Fleurie, Domaine de la Madone, 2022 MAGNUM

Crunchy red fruit, floral with damsons, ripe cherry, strawberry, dry herbs and underpinned by a lovely spiciness. Smooth tannins, good depth and a concentration rather rare in a Fleurie. 

Country: France  Region: Beaujolais Grape: Gamay
ABV: 13%   Bottle Size: 150cl 

Domaine de la Madone are sixth generation winemakers, the Despres family and have some of the oldest vines in the area with most of their vines being 70-100 years old. 

The estate takes its name from the small chapel built at the top of the hill and overlooking the village of Fleurie. Topped with a statue of the Virgin Mary, it dates back to 1866 and was built by winegrowers to protect the vines against powdery mildew (vine disease). The vines planted on this hill are called the classified climate “la Madone”. Arnaud Despres’ great-great-grandfather was among the winegrowers who hoisted the statue to the top of the chapel with the help of their oxen.

The estate is 17 hectares,  soil is pink granite with high amounts of sunlight. 

Hand harvested and the wines are fermented in whole bunches in concrete tanks to retain the freshness and terroir of the individual plots.

The winery is built into the hillside so the wine can be moved from picking baskets to tanks and then to barrels via gravity. Filtration is very light and a small amount of sulphur is used.