Lafarge Vial - Fleurie Joie du Palais 2019

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Lafarge Vial Description

Employing the same intensity and artistry as their celebrated Domaine Michel Lafarge in Volnay, Frédéric and Chantal (née Vial) Lafarge began this Beaujolais project in 2014. With a little more than 4 hectares of vine (up to 70 years old) Gamay, planted in 5 parcels on steep granitic soil, the Lafarges produce Cru Beaujolais in Chiroubles and Fleurie. Already organic, the transition to biodynamic has already begun. All farming is manual,with horse-ploughing on steep slopes. Winemaker Frédéric Lafarge uses traditional Burgundian vinification, including natural yeast fermentation in open concrete vats, 25% whole cluster, gentle extraction with remontage only. Short 12-month élevage in 228L and 350L used oak barrels.

Wine Advocate: 94 Points

The 2019 Fleurie Joie de Palais is taut and concentrated, unwinding in the glass with notes of raspberries, cherries, sweet spices and musk. Medium to full-bodied, lively and saline, it's a vibrant, mineral wine with upside for those with a little patience. As readers may remember, this 1.5-hectare parcel of steeply sloping decomposed pink granite was planted in the 1950s. The 2019s have turned out beautifully at Domaine Lafarge-Vial, bursting with fragrant fruit, finer boned and more ethereal in style than the 2018s at the same stage. Acquired in 2014 by Volnay's Frédéric Lafarge and his wife Chantal, née Vial, this four-hectare domaine is biodynamically farmed. The grapes are partially destemmed and fermented with punch-downs and pump-overs during the maceration, followed by pressing in a vertical press. Maturation is in well-used cooperage from the Domaine Lafarge in Volnay. The result is old-school cru Beaujolais, built to age. Any readers looking for Gamay that will, with time in bottle, converge with great Pinot Noir should look no further. (WK)