Patrick Giloux > Burgundy

BEAUJOLAIS

In the rolling hills of northern Beaujolais, Patrick Giloux respects time-honored traditions of French winemaking at his 14.5 hectare vineyard. One of a tiny elite, he crafts red wines that have more in common with his more prestigious neighbors to the north in the Côte Chalonnaise region of Burgundy than with his local confrères.

The Clos de Creuse Noire is a small hollow (2.2 hectares) surrounded by thick stone walls which have defined this parcel for centuries. The Clos is blessed with a clay-silica subsoil which produces wines with structure and tannin, endowing them with an ageing potential rarely seen in the appellation Beaujolais-Villages, which is normally known for light, fruity, quaffing wines.

The vines on this miniscule plot are, on average, 50 year old, comparable to many of the best Burgundies and Bordeaux. Giloux harvests manually and as late as possible, in order to maximize the ripeness of his fruit. Yields are kept to a low 45 hectoliters/hectare. Unlike the vast majority of vintners in Beaujolais, he eschews the practice of carbonic maceration before the alcoholic fermentation. This fashionable technique produces wines that are aromatic and fruity, with little tannin. Unfortunately it imparts a bubble-gum-like quality, masks the original character, and imposes a certain uniformity on all wines.

Beaujolais-Villages - Clos de Creuse Noire

Giloux insists on a traditional maceration on the skins for up to 12 days, followed by 10 days of fermentation. The wine is then raised on fine lees for 9-12 months. This exceptional cuvée offers a dense and rich palette of mouth-watering black cherries and blackberries, over an armature of fine tannins.