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Domaine Les Gryphées (Pierre Durdilly), Fleurie

Beaujolais, France 2018 (750mL)
$26.00
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Domaine Les Gryphées (Pierre Durdilly), Fleurie

Here’s your periodic reminder that Beaujolais is part of Burgundy and that Gamay grown in prestige villages like Fleurie is seriously starting to challenge Pinot Noir’s regional supremacy. Seriously—I know this may sound like sacrilege coming from a Burgundy hound like me, but I’d be hard-pressed to find a Bourgogne Pinot Noir that delivers this level of detail, depth, and pure, mineral-etched joy for $26 a bottle. 
I’ve said this before: Beaujolais is a magnet for winemaking talent, a treasure trove of heirloom vineyards, and still—despite the meteoric rise in quality of the wines—the world epicenter of red wine value. And by “value” I mean incomparable, “highway robbery” value. Domaine Les Gryphées farms premier old-vine parcels in four of the region’s cru villages, and among their specialties is seeking out old, sometimes abandoned vineyard sites and restoring them to their former glory. Today’s 2018 Fleurie is sourced from a prized plot called “Les Grands Vieres,” where 60+-year-old Gamay vines burrow deep into the decomposed pink granite that characterizes the village, and the resulting wine is so full of energy, so finessed, so aromatically inviting, all I can say is a big, resounding YES! Bring it on! It’s not only priced for “everyday” drinking, it’s a wine you’ll want to drink every day. Every. Day. It’s that good, so grab some before I change my mind and keep it all for myself!
The father-son team of Pierre and Guillaume Durdilly currently farm about 35 acres of vineyards in Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, and Moulin-à-Vent, where the estate is headquartered. The name “Les Gryphées” is derived  from the ancient marine fossils (gryphées) found in some of their vineyards, where the family first started crafting estate-bottled wines in the 1970s. What stands out about these wines is their incredible detail and purity—these truly are wines that are “grown” rather than made, with fermentations carried out in stainless steel or cement and aging done in large, neutral oak foudre barrels. It’s really all about viticulture for these guys, who plant beneficial herbs between the vine rows to combat erosion and pests and eschew chemical treatments in favor of organic ones.

The classic profile of Fleurie is typically more finessed and floral than nearby Morgon (we offered their Morgon earlier this year, to frenzied response), and in this respect, the Durdillys absolutely nailed it: It is fresh and firm, loaded with bright raspberry fruit and violet-scented floral notes, and more than a little reminiscent of Burgundy Pinot Noir. The two grapes are related, after all, so this shouldn’t be a surprise—more and more often, the line between the two is getting blurred, with delicious results!

Today’s 2018 was bottled un-fined and unfiltered, and if you’d like an unmistakable wine of place, this is it: A fine-tuned, high-toned, wildly aromatic expression of Gamay grown on granite. It shines a bright ruby-garnet in the glass, with aromas reminiscent of a basket-full of woodland berries: black and red raspberries, sour cherry, currants, damp violets, pekoe tea, underbrush, and crushed rocks. It is medium-bodied, with a silken elegance not always found in the ripe, chunky recent vintages of Cru Beaujolais; the balance and perfume are impeccable, and the combination of refinement and refreshment is as good as it gets! Decant this 30 minutes before serving in Burgundy stems at 55-60 degrees and try your best to take your time with it. I warn you: It won’t be easy, so keep another bottle handy. This is a red you’ll want on the table in perpetuity, all Summer long, to enjoy with just about anything that comes off the grill. It is not to be missed! Enjoy!
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Country
France
Region
Beaujolais
Sub-Region
FranceFleurie
Soil
Granitic
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Gamay 100%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
Large, Neutral 'Foudre'
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now-2026
Decanting
20-30 Minutes
Pairing
Pork Tenderloin w/ Peach Mustard Sauce

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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