More 2009 Fleuries
Tasted August 14, 2013 by octopussy with 463 views
Introduction
After two previous tastings of 2009 Fleuries (first the regular cuvées, then the Vielles Vignes cuvées), this was the third tasting of 2009 Fleuries organized by my friend O. He had assembled two wines that somehow feel through in the last tasting (Jean-Marc Deprès Fleurie "1889" and Lucien Lardy Le Vivier VV), some wines randomly bought in the Maison du Cru in Fleurie and some additional Fleuries. We tasted them open-label and slightly cooled (around 14-15 °C) in two rounds.
Flight 1 (9 notes)
Red
2009 Domaine Lucien Lardy Fleurie Le Vivier
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Don't know what was wrong with the last bottle. Two months later, the next bottle is an entirely different affair. Cherry red. In the nose, there's sweet black cherry, plums, warm granite rock and blackberries. It's very fragrant and elegant. On the palate, it's meaty, mineralic, tight and linear. It has quite a vibrant acidity and tannins with lots of grip. Long finish with very finely woven acidity. Simply excellent.
Red
2009 Jean-Marc Despres Fleurie "1889"
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Blackish red. In the nose, this is rich again, very herbal and ethereal (eucalyptus), slightly lactic (like blackberry yoghurt), there's licorice and light overtones. A bit better than the last bottle, but still too rich for my taste. On the palate, it continues that way. It's full and round, has nice notes of small black berries, even sufficient acidity, but its richness and its slightly bitter and alcoholic notes in the finish make it a little too powerful to really enjoy it. Less would be more in this case.
Red
2009 Jean-Marc Lafont Fleurie La Madone
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Medium crimson colour. In the nose, this is extremely fragrant and expressive, jumps at you. The dominant aromas are of forest strawberries, but there's also something yeasty and some tar. Strange. On the palate, it's a bit simple, the acidity seems a bit out of place, there are slightly bitter notes. But it's nicely transparent and somehow coherent.
Red
2009 Jean Paul Champagnon Fleurie La Roilette
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
From more than 100 year old vines. Cherry red. In the nose, this is very expressive, but not in a too good way. There's smoked bacon, BBQ notes, prunes and dark berries. At the rear end of the nose, there's good freshness though. On the palate, it's fairly light, a bit simple, not too long in the finish, yet with nice minerality. Quite good, actually.
Red
2009 Domaine du Haut-Poncié Fleurie
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Medium to dark red. In the nose, this is very linear, tight and compact. I like it, but it can be perceived as one-dimensional. There's no sensuality, it's more straight-forward. Small black berries of different sorts are the main component. On the palate, this is very well balanced with sort of a creamy mouthfeel, very well integrated acidity, clarity and precision. It even gets playful in the medium-long finish. Very good, but without too many edges.
Red
2009 Jean-Marc Despres Fleurie Grille-Midi
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Very dark red. In the nose, this is superb, very fragrant, but not going all over the place, but tightly woven. There's notes of Cassis, black berries, very light overtones of raspberry and strawberry. Truly excellent. On the palate, it's well balanced although you can sense the alcohol a bit, there's lots of extract, it's slightly sweet and has notes of salty licorice in the finish that is surprisingly sweet for a Fleurie. Not too typical, but an impressive wine.
Red
2009 Domaine du Point du Jour Fleurie Cuvée Tradition
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Full and bright cherry red. In the nose, it's flabby and nothing seems to fit together. There's a core of black fruit, but nothing to hold on to. On the palate, it's slightly simple, somehow sweet, but also somehow bitter. Tart finish with dusty tannins. Maybe closed down? In any case, not enjoyable right now.
Red
2009 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Fleurie
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
Now, this has improved a lot over the last two years. Light cherry red. In the nose, it's very, very fine, fragrant, elegant, very slightly lactic, with prominent, fragrant and precise raspberry notes, herbal notes as well and slight notes of spontaneous fermentation. Very complex and individual, but so good! On the palate, it starts with last hints of CO2 that go away with some air, it's light, it's good finesse and very fine fruit notes, nice and well integrated acidity and a great and convincing mix of minerality and spiciness in the finish. Truly great!
Red
2009 Jean-Louis Dutraive (Domaine de la Grand'Cour) Fleurie Clos de la Grand'Cour Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie
60-70 year old vines. 11 months elevage in used barriques. Light cherry red. In the nose, it stinks a bit, but in a nice way, there's animalic notes, reminiscent of a ponytail, lilacs and blood. Wow, this is fairly crazy in its profile, not easy to like. After some time in the glass, the nose gets easier to like, there's some raspberry and earthy undertones. On the palate, this is light with a great red berry aroma profile, very clear, very precise, finely woven, long, the longest finish of the pack. If only the nose was a little less animalic...
Closing
While Lucien Lardy's Le Vivier VV showed much better than at the last tasting (as if it was a different wine), Jean-Marc Deprès' Fleurie 1889 was still too much of everything. This particular old vine cuvée may be better in cooler years, but in 2009 it was just off the charts. Deprès' 2009 Grille Midi showed how you can achieve a ripe style in line with the vintage, which is still balanced. Actually, we all found it quite surprising that the Grille Midi, coming from a quite hot climat, showed much lighter and more balanced than the 1889, even though - so we believe - it comes from La Madone, which is fairly steep and at a quite high elevation. It seems to have gotten a lot of sun in 2009 though.
There was no surprise success by any of the lesser known producers, but I personally liked the 2009 Domaine de Haut-Poncié (Patrick Tranchand) Fleurie a lot in its linear style. It wasn't much appreciated by the rest of the group though. We all liked the Jean Paul Brun (Terres Dorées) - 2009 Fleurie a lot with its vibrant, red-fruited, elegant style. It's got a very recognizable style and maybe comes closest to what some people consider typical for Fleurie (red fruit, feminin, elegant, light). My wine of the night would probably have been Jean-Louis Dutraive's 2009 Fleurie VV if only it would have had less strong ponytail notes. All in all, this was a great tasting again and I notice that I get more and more obsessed with Beaujolais.
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