2015 Chateau des Deduits – Fleurie

The Wine: (Wine Enthusiast) More tannic structure than fruit at this stage, this is a firm, mineral-textured wine. A smoky, spicy character gives complexity, but also is still masks the red-currant fruits. Drink from 2016.

(Wine Advocate): Wine Advocate-Fleurie, Beaujolais, France – “..Offers simple, clean blackberry and blueberry fruit on the nose, a touch of vanilla pod in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet red fruit, a pleasant salinity at the back of the throat with fine definition and brightness on the finish.”

(From Wine Searcher): Gamay (Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc in full) is a grape variety that is most famous for producing the light, fruit-driven red wines of Beaujolais. While the variety offers fresh, red-fruit and candied aromas, it typically delivers little in the way of flavor concentration and body weight, giving light, simple wines. That said, some well-made examples can be deep and complex.

The Winery:  (Wine Searcher) Georges Duboeuf is one of the largest and most familiar negociant and winemaking businesses in France. It had its origins in the Maconnais region of Burgundy, but today calls the slightly more southern region of Beaujolais its home.

Duboeuf produces a staggering 3 million cases of wine annually. One fifth of that is dedicated solely to Beaujolais Nouveau, the wine released just after harvest every year. The grapes are sourced from all over Beaujolais, including from some of the cru villages: Brouilly, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent and Saint-Amour, to name a few. Gamay is the dominant grape here, as well as Chardonnay for the white wines.

Georges Duboeuf founded his winery on land that had been cultivated with vines for more than three centuries. Today, the estate works with more than 400 winegrowers in the Beaujolais region alone to ensure the quality of the fruit. Production is overseen by Franck Deboeuf, who is considered to be one of the key specialists in Beaujolais, its terroir and its wine. He has shifted production to focus more on Beaujolais Nouveau.

There are two parts of the Georges duBoeuf portfolio: the estate wines produced under his name and label, and the wines produced from surrounding domaines under their own labels, but as part of the wider Duboeuf portfolio. Deboeuf also produces wines under the generic Bourgogne and Vin de Pays – IGP appellations and therefore can use a wealth of other varieties including Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

Read more at: http://www.duboeuf.com/

 2017 Jean-Claude Debeaune- Beaujolais

The Wine: Beaujolais, Burgundy, France- Le Nouveau est arrivée! Bursting with fresh berry notes, this delicious quaffer is fresh, easy-drinking and designed for fun. Perfect for your holiday parties and dinners, it will pair well with appetizers and poultry dishes

The Winery: There is little information about this specific winery. Beaujolais Villages is the appellation for red, white and rosé wines from an area made up of 38 villages in the north of the Beaujolais region. The hilly, granitic terroir here is considered superior to that of the flatter lands in the south of Beaujolais and, as a result, Beaujolais Villages wines are considered to be of a higher quality than those of the straight Beaujolais appellation. These light, juicy wines, based overwhelmingly on the Gamay grape variety, display varietal characters of red fruit and spice.

The Beaujolais Villages appellation accounts for around a quarter of the Beaujolais region’s total annual output, most of which is red wine, with just small amounts of white and rosé wine produced. The appellation law has slightly different rules surrounding vinification and permitted yields than the more generic Beaujolais appellation, giving rise to a slightly fuller-bodied, more concentrated style of wine. While most Beaujolais Villages wines are made for immediate consumption, some of the best examples can be cellared for up to five years.

Most Beaujolais Villages wines are produced by negociants, and are made up of grapes that come from a number of the official villages. However, if the wine is made from grapes that come solely from one village, then that wine may have the village name appended to the Beaujolais Villages title. This condition does not apply to the villages of the ten Beaujolais crus, however, as they each have their own separate appellations.

Read more at: https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-beaujolais+villages

  2015 Domain Lathuiliere Gravallon- Morgon

The Wine: The wine has just the right density and weight for a Morgon. It comes from an 18-acre vineyard that gives a dark rich wine that is packed with tannins as well as black-cherry fruit. It is a complex wine, firm while also fruity. Drink starting from 2017.

The Winery: (From the Producer) Below are a few facts and figures about the estate : 15 ha of vineyards in the heart of the Beaujolais region, in six different appellation areas

Red, White or Rosé Beaujolais: 2 ha

Beaujolais villages : 1 ha 24 ares
Beaujolais Crus :
Chiroubles : 50 ares
Fleurie : 1ha 91 ares
Morgon : 7 ha 64 ares
Brouilly Pisse Vieille : 1 ha 82 ares (1st harvest in 2009)

I refuse to slot in to one pigeon hole or another as far as viticulture is concerned. The way I see vine growing is my very own; it isn’t conventional, organic or biodynamic. My philosophy is simple: “to produce the very best grapes possible”. What I do then is to tend my vines in a “reasoned” way, where observation is my main guide. Any work I can do in the vines as a means to getting top quality grapes is done. Our vines mainly grow on slopes of 20 to 40%, this makes some mechanization quite difficult, if not impossible. Consequently, most of the work in the vines is done by hand (pruning, weeding, tying-up and trimming etc.). The harvest is also manual, with strict sorting to only keep the very best of what the vines have to offer.
As far as treatments are concerned, the use of plant health products is a requisite to producing quality grapes. Our vines are protected using eco-friendly or ‘integrated’ vine growing techniques. We try to minimize treatments and have banished chemical products for treatment and fertilizing. For the last three years, in our plots where mechanization is easiest, we have totally stopped the use of herbicides, replacing it with shallow ploughing or simply allowing the grass to grow between the vines.

Read more at: http://www.lathuiliere.fr/en/

4.  CV Members Rating

View full evaluation here: Summary of Tasting Scores 197

Best Rated Wine: 2017 Jean-Claude Debeaune- Beaujolais

Best Buy: 2017 Jean-Claude Debeaune- Beaujolais

5. Technical Notes 

TBA