Château des Bachelards Comtesse de Vazeilles Fleurie Le Clos des Bachelards 2020 - 750ml

98pts James Suckling

A giant of elegance, energy and finesse, this single-vineyard Fleurie is one of the wines of the vintage in Beaujolais. Staggering concentration on the tightly-packed medium- to full-bodied palate, which is extraordinarily cool and precise for the very warm vintage. The aromas are just beginning to open up, but there are already notes of red roses, pomegranates and cloves. Then the wet stone minerality rolls over you in one great wave at the awe-inspiring finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.

Winemaker Notes

Chateau des Bachelards vineyard was created by the Benedictine monks of Cluny and the wine is part of this culture of intuition and observation. The Château is doubly certified in organic and biodynamic viticulture, and is a forerunner in its appellation in many respects: agroforestry in the vines, permaculture vegetable garden, sheep, bees, herbal medicine, working the soil on horseback, high trellising with acacia stakes, small yields, and very old vines with massal. The grapes are harvested by hand, the grapes are received by gravity, the yeasts are indigenous and the wine is aged for a long time... A monastic heritage simply reinterpreted with certainty.

The Clos des Bachelards cuvée is one of the rare Beaujolais monopolies. The monks had identified this Clos for its singularity due to its blue clays, unique in Beaujolais.

The colour is deep, almost black, with aromas that are not very intense at first, but of great power that gradually reveal themselves with notes of violets, old rose, liquorice, bay leaf and black pepper. The wine is powerful and fine at the same time, with dense, silky tannins and endless length. This exceptional wine is a UFO that has few equivalents in France. This wine is unique, it is of the place.