JEAN-PAUL BRUN Terres Dorees Cote De Brouilly, Beaujolais

Très Vielle Vigne translates to “ancient vines”- in the case of this wine, we’re talking 80 years old. Sitting on a steep southeast-facing slope with the trademark granitic soils of Beaujolais, these vines deliver on concentration and structure. The aspect is perfect for gentle morning ripening, and the granite lends energy to the wine. This wine is the pride of the Domaine, with deep and dark flavours and unending complexity to discover. Despite the usual thought that Beajoulais can’t age, this wine still has years of delight under the cork- particularly from the 2020 vintage. This is modern Beajoulais at its best.

Brouilly is the largest and furthest south of the Beaujolais crus. It has a good south eastern exposure, at the bottom of the Saône Valley at an altitude of 200 to 300 metres. The subsoil consists of granite debris and blue-tinged schist. This also ranked the full 5 stars in my abbreviated-for-iPad rating system! Immediately exuberant, with a diverse array of floral notes, theres also some white pepper and crushed cherry notes. Gamay varietal by Dominique Piron.

Beaujolais Villages is an Appellation from the southern part of Burgundy, made out of 100% Gamay grapes. The wines produced in this area tend to be a little deeper and darker in colour and character than the Beaujolais Appelation. It is also a big step up in quality. Tramier Beaujolais-Villages wine is highly aromatic with floral and fruity bouquets. Ripe red berry fruits with juicy, racy acidity and a hint of black pepper. A wonderful expression of Beaujolais-Villages and what the Gamay gra

The 2017 is a smoky and juicy dark cherry-and-raspberry-noted wine with sappy freshness and a nice, crunchy finish. "The late Marcel Lapierre once said of Beaujolais, Ça se bois sous la douche. (Its a wine you can drink under the shower). While this captures the simple deliciousness of much Beaujolais, it doesnt do justice to the wines being produced by the finest artisans like Pierre-Marie Chermette. Of the wines of Domaine du Vissoux we would be more likely to say, Il est trop bon pour être bu sous la douche! Its too damn good to be drunk in the shower! Beaujolais can be the most joyful, compelling and life-affirming of wines. Yet in the hands of a master it can also be a wonderfully refined, long-lived Burgundy. Domaine du Vissoux is a producer capable of fashioning such wines. This is why their wines can be found in many of Frances finest restaurants and why Vissoux remains the highest-rated Beaujolais producer in the leading French wine guide, Les Meilleurs Vins de France. Owners Pierre-Marie and Martine Chermette were among the first in Beaujolais to use sustainable agricultural practices, shunning the use of any chemicals in the vineyard and encouraging as much life in the soil as possible. They prune hard to keep yields low, harvest by hand when the grapes are fully ripe and regularly carry out green harvests to further reduce the yields and ensure full ripeness for the harvest. The wines are made with minimal intervention: wild yeasts, minimal sulphur additions and no filtering if possible. Ageing is in traditional up-to-the-ceiling, neutral oak casks."

The name Moulin à Vent owes its name to the emblematic mill at the top of the hill that dominates the vineyards of the oldest AOP of Beaujolais. The Moulin à Vent appellation covers the best slopes of Romanèche-Thorins and Chénas and its granitic soil with shale and clay veins. Purple red in colour, with youthful notes of ripe cherry and violet. With ageing, the bouquet becomes more spicy and complex, with aromas of truffle or musk. On the palate, the finesse of its fleshy, velvety tannins and the persistence of its aromas provide unparalleled pleasure.

Voted 2020 Winemaker of the Year by the famous “Guide Hachette” in France, Arnaud Aucoeur epitomizes the Beaujolais Gamay revival in the world of wine. From pure Gamay, these wines have freshness with a hint of minerality, ruby-red colour and red berry scents on the nose. The style is bright, packed with berry flavours, with hints of black pepper over a base of ripe tannins. In this pack, you will receive: one bottle of Morgon (90 points, James Suckling), 1 bottle of Moulin à Vent (92 points, Wine Enthusiast), 1 bottle of each Beaujolais Cru : Juliénas, Fleurie , Chiroubles and Saint Amour .

Vignoble Aucoeur is the oldest family domain of the Morgon village, in the heart of Beaujolais. Arnaud Aucoeur has been voted 2020 Winemaker of the Year by the famous Guide Hachette in France. To perpetuate the legacy of his ancestors, Arnaud makes some of his wines, including his famous “Moulin à vent”, in wooden containers. Barrels, tons and semi-casks are all housed on the farm. The grapes are manually-harvested from vines of about fifty years, exclusively from Gamay grapes. Located on the heights of Beaujolais, on a light and lean granitic sand soil, Chiroubles is an elegant wine, fine, charming and slightly tannic with violet aromas. A convivial and charming wine.

Vignoble Aucoeur is the oldest family domain of the Morgon village, in the heart of Beaujolais. Arnaud Aucoeur has been voted 2020 Winemaker of the Year by the famous Guide Hachette in France. Delimited in 1924, the “Moulin à Vent” vineyard is mainly made up of shallow granite soils. Rich in manganese, this terroir brings a lot of richness to the wine. The wines are often compared with their cousins of the Côte d’Or in Burgundy. This wine offers a pleasant and balanced nose. It is warm, ripe and powerful on the mouth, with black-currant flavours, and supported with beautiful tannins.