Brouilly 'La Croix des Rameaux', Domaine Lapalu, 2009

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.

Croix des Rameaux, from beautifully exposed prime plots of 80 year old vines and aged in 3-5 year old barrels after prolonged fermentation, displays a wonderfully wild nose of leather, tar and red cherry, and palate-punching dark fruits. Stylistically it appears to straddle Burgundy and the Rhône.