GRANDES MISES
FLEURIE 2017
Grape varietal
100% Gamay Noir.
Tasting notes
A classy, elegant, powerful wine.
Doted with beautiful crimson colour tinged with dark purple highlights. The nose is rich and redolent of black fruit and floral aromas with notes of spices. Delectable, full-bodied, velvety, round, elegant, fine and soft on the palate with silky tannins and remarkable length.
A magnificent Fleurie that is dense and rounded.
Serving suggestions
Enjoy this wine slightly below room temperature, between 15 and 18°C. (59-64°F.).
Try carafing this Fleurie to discover all of its richness!
Food and wine pairing
Be daring when pairing this wine with food. It is the perfect accompaniment for fine food as well as traditional regional dishes.
Ageing potential
Fleurie benefits from spending a few years in the cellar without any problem, and up to 8 or 10 if the correct temperature and humidity levels are respected.
Origins
There is proof that vines have been cultivated in Fleurie since 987. Fleurie has been recognized as an AOC since it was granted its appellation by the INAO on 11 September 1936.
This wine takes its name from the village in which it is produced. Legend has it that Fleurie was named after a Roman soldier, Florus, though there are neither architectural nor written traces of the village having been occupied during Roman times.
Fleurie is often considered to be the most feminine of the Beaujolais Crus. Perhaps this is because of the Madonna of Fleurie who, perched at the top of its hill, protectively overlooks the surrounding countryside and vineyards.
Terroir
Fleurie’s pink granite-based terroir gives the wine its intense carmine red colour, along with fruity and floral aromas of iris, violet and rose. The granite features large crystals and typical pinkish-red colour. In some plots there are numerous layers of micro-granite, but, more importantly, other dark or golden mica-rich lamprophyres.
The vineyard’s lowest point is at an altitude of 210m, though the vines grow as high up the slope as 510m. The average altitude is rather high and the slopes are moderate to very steep in most of the appellation, making it one of the Crus with the steepest slopes.
Vine and soil
Age of the vines: 50 years
Yield: 52 hl / ha
The vines are goblet pruned and cultivated with respect for the environment.
Vinification and maturing
The grapes were handpicked on the 6 of September 2017.
The grapes were brought in by our partner grower and vinified according to Burgundian tradition, using the entire bunches of grapes which were transferred to concrete vats using gravity. Maceration lasted 18 - 21 days, alternating pumping over of the must and rack and return in order to extract as much substance and structure as possible and to set the aromas and flavours. Temperatures were maintained between 22 and 24°C.
After the grapes were pressed, the press juice and the free-run juice for each cuvée were blended and racked to undergo malolactic fermentation on fine lees before being aged for 9 months in vats.
Bottled in May 2018 after very gentle filtering.
21,600 750-ml bottles were produced.
Vintage : 2017
2017 was heavily marked by climatic ups and downs. Some frost in the spring, violent hailstorms at the beginning of the summer and rather widespread dry conditions.
Saving rain fell the day before harvesting began, giving the coolness the grapes needed in order to reach optimal ripeness in those plots most affected by water shortage. This allowed for the full expression of all of the fruitiness and flavour that Gamay is renowned for. There was no threat of disease in 2017 and the vines were in perfect health. The grapes that were harvested were of extremely high quality, with good concentration and acidity. The harvest began in the earliest-ripening zones at the end of August. This vintage boasts fantastic concentrated aromas and flavours!
