2014 Jean Foillard, Fleurie Cru Beaujolais, France.
The Foillard Fleurie 2014 is one of the most beautiful Gamay expressions I’ve ever tasted, I am always intrigued by Foillard’s wines and love them completely, year after year, but really this wine is humbling in it’s beauty and detail with a haunting perfume and dream like textures. The black label Fleurie by Foillard is always a rare and magical wine, it is released later and is always a bit lighter and more feline than his Morgon wines, which are gorgeous in this vintage as well, highlighting this exquisite year for Cru Beaujolais. I admit, at $50 a bottle, this might seem seriously expensive for a Beaujolais, but this is no ordinary wine here, this Fleurie has the class, grace and stylish charm of a fine Chambolle-Musigny or Morey-St.-Denis, and in many ways it’s more pleasing and exotic than Burgundy wines at twice it’s price! The Fleurie by Foillard is from 40-50 year old vines grown on a unique site with pink sandstone soils and is farmed all organic, Foillard as noted many times, sorts like a top Burgundy producer would and as a follower of Jules Chauvet uses no chemicals, no chaptalization and ferments are native and nature with almost no sulfur. The Fleurie, like his Cote du Py, is aged in ex-Burgundy barriques, rumor even has it that he gets his used oak barrels from DRC when he can, it spends about 9 months in wood, then rested unfixed and unfiltered in bottle until release, usually a year after the currant vintage of his Morgons. The 2014 is as sexy as it gets, with a deep and glorious floral attack with violets, lilacs and jasmine leading the way before entry that unfolds in heavenly layers of blackberry, plum, wild strawberry and kirsch along with silky tannins, vibrant acidity and spicy notes of pepper, anise, saline rich stones, earthy tones and walnut oil. Still very young, this lovely Gamay seduces completely even now, but this medium bodied and minerally charmer will age with grace and glory for many years to come, best to hide a few bottles away, drink from 2018 to 2026.
($50 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive