Brouilly, Domaine Coudert 2022

Sitting on the border with Moulin-à-Vent the majority of this domaine is 12 hectares of one of the best sites in Fleurie. When the Fleurie appellation was first established in the 1920s the then owner of Clos de la Roilette was shocked to find that his wine had been removed from the Moulin-à-Vent appellation and placed, irrevocably as we now know, in Fleurie. In high dudgeon he vowed never to sell his wine in France, never again mentioned the name Fleurie on the bottle and put a picture of his favourite racehorse on the label.

These days it is clear that Moulin-à-Vent’s loss was a big gain for Fleurie, and present owner Alain Coudert has carried on the excellent work of his father Fernand, who purchased the estate in 1967. Alain has also retained the nickname of ‘Le Marquis,’ given by locals to his father. His home is also the winery, which sits proudly amid the vines.

As well as his 12 hectares of Fleurie vineyard he also owns almost a hectare of vines in Brouilly that at one time belonged to his grandfather and was worked by his uncle until 2005 when Alain took over. The site is a fine one, achieving good levels of ripeness.

The vineyard in Fleurie has an easterly exposure with heavy clay and granite soils, rich in manganese, requiring work to be done by hand. Alain farms sustainably and uses native yeasts for his semi-carbonic fermentations and produces a wine that has the concentration and structure to age for five years or more, though it shows the fresh fruit flavours that are classic Fleurie in youth.

Alain attributes the richness of the Fleurie to the terroir and the age of his vines but there is little doubt that the winemaking plays its part in making the most of these assets.