2016 Labruyère Champ de Cour

Domaine Labruyère

France / Beaujolais / Domaine Labruyère

The peculiarity of this south-east facing granitic plot is the presence of pebbles under a thick layer of dense clay, which gives the wine a bold character with pronounced minerality. 100% Gamay with an average age of 50 years planted to 10,000 vines per hectare. Grapes are harvested manually in 25kg crates before passing through a double sorting table. The fermentation of 100% destemmed grapes takes place in a single concrete vat, in order to isolate the parcel and to express the unique characteristics of its terroir. The entire system is thermo-regulated. The wine is aged in used 600-litre demi-muids for 13 months. Slight filtration and no fining.

February, 2019

Nick Stock

jamessuckling.com

93 points

Some wild flowers and violets with some gently meaty, raw, reductive notes and plenty of red fruit. The palate has ample framing of rich tannins and good weight. There’s a lot of wine here. Drink or hold.

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About Domaine Labruyère

Domaine Labruyère is the Beaujolais estate of the top-flight French vigneron family behind Champagne Labruyère and famed Burgundy producer Jacques Prieur. Now in its seventh generation, Domaine Labruyère is one of the oldest wineries in the Moulin-a-Vent appellation. Its history here dates back to 1850, when wine grower Jean-Marie Labruyère settled in les Thorins, a hamlet of Romanèche-Thorins. He acquired 25 acres of well-located vineyards. The later acquisition of the famous “Clos du Moulin-à-Vent”, a unique monopole, epitomises the restless quest for excellence of subsequent generations. Located right beside the iconic windmill, this is one of the most precious jewels in the formidable Famille Labruyère crown.
Jean-Pierre Labruyère, long-serving president of Moulin-à-Vent cru, handed the estate’s reins in 2008 to his son Edouard. Together with talented, long-standing winemaker Nadine Gublin and viticulturist Michel Rovere, Edouard has injected an even greater dynamism into this spearhead of world-class Beaujolais.

About

Nadine has been oenologist at the Labruyère family's Burgundy estate Domaine Jacques Prieur's since 1990. She has been technical manager there since 2009, when she also took the same role at Domaine Labruyère in Moulin-à-Vent. Well-known among fine wine enthusiasts for many years, in 1998 she was name Best French Winemaker by the highly respected Revue du Vin de France. She is an advocate of sustained farming, precise winemaking and optimal ripeness.