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Remoissenet Père & Fils (Domaine Julien Clément), Fleurie

Beaujolais, France 2018 (750mL)
$34.00
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Remoissenet Père & Fils (Domaine Julien Clément), Fleurie

It’s tempting (and accurate) to call Remoissenet Père & Fils a Burgundy juggernaut: they certainly have the history, and the reach. But while this historic négociant is indeed large, with an unmatched reserve of back-vintage wines resting in their caves in Beaune, their mission of late has been to think small—as in, small lots of impeccably crafted wine, from organically and biodynamically farmed vineyards.
Since new ownership took control in 2005, Remoissenet has invested heavily in vineyards, thereby increasing the amount of “estate-bottled” wine it makes, but they’ve also deepened their relationships with talented vine-growers throughout Burgundy, treating them as true partners rather than just “suppliers.” Today, Remoissenet’s reach extends to Beaujolais, through a partnership with the Clément family of Fleurie. This 2018 came to us with some enthusiastic pre-release hype from Pierre-Antoine Rovani, who, before becoming Remoissenet’s estate manager, covered Burgundy for The Wine Advocate. For Rovani, and Remoissenet, to go full-throttle into Beaujolais says a lot about the meteoric rise of Cru Beaujolais in recent years. One of the biggest names in the business wants in on the fun, and to their credit, they nailed this Fleurie—the aromatics, the energy, and the dark berry fruit are all spot-on. A bottle of this at a cool 55 degrees is ready for literally anything Summer throws at it, so stock up accordingly!
Remoissenet’s new partner in Fleurie, Domaine Julien Clément, is the perfect example of the kind of grower they aim to work with: small, long-established, sustainable, family-run. The Cléments farm 25 hectares of vineyards in Fleurie, with most situated at high elevations in the hamlet of Poncié—arguably the most prized section within Fleurie, with soils of decomposed pink granite. Poncié’s cooler microclimate and poor soils produce perfumed Gamay with lots of natural acidity, but there’s also plenty of concentration and mineral depth to this ’18: vine age in the Clément family plots averages 45-50 years, with some parcels exceeding 80.

The Remoissenet-Clément relationship follows the classic négociant model: The Cléments harvest and make the wine, while Remoissenet’s team oversees élevage (aging), bottling, and distribution. Today’s wine was fermented on ambient yeasts with only a portion of the whole grape clusters left intact, a methodology some would call more “Burgundian” than what has traditionally been done in Beaujolais (i.e. “carbonic maceration,” wherein whole berries are fermented in a closed vessel under a blanket of CO2).
 
Methodology notwithstanding, today’s tank-aged 2018 captures the bright berry fruit and mouth-watering nerve of Gamay from Fleurie. In the glass, it displays a deep ruby core moving to a magenta/pink rim, with an appealing mix of black and red fruits on the nose—black and red raspberries, black and red plums, and wild strawberries, along with violets, rose petals, a touch of black pepper, and underbrush. It’s a medium-bodied wine with that perfect push-pull of juicy fruit sweetness and spicy twang, the latter likely accentuated by the partial whole-cluster fermentation. Although you could lay some down, that’s not really the point here: This wine should be enjoyed early, and often, with perhaps a few bottles squirreled away for Thanksgiving dinner. As noted above, serve it at 55-60 degrees in Burgundy stems (maybe returning the bottle between pours to the same cooler that contains the beers) with burgers, grilled chicken, or maybe some nice tuna or salmon “steaks.” This wine is nothing if not accommodating. Enjoy!
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Country
France
Region
Beaujolais
Sub-Region
FranceFleurie
Soil
Decomposed Pink Granite
Farming
Organic Practices
Blend
Gamay 100%
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
None
TEMP.
55-60
Glassware
Burgundy Stems
Drinking
Now
Decanting
15-30 Minutes
Pairing
Grilled Tuna Steaks

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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