Domaine Lafarge-Vial Fleurie Clos Vernay 2016 750 ML

The 2016 Fleurie Clos Vernay wafts from the glass with a nuanced bouquet of raspberries, wild plums, dark chocolate and loamy soil. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, tangy and quite concentrated, framed by elegantly fine-grained tannins. Producer Information In its sixth year, the Lafarge domaine in Beaujolais is now well-established. Lovingly made by Eddie Lachaux in the same way as the Pinots in the Côte de Beaune, the wines shine even in difficult years. Atypically for the region, most of the fruit is destemmed, increasingly by hand: Frédéric Lafarge maintains that the interaction of hand and grape gives more energy than when machines are used. To extract a proper dose of tannin, the fermentation temperature can rise higher than the norm in the area, and the must is punched down regularly. They are serious, terroir-driven wines which will reward some cellaring, though in 2019 they are so forward and delicious that many will be drunk on the early side.