GRANDES MISES
FLEURIE 2020
Grape varietal
100% Gamay Noir.
Tasting notes
In the mouth, this is a complex, racy and well-structured wine offering violet, cherry, wild strawbery and spices flavours.
The velvety tanins bring a pleasant sweetness.
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 Gamay grapes were handpicked on September 2020, the 10th..
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.
Maceration lasted 10-12 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 8 months in tanks.
Bottled in May 2021 after very gentle filtering.
26 800 bottles were produced.
Vintage : 2020
This year we have favoured destemming with long maceration periods to really bring out the elegance of this vintage. Obviously, the traditional semi-carbonic maceration approach used in tandem with vendange entière is still called for to draw out our Gamay's aromatic subtlety, not to mention hot pre-fermentative maceration to extract as much colour as possible from the grapes that were most affected by drought.
The initial tastings offer a journey through the senses that's intense and complex, a real pleasure for the taste buds, with aromas of raspberry, cherry, morello cherry and even pear! It's a real delight to test the must with all the gorgeous colours it exhibits! Mouth-filling despite high levels of acidity in some cases. The wines are supple, round and smooth, well-structured with supple, silky tannins. An elegant vintage in the making.
