Georges Descombes - Régnié Rouge Beaujolais 2022 750ml (13% abv)

Georges Descombes - Régnié Rouge Beaujolais 2022 750ml (13% abv)

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Wine Club Selection - Steals Level Oct 2024

His Regnie is one of Georges' most limited bottlings, as he only has 2 hectares

granite soil, 5-40 yr old vines

Georges' nickname is Le Noune. While many theories of its origin exist, when I asked he told me "my mom used to call me that". So it remains a mystery.

from the importer:

Located in Vermont, a tiny hamlet in Villié-Morgon, Georges Descombes is the unofficial fifth member of the iconic "Gang of Four": Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard, Jean-Paul Thévenet and Guy Breton. In his teens, Georges worked with his vigneron father in the vines as well as a local bottling company. Hopping around from cellar to cellar gave him a chance to try a large amount of different estates,and the first time he tasted a Lapierre wine, young Georges was blown away by its purity and elegance. Then and there, he decided he would try to make wines like Marcel's.

Georges took over the estate in 1988 and immediately started shifting viticultural and oenological practices forward. Though his father had always worked traditionally in the vineyards and cellar,Georges decided to push things further by practicing organic viticulture (certified by Ecocert for many years, but now practicing without certification) and eliminating all entrants or manipulation during vinification. A minuscule dose of sulfur, less than a hundredth of what an organically certified vigneron is legally allowed to use, is added at bottling to help preserve the wines.

In total, Georges owns about 15,5 hectares of land spread over five AOC's : 7,5 hectares in Morgon,3,5 hectares in Brouilly, 2 hectares in Regnié, 0,5 hectare in Chiroubles and 2 hectares of Beaujolais-Villages. 

Georges is a firm believer that his wines benefit from time in bottle, and always releases them up to a year later than most of his colleagues, particularly the old vine releases.

more info on Regnie - the final Cru (so far?). Promoted in 1988. Perhaps has the most of the famous pink granite soil of all the 10 Crus. Known for a light, fragrant style with pure red berry (raspberry) fruit and violets. Neighbors to Morgon and Brouilly, but slightly higher elevation on average. There are 2 undisputed leaders in this Cru - Guy Breton (part of the orig. gang of 4) and Descombes. One younger gun to keep an eye on is Descombes' step son Damien Coquelet, we have carried his VDF Gamay in the past.

The village of Régnié-Durette is especially noteworthy for its church with two spires (built in 1867 based on the design by Pierre Bossan, the architect who later built the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière). The vines are planted on slopes at an average of 350 metres in altitude, facing southeast. 

a textbook expression of Cru Gamay, light and lipsmacking, crunchy red fruit, pomegranate, violets, barely there tannins, vibrant acidity, chillable, crushable, Bing cherry, stony minerality, very elegant. silky and seductive. the most delicate of Georges younger vine Cru releases.

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farming/cellar: organic, hand picked, then stored in a temperature controlled container before being placed in 60hl cement tanks. , slow-pressing in an antique vertical press, for whole-cluster fermentation in fiberglass and stainless steel containers.A traditional, semi-carbonic maceration occurs, and the wine ferments from its ambient yeasts. then aged in large foudre and barrel six months before bottling. bare minimum added so2. lightly filtered, 

pairing