Winemaker Notes
Fruitier than its old vine counterpart, this flagship Fleurie defines Dutriave terroir and style. Aromas of dark cherry, violets and exotic spices on the nose. Rustic and complex on the palate, Dutraive compares the Grand'Cour to a baby Beaune Rouge in its muscle and bredth.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
At once deep and crisp, this is a very original Fleurie with tons of mineral acidity for the hot and dry 2022 vintage. Still very youthful, the best thing about the wine is the very long, stony and herbal finish. Predominantly from very old vines with biodynamically grown grapes. Bottled unfiltered with minimal sulfur addition.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Fleurie Clos de la Grand'Cour comes from a section in the Clos planted with "young" vines, with an average vine age of 45 years. Aged for seven months in barrels and foudres, the wine boasts silken concentrations of stewed raspberry and red cherries, accented by notes of iris and peony petals, Indian spices, dried herbs and white pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate is sustained by bright acidity and chalky tannins that match the weight of the wine, tapering the palate for a precise, elegant finish.
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Vinous
The 2022 Fleurie Clos de la Grand' Cour, which comes from younger vines around the Domaine, has a more backward red cherry and crushed strawberry nose than the Chapelle des Bois. Sour cherry and raspberry on the palate, moderate depth with a harmonious finish. Good potential here.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
Delightfully playful, but also capable of impressive gravitas, Gamay is responsible for juicy, berry-packed wines. From Beaujolais, Gamay generally has three classes: Beaujolais Nouveau, a decidedly young, fruit-driven wine, Beaujolais Villages and Cru Beaujolais. The Villages and Crus are highly ranked grape growing communes whose wines are capable of improving with age whereas Nouveau, released two months after harvest, is intended for immediate consumption. Somm Secret—The ten different Crus have their own distinct personalities—Fleurie is delicate and floral, Côte de Brouilly is concentrated and elegant and Morgon is structured and age-worthy.
The bucolic region often identified as the southern part of Burgundy, Beaujolais actually doesn’t have a whole lot in common with the rest of the region in terms of climate, soil types and grape varieties. Beaujolais achieves its own identity with variations on style of one grape, Gamay.
Gamay was actually grown throughout all of Burgundy until 1395 when the Duke of Burgundy banished it south, making room for Pinot Noir to inhabit all of the “superior” hillsides of Burgundy proper. This was good news for Gamay as it produces a much better wine in the granitic soils of Beaujolais, compared with the limestone escarpments of the Côte d’Or.
Four styles of Beaujolais wines exist. The simplest, and one that has regrettably given the region a subpar reputation, is Beaujolais Nouveau. This is the Beaujolais wine that is made using carbonic maceration (a quick fermentation that results in sweet aromas) and is released on the third Thursday of November in the same year as harvest. It's meant to drink young and is flirty, fruity and fun. The rest of Beaujolais is where the serious wines are found. Aside from the wines simply labelled, Beaujolais, there are the Beaujolais-Villages wines, which must come from the hilly northern part of the region, and offer reasonable values with some gems among them. The superior sections are the cru vineyards coming from ten distinct communes: St-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly. Any cru Beajolais will have its commune name prominent on the label.