Placeholder Image
SommSelect

Domaine Marc Delienne, Fleurie, “Avalanche des Printemps”

Beaujolais, France 2015 (750mL)
$32.00
/
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol
SommSelect

Domaine Marc Delienne, Fleurie, “Avalanche des Printemps”

Cru Beaujolais is a hot ticket at the moment. Lapierre, Dutraive, Metras, Foillard…these are just some of the names on collectors' lips, as Beaujolais and its native grape, Gamay, are commanding the kind of respect once reserved for their Pinot Noir-based Burgundy brethren.
The Beaujolais region may, in fact, be France’s most dynamic wine zone, a place where even a new, unknown producer can gain access to old vines in the best sites. One such upstart, a passionate career-changer named Marc Delienne, did just that when he acquired a 9th-century abbey, Château de l’Abbaye Saint Laurent, in the cru village of Fleurie. This wine, Delienne’s 2015 Fleurie “Avalanches des Printemps,” has everything we look for in great Gamay: aromatic intrigue; crystal clear fruit purity; and a mineral backbone that reflects its place of origin. This bottling—Delienne’s first vintage release, no less!—will charm anyone who adores red Burgundy or any wine of energy, finesse, and class.
Marc Delienne did that thing so many of us dream of: he quit his job in Paris to pursue the life of a vigneron full-time. He worked for a champion of Les Baux de Provence, Eloi Dürrbach, at Domaine de Trévallon. Few have done more than Eloi to elevate the Baux de Provence AOC (the only appellation to require organic or biodynamic farming!!), and the apprenticeship gave Marc an incredible foundation. After leaving Provence, Marc purchased the historic Château de l’Abbaye Saint Laurent, where Benedictine Monks first settled and cultivated vines in 1000 AD. The property of the church was seized following the French Revolution, after which the estate landed in the hands of the Quinson family in 1904. Its buildings and vineyards were largely neglected until Marc came along, beginning the farm’s transition to organic farming.

The old vines, rooted in the classic pink granite soils of Fleurie, are set to be certified organic in 2017. Avalanches des Printemps is fermented with 100% whole clusters and aged in a combination of concrete tanks and old, neutral barrels of various sizes. These wines are crafted without any manipulation—no chaptalization, acidification or even racking during elevage—and sulfur is kept to a bare minimum. The wines are bottled without fining or filtration. The result is a Gamay that follows in the footsteps of legendary, natural Beaujolais winemakers like Lapierre; I’ve come to call it “life force,” and it really energizes me whenever I encounter it!

The 2015 Avalanches des Printemps is everything I yearn for in a glass of Gamay. The highly reflective dark ruby red core leaves a hint of garnet on the rim. Aromatics of preserved black cherry, strawberry, pomegranate seed and damp roses are wound with fragrances of wild herbs, a touch of fennel, and endless aromas of vineyard life. The medium-bodied palate reveals intense, youthful fruit at its most pristine, a bouquet garni of herbs, flowers, and persistent crushed granite that lingers long after you set down the glass. Every minute this wine is open, it seems to evolve into something deeper and more profound. Decant for 30 minutes and let this wine come alive in Burgundy stems between 60-65 degrees. And while I recommend this Zuni Chicken recipe somewhat incessantly, I hope you will take me up on it this time. It’s a can’t-miss classic.
Placeholder Image
Country
France
Region
Beaujolais
Sub-Region
FranceFleurie
Soil
Granite
Farming
Organic
Blend
Gamay
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
Neutral French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2020
Decanting
1 Hour
Pairing
Zuni Roast Chicken

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

Others We Love