Domaine de la Grand'Cour, Dutraive Fleurie 'Le Clos' Cuvee Vieilles Vignes 2023

100% Gamay

Fleurie, Beaujolais, France

80 year old vines. Hand-harvested in 20 kg perforated crates. 100% whole cluster, semi-carbonic, natural fermentation and maceration for 2-3 weeks and the wine aged in old 225-500 L old French oak with ~20% new. 10ppm (10mg/L) total added sulfites only at bottling, no fining nor filtration.

Clos de la Grand'Cour is the monopole vineyard surrounding the domaine that was purchased by Jean-Louis's father when he moved to Fleurie in 1969. The domaine produces two cuvées - one from 5 hectares of "young" vines that average 45 years old, and a "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" from the 1.8 hectares of oldest 80 year old vines.

When Jean Dutraive purchased the Domaine de la Grand’Cour in 1969, it was already one of the oldest domaines in Fleurie. The estate encompasses nine hectares divided between three contiguous terroirs: Grand’Cour, Chapelle des Bois, and Champagne. The family also has 1.6 hectares of Brouilly that have been in their holding for five generations. Jean-Louis joined his father in 1977 and took over the domaine in 1989.

Jean-Louis is a true master of Gamay. In addition to his masterful skill of producing some of the best wines in the Beaujolais, he is also a local legend with a seemingly never-ending supply of saucisson that appears at apéros any time of day. All vineyards are farmed naturally with EU organic certification and most of the wines are bottled with little to no added sulfites. Jean-Louis’ offspring (Ophélie, Justin and Lucas) began to take greater stylistic control of the domaine in 2017, led by his daughter, Ophélie.