'Extremely floral when first opened, Parma violet and even lavender. Opens up to a subtle sweetness (fudge or golden syrup)
Fruit character is stewed strawberry and cranberry with fresh mint. Just a treat, really easy to drink but very complex and evolving in the glass' Fiona Cashin, Le Caveau
Lapalu Vin de France EAU FORTE is a blend of Beaujolais Villages and Brouilly, Carbonic maceration, it is the ultimate expression of Gamay from separate parcels.
JEAN-CLAUDE LAPALU, Saint-Etienne-la-Varenne
Certified Organic, In Biodynamic conversion Natural
Jean-Claude Lapalu is of a generation that sits between Beaujolais natural wine pioneers Foillard, Chamonard, Lapierre, Thevenet .. and the new generation of young guns - Remi Dufaitre, Alex Foillard, Julien Metras..
He began his domaine in 1996, previously, his family had been grape growers selling to the cooperative. He made his first commercial wines in 2000. He owns 9 hectares of vines in Brouilly, most of which are old (60–80 years, some are much older), and which are farmed biodynamically, Jean-Claude spend most of his effort in the vineyards, which he knows inside out, and adapt vinification to each site. Jean-Claude only uses indigenous yeasts and doesn’t use any sulphur during vinification, there is only some added at the bottling and then only in very small quantities: 2gr/hl
Grapes are hand-picked and sorted, loaded by conveyor to avoid damage, during the 8-10 day maceration a wooden grill is sometimes used to enhance gentle extraction. The wine stays at least a half year on its fine lees gaining power and complexity. These are truly remarkable expressions of Beaujolais.