2018 Domaine du Vissoux Beaujolais Coeur de Vendanges Vignes Centenaires

“As I’ve written before, this bottling represents one of the great values in French wine, and the 2018 Beaujolais-Villages Coeur de Vendanges will not disappoint long-time fans of the cuvée. Wafting from the glass with a rich bouquet of dark berry fruit, rose petals and licorice, it’s full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, its powdery tannins concealed in a lavish core of succulent, lively fruit. A wine to purchase by the case, expect it to offer irresistible drinking for the better part of a decade.

Jean-Étienne Chermette and his father Pierre-Marie reported that 2018 was an especially long harvest for them, due to the lag in maturity between the northern and southern Beaujolais, so they had to retain a team of pickers for fully five weeks. But that’s the sort of dedication one expects from this family that renders wines from the southern Beaujolais that embarrass most of the supposedly nobler crus and whose renditions of the crus can compete with the best. Old vines, diligent but traditional vinification and élevage in foudre are the rudiments of the approach…To my palate, some of the cuvées reviewed here number among the finest values that can be found in French wine, and I warmly recommend any readers who haven’t yet accentuated themselves with this estate to try a few bottles.”