Description
“This domaine is superbly successful: the wines are generously perfumed, ample and expressive of their terroirs. The vieilles vignes of La Roilette has surpassed itself but the revelation comes from the superbly successful Chiroubles: it has been a long time since we have tasted one that is this complete. Their purchase is strongly recommended.” — Le Classement 2008
“If only all Chiroubles could be as well crafted as Bernard Métrat’s!” Neal Martin, Vinous Media.
The Metrat family home and winery are to be found in the midst of the very highly regarded sector of Fleurie called “La Roilette”. La Roilette lies towards the bottom of the slope close to the border of Moulin a Vent and here the soil has a base of clay underneath the decomposed pink granite that is so typical of this area. This makes for wines that have a little more depth and structure than most other Fleuries.
“A good Fleurie is a wine of medium weight which has an ample flavour absolutely crammed full with this fruit and is overwhelmingly seductive. Some Fleuries can be delicious as early as the spring after the vintage. Others need keeping for another 6 months.” Clive Coates MW.
The Fleuries from the Metrat family definitely fall into this latter category. The winemaking is traditional with fermentation in cement and no artificial yeasts are used, while crop levels are kept low and all the fruit handharvested. The wines show great purity of fruit with beguiling perfumes and silky textures. The extraction of tannins is gentle and although these wines are generally drunk young, they can confidently be enjoyed over 5 or 10 years. If you can manage to keep your hands off them!
About the vintage: The 2023 vintage represents outstanding value. While 2022 is undoubtedly an excellent vintage, it was a very warm year that broadly tended to favour the best sites. In contrast the 2023 vintage, while also quite warm, benefitted from timely rain events that topped up the soil moisture levels throughout the growing season. The resulting wines show excellent concentration of flavour, but also great freshness and balance. And importantly, they show it right across the quality spectrum with the entry level wines simply a delight to drink, across the length and breadth of both Beaujolais and Burgundy.
“The 2023 vintage, overall, is highly successful—a serious year marked by ripe, rich and quite balanced grapes with no shortage of structure … The tannins in 2023 are consistently present and well-integrated, with fine, polished grains … the acidity is right where it needs to be, just ripe. A defining feature of the vintage is the equilibrium in weight; none of the wines feel overly lofty or burdensome, highlighting a harmonious balance.” Kenna Wells, The Wine Advocate, March 2025.
From vines aged more than 80 years old facing full south on sandy granitic soil. This vineyard in the lieu-dit of Cote Rotie is located at around 350 metres elevation. Fermented in concrete tanks with indigenous yeasts. This cuvée was named after the lieu-dit Côte Rôtie until a large producer from the northern Rhône launched legal proceedings over the use of the name. Eventually the name of the wine was changed, tongue-in-cheek, to La Scandaleuse.
“Rich cherry and red fruit aromas with a touch of aniseed and exotic spices. Fresh, full and deep palate backed by fine silky tannins.”
“Whereas a few years ago, serious Beaujolais only came from a handful of growers, nowadays, the region is such a hotbed of activity that there is a feeling of a “higher tide raising all boats.” Hotspots of genuine quality spread out geographically and across the hierarchy.’ Neal Martin, Vinous, April 2024.
RRP $45 Our Special Price $36.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.
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