2016 Fleurie, Clos Vernay, Domaine Lafarge Vial, Beaujolais
About this WINE
Lafarge Vial
Fleurie
Evocatively-named, Fleurie epitomises all that is good about the region with its perfumed, silky, moreish style. Its 800ha of vineyards produce some of the finest, popular and most expensive wines in the region. As its name suggests, this quintessential Beaujolais is fresh, floral, fragrant and feminine.
Despite initial impressions to the contrary, its silky fruit has suprising depth and concentration that allows the wine to age as well as any in the region. At the same time it is wonderfully approachable almost immediately, which may also explain its popularity. Its more powerful examples, like Michel Chignard's ‘Les Moriers’ come from close to the border with northerly neighbour Moulin-à-Vent.
Recommended Producers: André Colonge, Michel Chignard, Bernard Métrat .
Gamay
A French variety planted predominately in Beaujolais where it is the grape behind everything from light and often acidic Beaujolais Nouveau through to the more serious and well-structured wines from the 10 cru villages. It takes its name from a hamlet just outside Chassagne-Montrachet and was at one stage widely planted on the Côte d`Or. However it was gradually phased out due to its poor yield and supposed poor quality of its wines.
The majority of Gamay wines in Beaujolais are labelled as Beaujolais or Beaujolais-Villages and are deliciously juicy, easy drinking, gulpable wines. Of more interest are the Cru wines from the 10 villages in the north of the region where the soil is predominantly granitic schist and where the vines are planted on gently undulating slopes. These can be well-structured, intensely perfumed wines, redolent of ripe black fruits and, while delicious young, will reward medium term cellaring.
Gamay is also grown in the Touraine region of the Loire where it produces soft, well-balanced, gluggable wines for drinking young.
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Description
The Clos Vernay is a monopole of the domaine; surrounded by trees, it’s next to Moulin-à-Vent on granite and quartz soils. As with all of the domaine, the vines are farmed organically and biodynamically, and worked painstakingly by hand and by horse. The proximity to Moulin-à-Vent means that unsurprisingly this wine is the most structured of Lafarge Vial’s Fleurie wines, although the fruit profile is unmistakably Fleurie. There is a wonderful, floral perfume with notes of rose petals and iris, while the palate has a refreshing crunch to the red berry fruit and a surprising volume of concentrated, dense tannins which extend the finish. A beguiling blend of charm and structure.
Drink 2020-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer
The excellence of Cru Beaujolais is something I have held dear for some time, but its ageing potential was first brought to my attention when I was served two Moulin-à-Vent wines from 1961 and 1962 produced by Camille Giroud. The freshness and complexity of these wines was simply astonishing and I have since made it something of a personal mission to return these great wines to their rightful place in the cellars and on the tables of the most discerning wine drinkers. The wines in our offer cover a range of styles; whole-bunch, de-stemmed, oaked, unoaked, elegant and floral, dense and structured. This almost endless variety and versatility is what is most fascinating about Gamay grown on Beaujolais’s volcanic soils. What the wines have in common, however, is that they all offer excellent value for money and great drinking pleasure.
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