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Domaine du Mas des Tines, Saint-Amour

Burgundy, France 2017 (750mL)
$28.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Domaine du Mas des Tines, Saint-Amour

The image of Beaujolais has changed so much since I first started out in wine. This area of southern Burgundy, with its 10 “cru” villages, is a prestige destination now—a hotbed of young winemaking talent attracting ever more critical acclaim. But if pricing is any indication, Cru Beaujolais and its Gamay grape is still the rustic ‘country cousin’ to Burgundy’s Pinot Noir, a fact we will continue to exploit for as long as we are able.
Today’s 2017 Saint-Amour from the tiny Domaine du Mas des Tines exemplifies why Cru Beaujolais is such a wine of the moment: It is lushly textured and full of concentrated berry fruit, but is neither simple, sweet, nor excessively weighty; it’s aromatic, refreshing, beautifully balanced, and ready to enjoy now; it displays some real complexity and mineral depth besides; and it comes in at $28. I can think of few categories of wine that have provided us with so many value-priced stunners over the last few years. Saint-Amour is the most northerly of the Beaujolais crus, and one of the smallest, but this is a high-impact style from a generous vintage, textured yet taut and a pure joy to drink. We’ve got another winner here!
Saint-Amour is one of the more rarely seen Cru Beaujolais wines (except on Valentine’s Day, when there’s always an opportunistic surge in sales), and if you’re looking for a consensus as to the typical style of these wines, you’re not likely to find one—but really, the same could be said of just about all 10 cru villages, which have yet to develop the kind of delineated identities you see in the towns of the Côte d’Or, further north (i.e. Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, etc.). Because of its northerly position within Beaujolais, right near where it meets up with the southern edge of the Mâcon, Saint-Amour's soils are a jumble of some of the granite Beaujolais is known for and the clay/limestone mix more readily associated with “Burgundy.” Spend a little time researching Saint-Amour and it’s easy to become confused: Is this a lighter style? Fuller? What’s the story?

This one, from fifth-generation vigneron Jérémie Giloux, falls on the fuller end of the spectrum, which owes at least in part to the 2017 vintage, but also to Giloux’s well-positioned old vines (he also makes a vieilles vignes bottling). The soils are a mix of clay, limestone, and silt, lending the wine its characteristic Burgundian freshness, but there’s also some serious concentration here: Giloux only partially de-stems the grapes for this bottling, and the wine is un-oaked, so it’s all about wild, woodland-berry fruit, underbrush, and a deep, turned-earth minerality.

In the glass, this 2017 Saint-Amour is a medium ruby at its core, moving to magenta at the rim. It starts out with a rich and satisfying blast of woodland berry fruit aromas, even leaning a little “purple” (elderberry; currant), then moves into floral, woodsy territory. Medium-plus in body and well-balanced by freshness and the most delicate nip of tannin, the easiest way to describe this wine is that it is lip-smackingly delicious. It’s easy to see why Cru Beaujolais is so popular—it’s palate-coating but buoyant, rich but refreshing, just perfectly modulated for enjoying with a wide variety of foods. This one’s slightly broader shoulders make me think of a platter full off burgers just off the grill, with a few cool (55-60 degrees) bottles uncorked and at the ready. Do your Spring/Summer table a favor and stock up!
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Country
France
Region
Burgundy
Sub-Region
FranceBeaujolais
Soil
Limestone, Granite, Schist
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Gamay 100%
Alcohol
14.1
OAK
None
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2024
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
'Julia Burgers'

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.

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