Great roundness and minerality, with notes of black cherry, plum, violet and liquorice. Full bodied and silky on the palate.
Jean-Claude Lapalu
Jean-Claude Lapalu is a vigneron who works in harmony with nature, situated on the slopes of Brouilly since 1996. His 9-hectare estate is certified organic, even if he does not mark this on his labels. He also bottles his wines with next to no sulphur – just 1 g/hl. It would be easy to imagine then that some oenophiles might dismiss him as lazy tree hugger, and yet for some time now Jean-Claude has been embraced as enthusiastically by lovers of natural, authentic wines as by international critics accustomed to scintillating châteaux with thick carpets and marble foyers. In fact, both Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson made special trips to meet Jean-Claude in person during visits to Beaujolais – a rare move coming from these rock stars of the wine world, especially given Jean-Claude’s policy of never sending samples to the press. Clearly they don’t hold that against him – Parker gave his Brouilly “Vieilles Vignes” a 94/100! Jean-Claude may not have a shiny castle or marble floors, but his wines sparkle like jewels...