Domaine Jean-Claude Lapalu 2019 'Vieilles Vignes' Beaujolais-Villages, Beaujolais, France
Domaine Jean-Claude Lapalu 2019 'Vieilles Vignes' Beaujolais-Villages, Beaujolais, France
- Winemaker: Jean-Claude Lapalu
- Varieties: Gamay
- Farming: Ecocertified (organic), Biodynamic practices and conversion
- Terroir: From one of the most precocious Bojo Villages sectors, which is among the first to be harvested in the region. Vines are 45+ years old and are densely planted so challenging to work. Sandy soil over granite bedrock,
- Vinification: Grapes are chilled for 1 day, then into tank for carbonic maceration/fermentation for 12-14 days with indigenous yeasts.
- Aging: Aged 5-6 months in tank, no fining, and no filtration (except the last 10% of the tank). 10-15 mg SO2 at bottling
- Notes: A top-tier old vine Beaujolais-Villages from a densely planted, early ripening sector. This super value is supple, succulent and very pretty. Ripe, but not overripe- red and black cherries, tangy cranberries, smoke, fresh-tilled earth and a note of natural wine 'wildness'.
Jean-Claude Lapalu is among the most respected and revered growers in Beaujolais, a darling of the Paris wine scene, and a leader in the so-called Natural Wine movement in France. He farms the same vines that were once farmed by his father and grandfather, who were grape-growers who sold to a cooperative.
Most vines are 50-100 years old. In 1995, at the age of 33, Lapalu took over and starting making his own wine, and converted the land to organic and biodynamic agriculture.
