Domaine Guillot-Broux Macon-Cruzille Beaumont Rouge 2019
-
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This vineyard is east facing, as are all of the vineyards in Cruzille. It is situated mid-slope, with 10,000 plants/hectare, and the soil is Bathonian clayey-limestone. On this rich soil, it is important to rein in the vines in order to let the grapes reach the right maturity. They use the short pruning method en cordon Royat for all the Gamay vines on the estate, to restrain the natural vigorous growth of this grape variety. Grown on the clayey limestone soils of the Mâconnais, this wine has very particular peppery and spicy notes. Beaumont is an emblematic cuvee of the domaine, a real Gamay with a Burgundy style.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From Gamay vines planted in 1978 in the coolest of the domaine's red wine parcels, the 2019 Mâcon-Cruzille Beaumont exhibits notions of red berries, warm spices, smoke, raw cocoa and orange rind. Medium to full-bodied, lively and concentrated, it's deep and sapid, with powdery tannins and a long, floral finish. It was vinified without any destemming. As I wrote of its 2018 counterpart, this is a serious, inherently structured wine, so readers shouldn't be misled by the modest appellation into drinking it too soon: four or five years' bottle age will be richly rewarded. Rating : 92+
Delightfully playful, but also capable of impressive gravitas, Gamay is responsible for juicy, berry-packed wines. From Beaujolais, Gamay generally has three classes: Beaujolais Nouveau, a decidedly young, fruit-driven wine, Beaujolais Villages and Cru Beaujolais. The Villages and Crus are highly ranked grape growing communes whose wines are capable of improving with age whereas Nouveau, released two months after harvest, is intended for immediate consumption. Somm Secret—The ten different Crus have their own distinct personalities—Fleurie is delicate and floral, Côte de Brouilly is concentrated and elegant and Morgon is structured and age-worthy.
These are the fun, fruit-driven and lively Chardonnays of white Burgundy, often offering some fantastic values and options that you don’t have to cellar. Flavors range from fresh green apple and lemon to melon or pineapple; some of the best are fleshy and mineral driven or balanced by a light touch of oak.
Mâconnais Chardonnay may have the weight of their more serious Côte de Beaune sisters, but not quite the refinement. Still, this appellation is one of the best ways to jump from California Chardonnay to something new and begin to understand white Burgundy.
The Mâconnais region is warmer and drier than the rest of Burgundy to its north (Côte d’Or) and has a landscape of rolling hills and farmland interspersed among vineyards. The region produces a lot of Chardonnay—Viré-Clessé and Pouilly-Fuisse are among the best—and a very small amount of red wine from Gamay and Pinot Noir. The soils of Mâconnais remain limestone dominant like in the Côte d’Or, making it a wonderful spot for Chardonnay to thrive. Gamay's home of Beaujolais lies just to the south.