Terres Dorées - Fleurie 2018

The Wine Advocate (Robert Parker) 91 pnt.

Dr. William Kelley: "Brun's 2018 Fleurie also derives from vines within the lieu-dit Grille-Midi, but they're "only 40 years old," he tells me. Offering up aromas of raspberries, violets and rose petals, it's medium to full-bodied, elegant and nicely balanced, even if it can't match the concentration and powdery phenolics of the Grille-Midi bottling."

Drink Date: 2020 - 2033

The 2018 vintage is Jean-Paul Brun's 40th, and he can look back with some much deserved satisfaction on a career that has done so much to validate the potential for quality in the southern Beaujolais, as well as a portfolio of wines that exemplify like few others that a more "Burgundian" approach to vinification can be made to work well with the Gamay grape. Destemmed fruit and macerations lasting as much as four weeks, followed by élevage in used barrels, are the order of the day here, and Brun's excellent 2018 portfolio includes several terrific cuvées that Beaujolais lovers will not want to miss. Everything reviewed here comes warmly recommended.