Fleurie Vieilles Vignes Domaine de la Madone 2018 Magnum

Domaine de la Madone Vieilles Vignes Fleurie is made from grapes sourced from the Domaine’s oldest vines which are aged between 70 and 100 years old. The wine has an amazing concentration of flavour with deep red strawberry and damson notes. It has super smooth tannins and an amazing mouthfeel. The vines are less productive and produce intense small berries with concentrated flavours. The old vines have roots which have plunged deep into the granite subsoil and capture the magic of the terrior from this wonderful region.

Domaine de la Madone, located in the Beaujolais Cru of Fleurie, is owned and run by Arnaud Despres. Arnaud is the 6th generation of his family to farm these famous hillside vineyards that take their name from the chapel which sits on top of the hill above the village of Fleurie. Arnaud’s 17 hectares, which sit on pink granite, enjoy some of the best growing conditions in the area and are blessed with exceptional amounts of sunlight - perfect for cultivating the Gamay grape. Arnaud now also makes a white wine from Viognier and there was talk of planting some Marsanne in the not-too-distant future. It should also be noted that the winery has a restaurant attached to it which is fantastic.

Picking is done manually, 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. Some of the top cuvees are aged in oak barrels and there is some experimenting with concrete eggs. Filtration is very light and a small amount of sulphur is used.