Potel-Aviron Julienas Vielles Vignes 2006
I’ve enjoyed good Beaujolais since I first began drinking wine, in large part because of the vivid freshness that they convey on the palate. There is something about a good Beaujolais that just makes both you and the wine feel alive with the energy of spring. I was intrigued by the wines of Potel-Aviron after reading that their winemaking style drew more from Burgundian methods than traditional Beaujolais methods, resulting in richer wines with more depth and plush fruit.
The trouble is, I’ve never seen the wines in shops. And so, despite being heavily drawn towards the beer world of late, I leaped at the chance to pick up a couple of bottles when I recently ran across them. A shop was doing a tasting of several from the Potel-Aviron line, and while I was unable to make it then (which was a bit sad, since Potel himself was supposed to be there), they luckily still had a few bottles on the shelf when I stopped by. I snapped up a Julienas and Beaujolais-Villages, both from 2006.
Nicolas Potel has worked as a negociant in Burgundy for several years, and has earned an excellent reputation for the consistent and frequently outstanding quality of his wines. These days he offers an enormous range of wines from throughout Burgundy, including about 80 reds and 30 whites. During the past few years Potel has been buying an increasing number of vineyard hectares, in order to have a stronger hand in the growing of the grapes as well as the winemaking.
Potel has been working with Stephane Aviron to produce the Potel-Aviron Beaujolais wines since 2000. Together they set out to produce Beaujolais wines using very atypical methods for the region: traditional Burgundian fermentation and maturation in oak rather than stainless steel. The use of Burgundian fermentation methods (in which grapes are crushed and the resulting juice fermented) versus the traditional Beaujolais method of carbonic maceration (in which the grapes are initially fermented in an environment rich in carbon dioxide before being crushed) is perhaps what sets Potel-Aviron’s methods apart the most. Whereas carbonic maceration aims to maximize fresh, bright fruit flavors, the goal of Burgundian fermentation is to derive deep, rich fruit flavors from the grapes. It is clear from this decision, and their heavy use of oak, that they are setting out to make Beaujolais wines that hearken more to the reds of Burgundy than typical Beaujolais.
This is an easy decision to applaud when considering the dearth of lightly-bodied, thin-flavored reds that come out of Beaujolais each year. But at the same time, a good Beaujolais has such a refreshing fruit character, that I couldn’t help but wonder if Potel-Aviron’s methods would end up overriding this element, producing instead rich, full-bodied Beaujolais. Wines like this may be good, but they may also take away much of what makes Beaujolais “Beaujolais”.
As it turns out, I had no reason to worry about the vivacity of Beaujolais being lost on account of their production methods. The wine was distinctly Beaujolais in character, with vibrant fruits and liveliness in the nose, while at the same time definitely having more depth and character than most Beaujolais that I’ve had.
The Julienas Vielles Vignes 2006 is produced using grapes from two growers in Julienas. The first, making up about 3/4 of the wine, are from 60 year old vines grown on a parcel of land named “La Prat”. The second are from 45 year old vines grown on a parcel named “La Vayolette”. The wine was aged in small oak barrels, about 25% of which were new, for 10-11 months before bottling. Their literature states that the “aim is to marry the tannins derived from the oak with the richness of fruit from very old vines, thus combining structure with texture and flesh.” This is where Potel-Aviron are really departing from traditional conceptions of Beaujolais wine, through their desire to add a firm structure to the wines to complement the vivid, rich fruit that Gamay is so capable of bringing to Beaujolais wines.
In the glass the wine was slightly viscous and velvety, a rich purple-red that lightened considerably at the edges. The nose carried enticing scents of red cherries, menthol, bright, vibrant fruits, alongside the slightest hint of tobacco and spice. The palate had a well-defined texture, laced throughout with soft but noticeable tannins. There were wonderful vibrant fresh fruit flavors of black cherries and red raspberries, alongside a hint of earth and minerality, and a nice, balancing acidity. The finish was long and rather compelling, bringing together the red fruits and a prominent lacing of acidity.
This wine did not disappoint, despite my having built up expectations for quite some time. And even though my brain was still firmly ensconced in thinking about beer, I thoroughly enjoyed this bottle. We still have the Beaujolais-Villages in the basement, and I think that we’ll hold on to that one until spring really does arrive, and with it the prime time for Beaujolais drinking.
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