Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
A fresh elegance to this striking wine, the Côte de Vernay is the most noble by some way. A very complete expression of Fleurie, by no means a single fruit but a velvet covering to a very refined structure. Admirable. Drink from 2027-2032. Tasted Dec 2024.
Barrel Sample: 91-94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Clos Vernay is a special plot situated at 400-450 meters in elevation surrounded by forest, with granite and quartz that impart clarity and freshness to the wine year after year. The 2023 Fleurie Clos Vernay is lush with aromas of sweet dark berries, licorice, spearmint, ginger spice and vanilla. The full-bodied wine offers substantial material, though the palate remains invigorated and uplifted, given its bright acidity. The integrated, smooth-coated tannins encapsulate the wine, finishing on a satisfying high with tones of flint and sea salt. This is a standout wine defined by its purity and impressive depth.
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.