This is a predominantly Smooth & Silky wine, but it shares structural nuances of Tone & Backbone as described in the tasting note below.
Tasting Notes
Straddling Smooth and Silky and Tone and Backbone, this wine is approachable, complex and delicious, with raspberry, red cherry, and bramble followed by lavender, pastille, and mineral along with more subtle earth and spice notes.
Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
TANNIN
Low
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Tannin can range greatly in wine, but it is necessary to some degree, and a necessary constituent for red wines to age well. In high amounts, it can cause a drying affect, which is sensed mostly on the gums and tongue. Tannin is a natural preservative extracted from grape skins, otherwise known as polyphenols that are micronutrients and antioxidants with potential health benefits.
ACIDITY
Soft
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
13.5%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
This wine personifies the phrase the whole is greater than the sum of it parts. Yum!
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Gamay
100%Ga-MAY
Gamay is a very old Burgundian variety often overshadowed by Pinot Noir. In the past, Gamay wines were often simple light and fruity wines, but old vine Gamay, especially Cru wines in Beaujolais have the potential to make very serious age-worthy wines with complex red and dark fruit, spice, and floral components at reasonable prices, especially for the serious complexity found in these wines.
Guy Breton took over the family estate in 1986 at a time in Beaujolais when, like many estates, his family sold all of their fruit to large cooperatives that used manufactured yeasts to make uniform wines lacking personality and terroir.
Following the example of the traditionalist Jules Chauvet, Guy along with Marcel Lapierre, Jean-Paul Thévenet, and Jean Foillard, the so-called Gang of Four, set out to make their own domaine wines with a focus on careful vineyard management and transparent winemaking.
Guy farms low-yielding old vines where herbicides and pesticides are never used and he tries to interfere very little in the winery. His wines exhibit complex fruit, minerality, and personality, as well as a good value. More importantly, the wines represent the potential of Beaujolais when in passionate hands.
Red Cherry
Lavender
Pastille
Biodynamic
