Brouilly Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Lapalu, 2010

With Jean-Claude Lapalu's wine you can detect the strength behind the fruit. Grapes are hand picked and sorted, loaded by conveyor to avoid damage and given neither SO2 nor cultured yeasts during fermentation. During 8-10 days maceration, a wooden grill is used to enhance extraction. The wine stays for at least 6 months on its fine lees gaining power and complexity. And yet the Brouillys are neither heavy nor clumsy and one could easily imagine them ageing 10-15 years. The Vieilles Vignes Brouilly is the combination of two cuvées, one made using carbonic maceration and the other a traditional vinification with destemmed grapes. The two cuvees are then blended after their malolactic fermentation and spend the winter in stainless steel tanks.

Absolutely bursting with ripe, rich red and black fruit characters, this Gamay also has brilliant minerality.