Domaine Les Roches Bleus – Le Crus De Volcan – Brouilly 2016 – Clifton Cellars
Wine, like many other things in life is driven by what’s in fashion, or as the French call it La Mode. The problem with this, being that if you drive your choice of acquisitions based around this fickle concept, you will likely sacrifice some rather wonderful things.
Take for example Beaujolais, which was the height of fashion in the mid 80’s amongst the filofax gripping yuppies. Sadly, all too often associated with the insipid and often headache inducing Beaujolais Noveau, Gingham table clothes and stale baguettes. Consumers rarely looking further than mass consumption and bragging rights in the office, in recent years’ fashion has shifted and has resulted in Beaujolais being forgotten and judged as a fashion faux pas rather than on its substantial merits.
Luckily, for those of us willing to trade fashion for flavour Beaujolais is still producing excellent wines, which thankfully subtly find themselves gaining high praise.
Using the Gamay grape which once again has fallen out of fashion, the Vignerons of Beaujolais are largely responsible for Carbonic Maceration, resulting in exciting and often weird flavour elements which cover a spectrum ranging from bubble gum to blueberry right through to Cherries and Marzipan.
There are ten Beaujolais Cru’s representing the finest wines of the region, and Brouilly is one of the most Southerly, centred around the 1585ft of Mount Brouilly. The bluey purple Manganese soils supporting small goblet trained vines resulting in a high concentration of flavour and body.
Domaine Les Roche Bleus has produced an example which displays a ruby red colour, It has a nose of classic Beaujolais bouquet, liquorice and marzipan blend with notes of red fruit and plums. A quick slurp confirms this with an emphasis on the plum and red fruits and a fresh burst of acidity. The tannins are silky and the finish is medium. The alcohol level is balanced and at 13% is deceptive and cleverly integrated. This wine is medium bodied and is both simple and complex. Pairing wonderfully with Chicken Chasseur or Charcuterie, or even Cotes de Porc Charcuterie… Something for the weekend Sir ?
Just a Quick Slurp! 