2015 Stephane Aviron
Chenas Vieille Vignes
Beaujolais, FR
Regular Price $23.99
Sale Price $18.99
Beaujolais gets a bad rap, man. It’s not enough that many assume that all wines from Beaujolais drink like Nouveau Beaujolais, the tutti-fruity, banana and berry scented wines released every November, but additionally, the assumption is that the wines are simple and forgettable.
The truth is that people just don’t like wines from Beaujolais…until they taste them.
So, here’s the thing…wines are only as good as the grapes from which they are made. That doesn’t mean that if your Mom and Dad buy you a nice vineyard, you’ll make good wine (although if you put your wine in small, new oak barrels, a lot of wine critics will announce that your wine is great! Especially if you send them your wine for free and advertise in their magazine. But I digress…)
So, as I was saying, good grapes make good wine…and Stephane Aviron has got some seriously good grapes. He’s been farming this gravelly, sandy 13 acre plot of 100+ year old vines for 25 years and the combination of very old vines and very poor soil produces very small amounts of very concentrated grapes. Which he then makes into very good wine.
This wine presents with herbs and minerals rather than fruit, but finishes with rich plum and berry flavors and solid structure and weight. Its complex and interesting rather than bombastic and hedonistic. Which is actually the definition of great wine.