

Most famous for aromatic, light of body, high acid reds that are 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 found in 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.

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.