Description
Jacky Piret, Côte de Brouilly “Vieilles Vignes”
Today’s wine captures the essence of Cru Beaujolais as vividly as any I’ve tasted this year—or ever, come to think of it. Grown near the top of the Mont de Brouilly, the region’s most iconic natural landmark, and loaded with the brambly fruit and crushed-rock minerality that distinguishes the greatest Beaujolais reds, Jacky Piret’s Côte de Brouilly “Cru du Beaujolais” is a stone-cold stunner.
It took me right back to my last trip to Beaujolais, where the SommSelect crew loaded up on coq au vin and watched the bar we were in fill up with an all-star roster of local vignerons. I can’t wait to get back there, but in the meantime, I have this wine to keep it etched indelibly in my mind. Although Frédérique and Jacky Piret only acquired their domaine in 2005, it is a property (formerly known as La Combe) with a rich history and some serious old-vine parcels, not just in their home base of Fleurie but high up on the Côte de Brouilly hill. The profound depth of flavor in today’s 2018 owes to vines ranging in age from 70-100 years, densely planted in a tiny lieu-dit (named site) called “Les Buissieres.” This is old-vine, old-school Gamay at its very best—a must for anyone who loves classic French wine.
The Mont de Brouilly, depicted on this wine’s label, is described by the trade agency Inter Beaujolais as the “veritable emblem” of the region. The vineyards of the Côte de Brouilly appellation—one of the 10 “crus” of Beaujolais—are arrayed on the steep eastern and southern slopes of the hill, which is a long-extinct volcano. One of the key features distinguishing Côte de Brouilly is the presence of bluish volcanic stone called diorite, along with the granite found in much of the region. Although the relatively high altitudes of the Côte de Brouilly vineyards help them maintain brightness and aromatic lift, the vineyard sites are very well-exposed to sun, so there is no lack of concentration in the wines. Both the exposures and the rocky, mineral-rich soils give the wines a darker, more peppery note relative to some more-floral expressions like Fleurie. I taste soil when I taste this wine, and I like it!
Overall, the Piret domaine extends over 14 total hectares in five crus: Beaujolais, Régnié, Fleurie, Juliénas, and Côte de Brouilly. The vineyard source of today’s Côte de Brouilly measures about 1.6 hectares and is typically good for about 800 cases of the “Cru du Beaujolais” annually—making me feel even more fortunate to get my hands on some. The Pirets employ a ‘semi-carbonic’ maceration when fermenting this wine (including whole grape bunches but not sealing them up in tank with CO2), then aged it mostly in concrete tanks, with a small amount (10%) aged in barrel.
In the glass, the 2018 displays a deep ruby core moving to garnet and pink at the rim, with an aromatic profile that has everything I look for in Gamay—wild-berry fruit, florals, spices, earth. Aromas of black raspberries, Bing cherries, plums, violets, black pepper, and underbrush carry over to the plump, medium-bodied palate, which is at once stony and silky. It’s what I’d call the exact right amount of rustic—its minerality and earthiness is balanced beautifully by the concentrated fruit, which I’ll have to chalk up to those vieilles vignes (old vines). It is ready to enjoy now and over the next few years in Burgundy stems at 60 degrees, and while decanting isn’t necessary, it never hurts. Even though it is in no way heavy, this is nevertheless a very “wintry” red that will pair beautifully with hearty stews (like the Beaujolais classic coq au vin) and other cold-weather fare—whatever your definition of that may be. I plan to have a bottle close at hand all season long, and encourage you to do the same. Cheers!
