GRANDES MISES
BEAUJOLAIS BLANC 2020
Grape varietal
100% Chardonnay.
Tasting notes
The wine shows a beautiful pale yellow and crystalline colour.
The nose offers intense aromas of white flowers with light notes of exotic fruits.
The mouth is surprising, offering a fantastic minerality together with a perfect balance between roundness and acidity. A beautiful white Beaujolais !
Serving suggestions
Best served decanted and enjoyed quite cool, between 12° and 14° C. (54-57°F) to discover its elegance and complexity.
Food and wine pairing
Perfect match as an aperitif or throughout a meal with fish, goat cheeses, oysters.
Ageing potential
This Beaujolais is a wine that is designed to be enjoyed in its youth. It can also keep for up to 6 years.
Origins
Although tradition has it that Beaujolais is a region of red wine production, some plots, thanks to the different textures of their sub-soils, allow the successful blooming of the Chardonnay grape variety. Created in 1937, the Beaujolais white has two birthplaces: Villefranche in the Rhône and the canton of La Chapelle de Guinchay in the Saône-et-Loire.
Terroir
Parcels of our Beaujolais blanc are situated in the village of Saint-Amour,(Rhône) and on the ‘plateau du bois de Loyse’, in the village of La Chapelle de Guinchay near Beaujolais, in Saône-et-Loire. The soils are mainly composed of limestone and clay interspersed with sandy granite veins. They are situated on the border between the granite slopes and the former bed of the Saône River. The Chardonnay vines are fed by the river’s more recent sediments, and soil deposits that date back to Hercynian period lend them a gentle trace of minerality.
Vine and soil
Age of Vines: 30 years
Yield: 50 hectolitres per hectare
Plots: From a grass vineyard of 10ha50, rigorously selected by the partner-grower. The plots crashed on the plateau, benefit from all the orientations.
Vinification and maturing
The Chardonnay grapes were handpicked on September 2020, the 1st.
They were then pressed, and musts were then settled under control temperature before the fermentation which occured at low temperature (18-20°C. / 64-68°F.).
A short ageing (6 months) took place in stainless steel tanks to preserve the wine's minerality, purity of fruit and crisp acidity.
Bottling in July 2021.
13 000 bottles in total.
Vintage : 2020
Winter 2019-2020 was the warmest in France since the beginning of the 20th century. There was no hard frost at all. The average temperatures in the Beaujolais region over the first four months of the year were the mildest since 1947!
Very fine grapes that are extremely aromatic. The quantity of the harvest has varied from appellation to appellation and terroir to terroir. Intense colour and good acidity.
The harvests
18th August: the harvest begins with the Côte de Brouilly (21 days ahead of 2019!)
20th August: Beaujolais-Villages.
28th August: the whole Beaujolais region is hard at work.
19th September: the harvest finishes.
This year has been marked by tremendous diversity between different plots, these having reacted differently to the extreme weather conditions (lack of rain over much of the year and hot conditions). Some plots have lost a lot of juice, others have coped marvellously well! Several factors account for these differences: the soil, siting and exposure to sunlight, age, the yield of individual vines etc…
As a result, key variables are different from one wine to another. Potential alcohol fluctuates between 12 and 15 %.
The grapes show good aromatic potential with a thick epicuticular wax layer (bloom).
