Château des Bachelards Fleurie

Wine Information
There are many fun, simple styles of Beaujolais like the ‘Nouveau’ used for celebrating harvest or the Carbonic wines that are super fruity. In general, the wines from the southern part of Beaujolais are less prestigious, grown on simple low-lying clay soils. The northern part of Beaujolais is famous for 10 Cru villages high in the hills with granite or volcanic soils as the general base for the best vineyards. Fleurie is the Cru with the greatest concentration of great producers in the Beaujolais area and it is divided into 13 different Climats, or specific sites. Bachelard happens to be in one of the most famous sites, La Madonne, named after the little chapel perched at the top of the hill. With a deep garnet color and bright reflections, the nose is intense with fresh black soil, pepper, violet flowers, and berry fruits. On the palate there is great finesse with graphite-like minerality, a velvety texture, and an expressive finish with delicate tannins. Enjoy now or hold for 20+ years.

Food Pairing: A fun wine for lighter dishes like chicken. The fruit character plays well with cooked bitter greens lie Kale or Broccoli, Chinese foods, and mild curries. Great with cow’s milk cheeses. Serve at 55 degrees.

Varietal Notes: The story of the Gamay grape in Burgundy is a blockbuster! A sibling to Pinot Noir, this ancient grape was gaining popularity in the 14th century because it was much easier to grow and produce than Pinot Noir. In 1395, the then Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold, banned the grape entirely and declared it be, ‘destroyed and reduced to nothing’. He disliked the taste very much and this one man nearly brought the grape to extinction. Luckily, the Beaujolais region at the time was largely ignored so the grape survived and found a final home here.
Gamay is typically high in acid and low in tannin, but the wines of Bachelards are anything but typical, this is Gamay at its most complex and age-worthy vinified in a classic Burgundian style.

Terroir: Organic farming certified by Ecocert, biodynamically certified by Demeter, manually harvested fruit with very low yields, high trellising, and no trimming. Picked at optimal maturity from 60 to 80-year-old vines on pink granitic soils dating back 350 million years.

Winemaking: 100% destemmed, the juice is received by gravity and fermentation is with native yeast in concrete tanks for 28 days on the skins. Afterwards the wine rests in 500-liter barrels and larger casks for 24 months. All estate-fruit.