Saint-Cyr "Les Journets" Chénas Rouge 2019

Alcohol: 12.5%

Grape(s): Gamay

Localization: Beaujolais, France

Tasting Notes: The Saint-Cyr family has produced a perfumed wine with ripe berry fruits, generous tannins and acidity. The nine months in wood have given richness and balance, while the low sulfur brings out the fruitiness.

Notes: Certified organic viticulture, making Domaine de Bellevue the largest organic domaine in the Beaujolais. Unusual for the region, the crus are all single vineyard parcels, and the name of each terroir is listed with each wine. They are fermented in concrete tanks and then aged in used barrels for 12-18 months. La Galoche, the straight Beaujolais cuvée, is aged for 6 months in concrete tanks. All of the wines are vinified with natural yeasts.

Food pairing: Roast chicken, chicken tagine with apricots and olives, pork sausages, duck with plum sauce.

The Domain: Raphael Saint-Cyr is the fourth generation to helm his family’s estate in Anse in the southern Beaujolais having taken over from his father in 2008 at the age of 22. After seeing his grandfather and uncle become sick as a result of chemical treatments in the vineyard, he made the decision to convert the entire estate to organic, a rarity particularly in the non-cru area of Beaujolais. He also was able to purchase a few hectares of vines within the more prestigious crus of the north beginning with Chénas.

Les Journets comes from a 1.5 hectare plot of vines in the south-east corner of Chénas bordering Moulin-a-Vent that Raphael purchased in 2017. This was the second parcel that he purchased in Chénas, the first being the Les Blémont vineyard further north, but he considers Les Journets his more age worthy cuvée, as the vines are slightly older and planted to relatively poorer (i.e., better for wine) soils of white granite.