2018 Clos de Mez Fleurie La Dot, Beaujolais

La Dot refers to the dowry that Marie-Elodie’s grandmother received. This wine pays hommage to her. From a plot of 50 year old vines located in the southern sector of Fleurie close to the border of Morgon. Produced from gnarled old goblet pruned vines grown on decomposed sandy pink granite and made from very low yields. Grapes are sorted as they are picked in each plot of the vineyard; in whole bunches, the grapes are moved to the vats by a system of gravity. Pre-fermentation maceration at cold temperature is carried out for few days, followed by alcoholic fermentation interspersed by cap-punching and pumping-over. After tasting, the grapes are removed from the vats after 2 to 3 weeks. 40 to 50% of this wine is matured in barrels for 9 months. After blending the wine in barrels with the other quantity in vats, maturing continues for 12 more months. Then, another additional year is necessary after bottling to appreciate the vintage in its first stage of plenitude. Afterwards, time will be the wine’s best ally to enable it to achieve its fullest development.

A dense and rather balsamic style of Fleurie that just avoids over-ripeness. The impressive tannin structure gives it quite some power and there’s no denying the spicy complexity. Quite soft at the finish. Drink or hold.

91 points jamessuckling.com March 2021